Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has welcomed the announcement that a dedicated regionally-focused environmental research hub will be funded by the Federal Government at long last.
Mr Entsch says he advocated hard for the re-establishment of the Marine and Tropical Science Research Facility (MTSRF) during the 2010 federal election and while he is disappointed that it took Government so long to respond to the calls from the community, he is delighted they have finally listened and acted.
“The research hub amongst others funded through the National Environmental Research Program (NERP) will continue the great work of the RRRC and the MTSRF. The new contract is a result of a lot of hard work and perseverance by the local community, business, researchers and both sides of politics, working together as ‘North Queensland’, to achieve an outcome,
I would like to make particular mention of the CEO of the RRRC, Sheriden Morris, Chairman of RRRC Richard Ireland and research leaders such as AIMS, industry groups such as the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and Australian Marine Park Tourism Operators, and the Natural Resource Management organisations in North Queensland for their efforts in ensuring the continuation of this vital service.
These programs have been very successful under the management of the RRRC and really set our region apart as an environmental research hub.
It makes sense to have the researchers on the ground in this beautiful part of the world doing the reef and rainforest research with ‘hands on’ access,” said Warren Entsch.
