Battle to woo back the bush

THE State Government has turned its focus to the regions.

The announcement of a development strategy for North-west Queensland is its latest attempt to show it cares about more than just the South-east corner.

The Government has pledged funding for energy, agriculture and tourism projects in the North-west.

The fresh look at the bush, particularly North Queensland, has been evident since the federal election when Labor performed dismally in Queensland and particularly in the regions.

The battle for our hearts and minds continues next week when state parliament sits in Townsville.

With more than 12 months until the state election, the Government still has time to turn things around.

However, it must continue to take the regions seriously and its members can start by using next week’s visit to connect with community leaders to learn what our priorities are and then ensure they are delivered.

Huge test of faith

IT may go down as one of the greatest Test matches of all time, but for Australian cricket fans the loss to England in the Third Test will take a lot of getting over.

After England were skittled for just 67 in their first innings, Australian should never have lost.

The target set for England to win was probably about 50 runs short of being perfect, but the expectation was that it would still be enough.

And when England lost its ninth wicket with 73 runs still needed for victory it seemed that did not matter and the win was all but secured.

However, England’s Ben Stokes had other ideas and single-handedly won the match for his team with a stunning unbeaten century.

Regardless of how painful the loss was to take, it confirmed that Test cricket is still the ultimate form of the game.

Bring on the Fourth Test.