PREMIER Anna Bligh’s refusal to meet with leaders of a Cape York council typifies the contempt that Labor holds for indigenous communities, Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says. The Premier used her visit to Pormpuraaw last month purely as a media opportunity and failed to advise Mayor Richard Tarpencha, chief executive officer Edward Natera…
THE Wilderness Society’s blatant influence over Labor could cost Far North Queensland another mining project that would generate thousands of jobs and revive the region’s economy. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has revoked a decision to approve Rio Tinto’s proposed $1.5 billion bauxite mine and port development based on an inaccurate single-page submission by TWS.…
I very strongly support the motion put forward by the Leader of the Opposition earlier today in relation to the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2011. The wild rivers bill was first introduced on 8 February 2010. It is now over two years later. There have been five separate committee inquiries into this bill. The…
I would like to associate myself with this debate about tuberculosis. There is no doubt about it; it is a very serious infectious disease, which, despite the availability of effective treatment, remains a major global health problem. Although it is preventable, TB remains a problem through much of the world, mostly in developing countries. In…
I would like to associate myself with this debate about tuberculosis. There is no doubt about it; it is a very serious infectious disease, which, despite the availability of effective treatment, remains a major global health problem. Although it is preventable, TB remains a problem through much of the world, mostly in developing countries. In…
I rise today to speak on a significant anniversary that has been largely overlooked this week. Yesterday marked 70 years since the Japanese bombed Horn Island, in the Torres Strait, during their attempted invasion in World War II. I wish to speak on the vital role of the Torres Strait in the defence of the…
FIVE hundred bombs were unleashed, more than 150 servicemen were killed and troops in Australia’s most vulnerable military outpost managed to thwart a relentless attempt at invasion. Yet the Japanese raids on Horn Island in World War II barely rate a mention in Australia’s history books. On the 70th anniversary of the first bombing of…
I rise today to also speak on this bill, the Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2011, and to indicate my support for the measures contained within this bill. The bill changes the insurance law to introduce a standard definition of flood contracts. This is something that is long overdue in this area and over many years…
THE Opposition’s policy in protecting dugong and turtle populations focuses on stopping the needless cruelty towards the animals, not preventing hunting for cultural reasons, Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says. His comments come as self-proclaimed activists, including failed Federal election candidate Yodie Batzke, try to misinform people in the Torres Strait and on Cape…
FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has backed an LNP plan to review alcohol management plans, saying total prohibition has failed to resolve the social issues in indigenous communities. Mr Entsch said comments by Premier Anna Bligh and Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser, who described the plan as a grab at Aboriginal votes, were “disgraceful”. “Both…