Is it "Our ABC" or the Green Left's ABC?
5 OCTOBER 2017: I am publishing (in North Queensland newspapers) an open letter to the Head of Current Affairs at the ABC. Monday's attack on jobs with a program called "Digging into Adani" demonstrated beyond doubt the national broadcaster is overly influenced by the extreme green movement.
TODAY I announced that a number of applications for funding under the Federal Government's Building Better Regions Fund Community Projects stream have been successful.Three Mackay community and economic development projects have received a boost of a combined $125,000, and the Burdekin Shre Council has received $15,000 to develop a tourism strategy.
The National Visitor Survey, released today, held good news for the region.There was a 16 per cent increase in Mackay visitor numbers over the past twelve months, and those visitors are staying longer and spending more.The National Visitor Survey showed 883,000 Australian tourists visited Mackay, staying an average of four nights and spending $380 million for the year ending June 2017.
Plan to boost jobs for journos in regions
The Liberal National Government has today announced a number of new measures to support regional and small publishers and create local jobs.The new measures, which are in addition to the Government’s media reform package, and subject to its passage, include:•A $50 million Regional and Small Publishers Innovation fund;•a Regional and Small Publishers cadetship program to support 200 cadetships ($8 million) and;•60 regional journalism scholarships ($2.4 million over three years)
Boost for seasonal worker programme
A number of new measures introduced by the Liberal National Government will further support employers and seasonal workers to access the Seasonal Worker Programme.The new measures will help overcome local labour shortages in the agricultural and accommodation sectors, and will be phased in from 1 July 2018.We will be introducing a multi-entry visa for seasonal workers, thereby offering greater flexibility in the granting of visas, and piloting new ways to lower upfront costs for employers seeking to access the programme.The measures will reduce red tape and save time within the Seasonal Worker Programme, and will be a welcome support for businesses in centres such as Bowen, the Burdekin and Townsville who are struggling to fill vacancies at critical points in their business cycle.
I joined Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester, as well as Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson to inspect work on an upgrade to Glenella Road in Mackay.The Australian Government had committed more than $2.52 million toward this project, under the Roads to Recovery program, which gives councils certainty when they need to upgrade and repair local roads.The Glenella Road upgrade near Jane’s Creek will involve resurfacing of the road and pavement rehabilitation to make it less prone to damage from flooding, installing off-road bike paths, and upgrading street lighting - improving safety in the major sporting area around the Magpies Sporting Club.
A victory on cyclone recovery funding
TODAY’S announcement of an additional $37.6 million in Federal Government disaster relief funding to repair critical infrastructure and damaged beach and river frontages is a victory for the battered communities of Mackay and the Whitsundays.I took up the fight, along with local mayors Andrew Willcox and Greg Williamson, for a fairer funding distribution under Category D of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) which now totalled more than $96 million.The important thing to focus on today is that there’s an extra $15.2 million to restore the Shute Harbour Marina and get this business and tourism hub back up to speed.
I NOW have great confidence that there will be further NDRRA Category D funding provided for cyclone recovery in the Whitsundays, Bowen & Mackay.Today, further discussions have been held between the Federal Government and the State Government about certain aspects of the Category D funding package.Extra information which was needed regarding funding for Shute Harbour has been supplied and further discussions have also been undertaken regarding the Bluewater Trail.
Senator clueless on sugar industry
Moves by NSW Senator David Leyonhjelm to reverse a hard-fought decision to introduce a sugar marketing code of conduct are both ignorant and arrogant.Senator Leyonhjelm wants to scrap the Sugar Marketing Code of Conduct, and he claims he has the support of Labor senators to do so.This is an arrogant stance by a NSW Senator with no experience or understanding of the sugar industry.He calls cane farmers ‘socialists’ and he says their arguments for a right to a say over who markets their sugar are ‘piss-weak’.