Tourism is one of the backbones of Australia's economy and there are a handful of experiences which should be on everybody's bucket list: the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef and the Cairns Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Skyrail is truly an iconic cable car experience that transports passengers on a 7.5-kilometre journey that…
Cairns has a long, proud history in ship building. More than 270 vessels have been built in Cairns, including the Fremantle class patrol boat and the hydrographic ships for the Navy—on time and on budget, and they have been in service in our fair city for their entire lives. That is why I am very…
The other side can trivialise a lot of this stuff. Yes, there is a lot of cleaning out the cupboards, if you like, but there is also a lot in the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2014) Bill 2015 that is going to save money. The opposition would not understand that saving paperwork and bureaucracy is…
I rise today to add my support to the member for Solomon's motion and to commend the Minister for Trade and Investment for his tireless efforts in this area. The Northern Australia Investment Forum will be held in Darwin from 8 to 10 November. It will focus on attracting investors and exposing them to opportunities…
One in six people has a stroke in their lifetime. That means that, in this House of 150 representatives alone, 25 of us could suffer a stroke. It does not discriminate between men and women or young and old. Some strokes are fatal while others cause temporary or permanent disability. From 14 to 21 September…
On 7 August I had the privilege of helping to launch a new Cairns-made fashion label called Mainie, which is the work of Charmaine Saunders and Denis Keeffe. The label marries the ancient art of Indigenous women from the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory with silk from one of China's fabled Silk Road cities,…
I thank the member for Lingiari for his contribution. His commitment to Defence Force personnel goes back over a lot of years, including when he had portfolio responsibility for our Defence Force. The Australian government is certainly very committed to supporting Australian Defence Force members throughout their service and into their retirement. This legislation is…
**Watch this speech on YouTube** The introduction of this bill into the House today is significant and somewhat unique in that it has the rare distinction of enjoying very strong cross-party support. While I have the honour of addressing you all, I do so on behalf of all my co-sponsors without whose support it would…
I also would like to commend the member for Ryan for putting this forward as a motion. With regard to the previous speaker, I am a little bit disappointed at the criticism that he is targeting at our government in relation to the support that we offer for Papua New Guinea. I was in the…
The Great War was the crucible that forged our nation. That is why the Centenary of Anzac is such a significant period of commemoration for all Australians. On 25 April, marking the official 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign, residents of Leichhardt commemorated this significant time with a range of events and projects. Today I…