KEEPING US LEAN AND GREEN
Hospital is hot topic but $55m goes to land works
FUNDING of $165 million for a Cairns University Hospital might have been a talking point but instead Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has splashed $55m for landcare projects across the Far North.
On day one of her trip to the region, seven carbon farming projects with the potential for 400 jobs were announced.
While the university hospital was on the lips of some of her Far Northern MPs, Ms Palaszczuk only gave hints about the tertiary education proposal. “We’ll have more to say over the coming days,” she said.
THEY are not on any MP’s hit list but the Premier is about to commit a massive $55 million to key carbon farming projects north of Cairns.
Annastacia Palaszczuk will use the second day of her Cabinet visit to Cairns to unveil funding from the $500 million Land Restoration Fund for seven groundbreaking Far North initiatives.
The suite of projects will work to revive vast stretches of native forest and protect wetlands affected by generations of agricultural industry.
Ms Palaszczuk said nearly $93 million in the first round of grants would go to 21 projects across the state, creating almost 690 jobs – with 400 of those in the Far North.
“This means jobs for ecologists, graziers, Indigenous rangers, fire managers, foresters, tradies for things like fencing, irrigation and earthmoving as well as specialist skills like laser levelling, mapping and helicopter pilots,” she said.
Among the successful projects is the Kinrara Dry Tropics Regeneration Project to regenerate native forest, to help to restore threatened ecosystems and protect wetlands at Kinrara Cattle Station at Mount Garnet.
The Northern Aurukun Savanna Burning Project will protect gallery forest along wetlands while supporting traditional owners’ connection to country.
Meanwhile, the Dry Rainforest Restoration and Terrestrial Laser Scanning project
A PAIR of thoroughly impressed Gold Coast tourists jumped at the chance to snap a photo with the state’s top general — even if it was from a socially responsible distance.
Lyn Messer and Jan Causer were winding up the last day of a dream trip when they spotted Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the Reef Fleet Terminal.
The duo shared a few jokes and the city’s praises.
“I’ll be going home raving will work to revegetate three properties in the Cape.
Cook MP Cynthia Lui, whose electorate will receive the lion’s share of funding, said the announcement would give a “much-needed boost” to the economy.
University of Melbourne Professor Marcia Langton chaired the independent panel tasked with putting forward worthy projects for funding.
“The portfolio of 21 projects about this place,” Ms Messer said.
“I haven’t been here for probably 15 years and what they’ve done here is just amazing.”
With only South Australia’s borders currently open to Queensland, intrastate tourism has never been more important.
Fortunately this pair has been spending up big.
“We’ve been at every damn restaurant in the place,” Ms Messer laughed. we have put forward for investment will potentially see more than $90 million offered to Queensland farmers, land managers and landowners from the Cape to central Queensland down to the south west,” she said.
“The successful projects from First Nations applicants reflect an enormous commitment to land restoration, which the panel found to be inspiring.”
NEW tradesmen and a committed young apprentice have entered the ranks of Cairns company firm AJ Roofing Solutions as the region cashes in on cyclone-proofing grants.
Housing Minister Mick de
Brenni visited AJ Roofing Solutions on the first day of Cabinet meetings in Cairns to see how the firm was keeping up with demand.
An upswing in lower-income families taking advantage of the state and federal governments’ Household Resilience
Program home cyclone-proofing fund has prompted the small business to put on new staff.
Mr de Brenni said the program was now fully subscribed with funding flowing to about 100 Far North businesses.
“The people of Cairns have