Dig deep for our diggers this Christmas

FEDERAL member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch is encouraging residents to show support to our Australian Defence Force personnel deployed overseas this Christmas. “More than 2,200 Australian Defence Force personnel are currently overseas, and won’t be able to spend Christmas with their families and friends,” said Mr Entsch. He said the best and most effective way…

Be Ready, Cairns! Joint winner in national 2014 Resilient Australia Awards

THE Cairns Regional Council, Deaf Services Queensland, Centacare Migrant Services and ARC Disability Services are joint winners in the Local Government category for the Be Ready, Cairns! project. Minister for Justice Michael Keenan said the Resilient Australia Awards recognise the outstanding contributions communities were making to disaster management, including risk assessment and mitigation, education, training…

Momentum continues on medicinal cannabis

LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch has today welcomed key moves in the campaign to make medicinal cannabis more available for people suffering chronic and terminal conditions. In Townsville, at the weekend’s LNP State Council meeting, two motions on medicinal cannabis were passed with very strong support from party membership. “The first encouraged the State Government to…

Cairns family a strong voice in Canberra

RARE diseases affect 1.2 million Australians yet many sufferers don’t receive the treatment and support they need due to a lack of specialist knowledge within the medical system. This week, however, a young Cairns woman has taken her story directly to Parliament in a bid to raise awareness of the need for a new National…

Greater protections for reef turtles and dugongs

LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch has today introduced a Private Member’s Motion to Parliament that would see traditional hunting banned in Green Zones on the Great Barrier Reef in a move to reduce pressures on vulnerable turtle and dugong populations. The motion also supports the introduction of legislation to prohibit the movement of turtle and dugong…

Cooktown ‘the tidiest of them all’

THE FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, today congratulated Cooktown for being named Queensland’s Tidiest Town for 2014. The Tidy Town award, presented by the not-for-profit Keep Australia Beautiful National Association, encourages, motivates and celebrates the achievements of rural and regional communities across Australia. Previous Queensland winners have included Mundubbera, Longreach, Caloundra, and Stanthorpe. “This…

Don’t buy into ACTU misinformation says Entsch

THE Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is spreading a misleading and irresponsible message about ‘government’ cuts to penalty rates, says Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch. “Penalty rates are decided by the Fair Work Commission – an independent organisation that was set up by Labor, under Labor’s legislation, and that was endorsed by the…

$14.2m Daintree Rainforest Observatory opened

A new world-class research centre and observatory focusing on the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree Rainforest, has been opened in Queensland today. The Member for Leichhardt, the Hon Warren Entsch MP, said the Daintree Rainforest Observatory was built with $9.7 million from the Australian Government and that it will build on the work already…

National Youth Awards applications closing soon

FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, says residents have until next Thursday, 27 November, to nominate an outstanding young person for the 2015 National Youth Awards. This is the third annual series of the Awards, which celebrate the achievements and contributions of young Australians aged 12-25. Mr Entsch urged those thinking about nominating to act…

Green Army Round 2 now open

APPLICATIONS are now open for community-led Green Army projects that support practical, grassroots environment and heritage conservation activities across Leichhardt. The Australian Government is providing additional opportunities in the 2014/15 financial year for community organisations, environment groups and local councils to apply for Green Army projects in Far North Queensland. Projects must run for 20-26…