Tropical North Queensland benefiting from Australia’s record tourism growth

NEW figures released by Tourism Research Australia show that Tropical North Queensland was the seventh-highest region in the country for tourist spending. In 2015, Australia’s tourism industry grew to a record $94.5-billion on the back of strong growth in both international and domestic visitor numbers, who are staying longer and spending more. Across Queensland, international…

Cairns to host Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility

Image of Cairns Airport's proposed expansion, courtesy Cairns Post The Government has reached another milestone in the establishment of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) by announcing that Cairns, Queensland, will host its headquarters. Among Cairns’ many strengths is its undisputed connectivity to Asian markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan and strong domestic connectivity.…

New school guide offers hundreds of programmes for young FNQ innovators

SCHOOL students in Far North Queensland will have unprecedented access to more than 250 entrepreneurial, science, digital technology, engineering and mathematics programmes with the release of a new guide. Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says the Australian Governments’s SPI (STEM Programme Index) 2016 is effectively a one-stop catalogue of innovative initiatives provided by business,…

$23m boost for aged care services in Leichhardt

OLDER Australians in Leichhardt will benefit from a substantial increase in funding for aged care services, with the Australian Government announcing more than 17,000 new care places across the nation worth an estimated $910 million. Following the announcement of the 2015 Aged Care Approvals Round, Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch welcomed news that 324 places had…

Dob in a Dealer to help fight against Ice

FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has welcomed today’s launch in Cairns of the Dob in a Dealer campaign as part of a new million-dollar partnership between the Coalition Government and Crime Stoppers Australia. The Commonwealth Government is providing $1 million to fund the national Dob in a Dealer campaign to raise awareness of methamphetamine,…

Parliamentary Friendship Group backs Safe Schools

IN March 2015, the Parliamentary Friendship Group for LGBTIQ Australians invited Safe Schools Coalition Australia to brief them and answer any questions we had. The co-chairs were impressed with the range of resources and supports made available to Australian schools through the program and compelled by the statistics we were presented about the effect of…

‘Unite to End TB’ theme of World TB Day

AHEAD of World Tuberculosis Day on March 24th, Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has helped officially launch the Australian TB Caucus in Parliament – renewing the focus from Australian politicians on the need to address the burden of this disease in our region. “There were 15 cross-party members that originally put our names to the Barcelona…

Entsch confirms review of ‘backpacker tax’

LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch has today confirmed that the Federal Government is reviewing the proposed ‘backpacker tax’ in light of fears about its impact on rural and regional economies. “I was one of a number of MPs who spoke up at a Party Room meeting three weeks ago and expressed concerns that there could be…

Funding to help build Torres Strait disaster resilience

LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch has welcomed a Commonwealth-State joint-funding announcement of more than $3 million in projects to assist communities across Queensland build resilience to natural disasters. Projects are jointly supported with Commonwealth Government funding matched by the Queensland State Government and funding recipients. This funding encourages a partnership approach to disaster resilience, with funding…