THE MUD FIGHT

affect one grower affects them all. The electorate has also been tipped to become the home of eco-tourism in Queensland.

A proposed Paluma to Wallaman Falls multi-day trail has long been boasted as a key tourism drawcard for the region. A business case has been completed but no one has committed to the 125km proposed walking and mountain biking trail.

The walk is expected to compliment the popular Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island and create further opportunity for the region.

Building and renovations schemes announced by the state and federal governments to bounce back from COVID-19, are also a gripe in the area as they are not fit for purpose in the region.

In Ingham houses are vacant for extended periods with no real help available for first-home buyers looking to enter the market by purchasing an existing property.

The Hinchinbrook Chamber of Commerce has called for the First

Home Buyer’s Grant to be expanded in regional areas.

President Rachael Coco said the First-home Buyer’s Grant and Renovation Rebate for Regional Queensland needed to apply to purchasing existing homes.

The idea has the backing of the Master Builders North Queensland branch with management committee chairman John Mahlouzarides saying the renovation rebate will address the oversupply of existing homes in regional areas and “offer a boost to the construction industry”.

“Namely, by making the current housing stock more attractive to potential buyers as the rebate will be used to renovate older housing stock,” he wrote.

Ms Coco said the chamber was also calling for a more skilled workforce.

She said the last thing Hinchinbrook needed was more baristas but there were key courses in agriculture, business, hospitality, allied health and aged care, that would help upskill the region’s workforce.