Cape York takes wild rivers fight to Brisbane

CAPE York traditional owners who campaigned on election day in Brisbane against the wild rivers legislation and a blanket World Heritage proposal achieved a significant win for their people, Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says. A contingent of traditional owners, including members of Cape York Sustainable Futures, travelled to Brisbane to ensure voters in…

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Onus on insurance companies to ease pain for North Queensland

FEDERAL Member for Warren Entsch is urging insurance companies to show a social obligation and provide North Queenslanders with affordable strata title insurance rather than wait for the Government to intervene.Mr Entsch yesterday (March 21) told Federal Parliament the insurance crisis facing northern Australia required Government action but warned there was no quick fix unless…

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Cape York stifled by The Wilderness Society’s power over Labor

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.…

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Premier poses for photos but snubs indigenous leaders

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…

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Australians urged to remember air raids on Horn Island

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…

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Opposition dugong/turtle policy to stop cruelty, not ban hunting

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…

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Caoe York graziers stung twice by government ignorance

CAPE York graziers have suffered another blow in the wake of last year’s live cattle export ban debacle, with the Federal Government refusing to consider them for financial assistance. Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said pastoralists in the Cape had every right to be angry at being refused access to a confusing financial support package…

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Entsch applauds bid to review alcohol management plans

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…

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Petition to stop JCU student levy

FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch is supporting a petition to scrap a compulsory levy imposed on James Cook University students by the Labor Government. As of this year, local students are forced to pay up to $263 a year after Labor, supported by the Greens, passed legislation – the Higher Education Amendment (Student Services…

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