The federal government has boosted funding for grants from the Safer Communities Fund following recent events in New Zealand. This latest funding announcement brings the total amount available under the Safer Communities Fund to $119.9 million between 2016-17 and 2020-21. To date around 340 grants have been made, including for many projects across Cairns and…
Four Cape York communities will receive much-needed safety upgrades after the federal government announced $175,500 in funding for four airstrips across the region. Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said the funding would deliver upgrade works at the Laura, Lakeland, Pascoe Rive Station and Cooktown airstrips. He said the upgrades will be funded under Round 6…
The federal government has delivered another increase to payment rates for pension and allowance recipients in Far North Queensland. Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said payments including Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment will increase by $9.90 a fortnight to $926.20 for singles and by $14.80 a fortnight to $1,396.20 for couples combined.…
People living in Far North Queensland and travelling through Cape York can now look forward to improved mobile phone coverage thanks to the federal government’s $220 million Mobile Black Spot Program. Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch today announced Far North Queensland will receive six new small cell mobile base stations* under the fourth round of…
Residential aged care in the Torres Strait has taken a major step forward with the official opening today of a new, purpose-built building at Blue Care Star of the Sea Elders Village on Thursday Island. Up to 38 senior Indigenous people will receive specialist, culturally appropriate care in the new, air-conditioned building. There is also…
Families and visitors to Cairns can now board a multi-dimensional underwater journey, following today’s launch of the Sea Explorer 5D attraction at the Cairns Aquarium and Reef Research Centre. This $1.1 million investment is one of several project components of a $4.7 million project jointly funded by the federal government under the Regional Jobs and…
Golden Wattle is hitting the road to give people in Far North Queensland easy access to government services. Staff on board Golden Wattle have delivered Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support services to almost 140,000 customers since 2016. The two twenty-tonne trucks are run by the Department of Human Services and have travelled more than 800,000…
The federal government will help more young people with mental illness living in Cairns to enter the workforce with a package of increased support. Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch today announced the Royal Flying Doctor Service would receive $585,000 in funding to assist them with the implementation of the highly-successful Individual Placement and Support Trial.…
Seven projects across Far North Queensland have been given the greenlight under Round 3 of the federal government’s highly successful Building Better Regions Fund. Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said the federal government’s $8.5 million investment across seven projects* will help grow local economies and build a strong future for our region. He said the…
The federal government will invest more than $22 million to deliver practical environmental projects, giving communities new opportunities to protect and care for their local environment. The Communities Environment Program will provide up to $150,000 to each Federal electorate in 2019-20 for community-led projects that deliver real environmental benefits. The program builds on the government’s…