**Read my full October 2015 eNewsletter here** I’m really pleased to see grass-roots organisations getting support to carry out much-needed environmental work in our local bushland, waterways, parks and recreational areas. The Green Army has been very popular in FNQ, with multiple projects underway in the Cairns region, Mossman and Hope Vale carrying out yellow…
Treasurer Joe Hockey and Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch today announced that local students will play an important part in welcoming G20 delegates to Cairns next week. Twenty-three Cairns TAFE students will be there when some of the world’s most influential political and economic leaders come to town for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central…
**Read my full October 2015 eNewsletter here** Supporting the mental and physical health and wellbeing of our elderly residents is vital. In recent months there has been a lot of discussion around the lack of aged care beds in the Cairns region in particular. It is a complex issue and one that is often misrepresented…
Ice poses the highest risk of all illegal drugs to our community because of the violent, menacing and irrational way people behave under its influence. At a recent community forum with the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Fiona Nash, we heard that while ice use is not yet widespread in our region, it’s increasing at…
**Read the full edition of my October 2015 eNewsletter** The northernmost part of Australia – comprising the Torres Strait Islands and tip of Cape York – is a remarkable area with diverse and culturally-distinct communities, fascinating history, abundant marine resources, stunning azure waters and white sand beaches. In August, the Prime Minister and other senior…
**Read my full October 2015 eNewsletter here** Helped open the Cooktown Discovery Festival and launch of ‘48 Days- A Shared History' mural project, ably supported by my beautiful daughter Mackenzie, Cooktown Spoke at the 2015 Suicide & Self Harm Prevention Conference in recognition of the Dr Edward Koch Foundation’s 20 Years of activities, Cairns Launched…
**Read the full 2015 October edition of my eNewsletter** I recently attended the graduation of 52 trainees from the Treaty Village Rangers Program at an event at Mabaduan Village on the South Fly coastline, just a few kilometres from Australia’s northernmost border. The program is a key element of the Building Resilience in Treaty Villages,…
**Read the full October 2015 edition of my eNewsletter** One of my favourite parts of my job is coming across people who are having a go, getting out and achieving things rather than sitting back and waiting for them to happen. I’ve encountered a few of these lately which I’d like to share with you. …
Last year, the Government identified around 1.6 million premises in Australia which had either very poor or no broadband connectivity. These premises have been – and will continue to be – prioritised in the NBN rollout. In the Far North, many regional users will get broadband via a new satellite that will offer services from…