NQ jobs, cheaper power a step closer

2 FEBRUARY 2017: New jobs and lower power prices could come to North Queensland as momentum builds for a low-emissions coal-fired power generator in the North. My call for a clean coal generator in North Queensland has received a boost with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull supporting the technology and emphasising the need for affordable and reliable electricity.

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Petition to stop abuse of legal system

9 DECEMBER 2016: To the thousands of North Queenslanders who joined me in the push to get Adani’s Carmichael Coal Project over the line, I would like to offer sincere thanks and also to congratulate you on the successes we have achieved to date. Mr Adani’s visit to North Queensland this week brought with it a wave of confidence and a positive outlook for our region as we look forward to the jobs and economic boost that will follow.

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Right to clear land assured

ANY suggestion that the Federal Government will intervene and ban farmers from tree clearing is just utter nonsense.There have been media reports which gave the impression that Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg would “stop Queensland farmers clearing land in an effort to protect the Great Barrier Reef”.The Liberal National Coalition Government will not be stepping in and banning farmers from undertaking tree clearing on their own land.Any media reports which claim we will are overblown nonsense.

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Rail line to boost jobs & economy

5 DECEMBER 2016: Construction of a rail line linking the Galilee Basin with the port at Abbot Point will open up jobs and economic opportunity far beyond Adani’s Carmichael Coal Project. I am supporting a Federal Government loan for construction of the multi-use rail line under the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

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$300,000 for Whitehaven Beach walking track

I MET with representatives of the marine tourism industry in Airlie Beach this morning to announce that a re-elected Liberal National Government will invest $300,000 towards a walking track at Whitehaven beach.The construction of a hardened circuit walking track and a lookout deck at the southern end of the famous Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays would help to address issues of overcrowding at the popular tourist destination.

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Labor plan a threat to farmers’ livelihoods

AS if farmers don't have enough to deal with when it comes to tree clearing laws, we now have Federal Labor pollies from city seats announcing fancy plans to introduce more ‘green police’.Bill Shorten has announced a plan to overrule state tree clearing policies, and send in Federal 'green police to tell farmers what they can and can't do on their own land.So we would have jumped-up federal bureaucrats flashing badges, stopping landholders from doing the work needed to run a normal farming enterprise.Only city slickers like Bill Shorten would come up with such a restrictive and blatantly unfair policy.

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Labor plan for another carbon tax whack

Labor’s announcement today that they would essentially bring back a carbon tax if elected beggars belief.The Opposition’s climate plan also includes an option for them to further restrict farmers’ ability to clear their own land.Labor’s fearless leader Bill Shorten will go blindly where Labor leaders before him have gone, and that’s down the path of introducing a carbon tax which will cost jobs and drive up power prices.Shorten has announced that a Labor Government will introduce an emissions reduction target of 45 per cent by 2030, so this would essentially double Australia’s emissions reduction targets.

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Funding to help farmers help reef

I welcome today's announcement by the Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt that the Turnbull Government is investing a further $11 million in new projects to improve the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.This will help farmers with the great work they do to manage effects on the environment, and it will help the Reef to withstand pressures such as the current coral bleaching event.The funding, to be delivered under Phase Three of the Reef Trust, will help local farmers reduce the impact of agricultural practices on the Reef.

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BOM jobs safe for another year

I have received confirmation from Environment Minster Greg Hunt’s office this morning, that we have a stay of execution on job losses at our Bureau of Meteorology field office.I went into bat for these jobs after it was announced with just a day's notice to my office, that jobs would go from BOM field offices up and down the Queensland coast.I have now been assured that BOM field staff duties of taking meteorological observations and maintaining observing equipment will continue for a further 12 months, which takes us through to March 2017.

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Labor needs to stand with North Queensland workers

JOBS and a vital boost to this region's economy are still under threat from frivolous extreme green legal challenges and the only way to end them once and for all is through legislation in the federal parliament.The Adani Carmichael Coal Project is by no means certain while the extreme green legal challenges remain in the courts despite yesterday's mining lease approval.I'm calling on my Labor opponent to join me in the fight for local jobs by backing legislative action to end those green legal challenges.

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$1 million for work on the Don

CLOSE to $1 million in Federal Liberal National Government funding will be directed towards the issue of gully erosion and the resulting sand build-up in the Don River.This announcement today by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt is a big win for Bowen, as the issue of clearing the Don has been a concern for a number of years.The $962,550 of funding, under the Reef Trust Gully Erosion Control Programme, is a targeted investment that addresses the considerable challenge that gully erosion presents to the Great Barrier Reef.

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Weather ‘in the lap of the robots’ in 5 months

MACKAY’S weather service will be in the lap of the robots after August, following the Bureau of Meteorology’s decision to automate the local office and cut all staff.Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, this week confirmed Mackay’s Bureau of Meteorology office would move to full automation after August and that the equipment would be monitored and serviced by staff based in the Bureau’s Cairns Activity Hub.Staff members at Mackay’s office will be given the opportunity to be sent to another office.I will continue negotiations with the minister to overturn or delay the decision to axe staff from the Mackay office and I'm asking you to lend your support by signing my online petition.Removing staff from Mackay after August (and then from Townsville as well) will leave no technicians near any BOM facility along a 1700km stretch of the Queensland coastline.

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Schools awarded for Reef work

CONGRATULATIONS go to Proserpine State School students as well as St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School students, who have both been awarded a $500 Ripples of Change grant for protecting their local environment and the health of the Great Barrier Reef.The awards encourage students to learn about and care for their local environments and promote real change in their communities.Proserpine and Mackay have a strong connection to the neighbouring Great Barrier Reef and the local students have an important role to play in its care for future generations.I’m proud to support the work of our Reef Guardian schools as it empowers our students to make a positive difference and gives them an opportunity to be involved in the local community.

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