I’d like to congratulate the organisers of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations for the town of Weipa in Far North Queensland in July. Weipa is situated at Albatross Bay on the western Cape York Peninsula, between the Mission and Embley Rivers. In 1967, the Queensland Government named the area Weipa North, which was the site of the newly established Comalco mining town.…
Older constituents in Leichhardt need to be extra cautious if they receive phone calls from people claiming to be from Centrelink. Thanks to Bob Madden and Kevin Molleneux, who both recently contacted my office to report a phishing scam. Bob says he received a message to contact Centrelink on (02)83787970. When he called the number,…
As the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Tibet, I am passionate about helping the Tibetan community seek the justice and freedom they so rightly deserve. The issue of access highlighted by the motion is one that is ongoing. A visit to the Tibet Autonomous Region by a delegation of Australian parliamentarians would certainly…
I rise tonight to reflect on and to honour my very good friend, tourism identity and business leader Charles Woodward. Charlie passed away on 18 May 2017 after a battle with cancer, and I certainly was profoundly saddened when I heard the news. He was such a lively character and had a generous spirit, and…
Last week I congratulated Cairns Hockey and the Aspire to be Deadly program for being nominated for a Queensland Reconciliation Award. Today I would like to add to this by announcing that Aspire has, for the second year in a row, been shortlisted for the prestigious Beyond Sport Global Award, in the category of Best…
Today I want to congratulate Cairns Hockey Association's Aspire to be Deadly program, which has been selected as a finalist in the 2017 Queensland Reconciliation Awards. It is a wonderful recognition of the positive outcomes this program is achieving for Indigenous young women and girls through sport, mentoring and education. Aspire to be Deadly has…
I certainly welcome the opportunity to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017-2018 and the associated bills. In my view, it has been a very responsible budget and it builds on initiatives that the coalition government has built in the past and which it has certainly been very good at. Just from the perspective…
On Saturday night I attended a fantastic event hosted by the Rotary Club of Mossman to celebrate the centenary of the Rotary Foundation. At the event, held on the beautiful High Falls Farm, which is about 14 kilometres out of Mossman, six local people were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the Douglas community as…
This Friday night I am really looking forward to attending the celebrations of Sea Swift's 30th anniversary. Sea Swift transports the bulk of the freight goods from Cairns to Cape York and the furthest reaches of the Torres Strait Islands, and recently expanded into the Northern Territory. It offers mothershipping, project and charter services and…
For the last four years, the DANII Foundation has been knocking on politicians' doors to raise awareness of a technology that prevents type 1 diabetics dying in their sleep as a result of deadly low blood sugar, hypoglycaemia. In my electorate, Cairns mum Vicki McDonald has been a very strong advocate for making this lifesaving…