This week I want to focus on Airlie Beach, the holiday capital of Queensland. An area of natural beauty, ample opportunity and a community of doers that just get on with the job at hand. This collaboration and fostering of working relationships are key to our region’s growth.
As we look to casting our votes in a few weeks, it is time to take measure of what the role of an elected member actually is. For me, it is very clear. You work to serve the people you represent. Your word should be backed by your actions and this is something I’m willing to be judged on.
Politics should never serve as a platform for ‘pushing’ your own agenda. When an elected official fails to listen to their constituents on key issues; they are failing to do their job.
Spending the last 12 months engaging with Whitsunday residents and tourism operators, I am very much aware of the key issues and just as importantly the key opportunities for people living in this community.
As someone who manages projects for a living, I can honestly say I am excited by proposed infrastructure developments for the Whitsundays. I recently met with local tourism operators and land-based tourist attractions were at the forefront of the agenda. Our patch needs an attraction that will ensure people stay in the area while the weather is rough offshore.
Projects such as the Sky Rail, a Reef Discovery Centre (doubling as a cyclone shelter) and Indigenous Cultural Centre are just a few that will entice people to stay in Airlie Beach for longer. There is great potential here and I will be advocating for projects like these because local vision deserves to become local reality.
The reef is central to tourism, it supports 64,000 jobs in Queensland and generates $6.4 billion in income. Whitsunday Tourism is a huge part of this and preserving national assets like the Great Barrier Reef is an important part of Labor’s plan for a Future Made in Australia.
To immediately boost conservation efforts and jobs, Labor will commit $85 million to scale up ‘shovel-ready’ work for coral to coast reef resilience and land restoration projects in reef catchments. We’ve committed to funding the Reef 2050 program through to the end of the decade, committing an extra $63 million over the forward estimates. Australia’s incredible natural environment is part of who we are as a country and is a drawcard for tourists all over the world. We need to shore up the future of these natural assets just like we do other parts of the economy.
I will end this week’s column where I started; actions speak louder than words and the leaders of both parties have shown this.
In a clear demonstration that we are taken for granted and don’t matter, Morrison hasn’t set foot in the electorate. He’s flown over the top of us twice to Cairns for announcements. Then bunny hopped down the coastline for photo ops, skipping Dawson completely.
Albo on the other hand, drove the length of Queensland recently. Spent three consecutive days in the Dawson electorate speaking with farmers in Bowen over a beer, had a working breakfast with tourism operators at the Coral Sea Resort and met with local industry and primary producers.
Only Labor will build a better future for the Whitsundays.
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