Dollars for Dora a slap to North: Opposition

THE State Opposition has attacked Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for giving money to Hollywood instead of infrastructure projects in North Queensland.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington was speaking about the State Government’s decision to provide “competitive incentives” to have a liveaction Dora The Explorer movie filmed on the Gold Coast. Ms Frecklington said yesterday’s announcement was a slap in the face to other projects in Queensland.

“The test for other projects is their ability to stand on their own two feet, so why are there different rules for Hollywood?” she said.

“Instead of handouts for Hollywood, Labor should bring forward the funding for the pipeline upgrade, raise the Burdekin Falls Dam or get the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor started.”

Ms Frecklington said the Premier needed to stop using the film as a distraction and start delivering for regional Queenslanders.

Ms Palaszczuk was under fire for not revealing how much taxpayer money was spent on securing the movie shoot for the state.

She said the decision to provide the incentives came down to a single criteria – jobs.

“We will keep on pushing for screen jobs for our local crews and creatives and for productions that inject hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy,” she said.