Last week’s State of the Region event was an absolute ripper and without doubt one of the strongest signals yet that the Whitsundays is thinking bigger, aiming higher and shaping its own future. More than 200 business, industry and community leaders came together at the Proserpine Entertainment Centre for Council’s third annual event, and the energy in the room was something special. This wasn’t just another talk fest. It was about bringing the right people together, building partnerships, creating confidence and making sure the Whitsundays is firmly in the conversation when it comes to regional growth, investment and Brisbane Olympics 2032 opportunities. The theme was simple — thinking big and that’s exactly what our region is doing. From economic development and new investment opportunities to our bold push to position the Whitsundays as the Home of Olympic Sailing for the 2032 Games, the message was clear: this region is not waiting for the future, we are actively shaping it. It was fantastic to welcome Minister Amanda Camm, Minister Dale Last, Small Business Commissioner Dominique Lamb, Olympic champions and industry leaders to the event. Hearing firsthand that the Whitsundays is already ahead of many others in embracing the Olympic opportunity was incredibly encouraging and reinforces that our region is on the right track. Just as importantly, we also brought almost 100 student leaders into the conversation, ensuring our next generation is part of shaping what comes next. That future focus continued the following day when Council helped coordinate a special swim clinic with four-time Olympic gold medallist Cate Campbell at the Proserpine Pool. Seeing around 80 young local swimmers inspired by one of Australia’s great athletes was a fantastic reminder that big dreams start in regional communities like ours. Council is committed to backing our young people, our sporting future and our broader regional growth. The Whitsundays is on the rise. We’ve got momentum, vision and opportunity and if last week proved anything, it’s that this region is ready to think big and deliver.

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The Federal Government has committed almost $92 million towards protecting and restoring the Great Barrier Reef in Tuesday night’s Federal Budget, in a move expected to deliver flow-on benefits for tourism communities across the Whitsundays, Mackay and North Queensland. The Budget includes $91.8 million over two years from 2026–27 for reef protection and restoration activities, including funding for reef restoration projects, sustainability initiatives and tourism stewardship programs. Funding allocations include: $86.8 million over two years from 2026–27 to continue reef protection activities, reef restoration projects and support implementation of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan $5 million in 2026–27 to continue reef monitoring, protection and stewardship activities through the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative The measure extends previous Reef 2050 sustainability and reef restoration funding programs announced in earlier Federal Budgets and election commitments. Budget papers showed additional environmental funding measures across the Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water portfolio, including: $9.1 million in 2026–27 towards establishing a domestic gas reservation $20 million in 2026–27 and $20.3 million in 2027–28 for environmental reforms $58 million in 2026–27 and $46.8 million in 2027–28 to continue protecting Australia’s native species $16 million in 2026–27 for continued water reform measures $3.2 million for Australian marine parks and marine park management $19.9 million to strengthen carbon crediting and emissions reporting systems Additional funding for reef protection through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority includes $20.3 million in 2026–27 and $14.6 million in 2027–28. The Federal Government said the funding would continue activities aimed at protecting reef ecosystems while supporting long-term tourism sustainability. The announcement is expected to be welcomed by tourism operators across the Whitsundays, where the reef remains a major economic driver supporting marine tourism, hospitality and local jobs. Alongside environmental spending, the Federal Government said the Budget focused heavily on cost-of-living relief, fuel security, housing affordability and productivity reforms amid ongoing global economic pressures. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Budget was aimed at helping Australians manage rising costs while building long-term economic resilience. “This is a responsible Budget that is all about resilience and reform,” Mr Albanese said. “It’s all about getting Australians through the global oil shock and building an economy that works for more people.” Among the headline national measures announced were new tax relief for workers through a $250 Working Australians Tax Offset, a $1,000 instant tax deduction, temporary fuel excise relief, housing supply initiatives and expanded healthcare access. The Government also unveiled a $14.8 billion fuel resilience package, including a $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility and a $3.2 billion Australian Fuel Security Reserve. However, while reef funding featured prominently, there was little direct infrastructure spending announced specifically for the Mackay or Whitsunday regions in the Budget papers released Tuesday night. One of the largest Queensland transport commitments announced was $812.5 million for Stage 2 of the Bruce Highway upgrade between the Gateway Motorway and Dohles Rocks Road in South East Queensland. The absence of major new Bruce Highway commitments for regional North Queensland is likely to fuel ongoing concerns around road safety, freight reliability and flood resilience on northern sections of the highway frequently used by Mackay and Whitsunday residents. The Budget also included $1 million over two years from 2026–27 for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to maintain the North Queensland home insurance comparison website, aimed at helping residents navigate rising insurance premiums across cyclone-prone regions. Additional funding measures announced for Far North Queensland included $1.1 million in 2026–27 to Cape and Torres Health Commissioning Ltd to continue providing culturally appropriate healthcare services for First Nations people in Far North Queensland. The Government will also extend the delivery timeframe of the Preventive Health Programs in Far North Queensland election commitment by one year to 30 June 2027, to finalise delivery of locally tailored preventive health services in Cairns and Far North Queensland. Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox criticised the Budget, describing it as a “budget of broken promises and cuts” that failed regional Queensland. “Regional Australians in Dawson are the innocent victims of Labor’s all-out assault on aspiration,” Mr Willcox said. He described the Budget as a “high-tax, high-spending blueprint” that abandoned regional Australians. “Labor is attempting to distract families with a $250 tax benefit that most people won’t even see in their bank accounts until 2028,” he said. “This is a slap in the face, it doesn't even cover the promised $275 power bill reduction that Anthony Albanese failed to deliver.” Across the Budget, Mr Willcox claimed regional Australians faced more than $11 billion in cuts, including: $6.15 billion from the Inland Rail project $4.7 billion from infrastructure spending $103 million from the National Water Grid $191.6 million from pest, disease, regional trade and drought funding $21.4 million from regional communications funding Mr Willcox also criticised the Government’s renewable energy and migration policies. “This Budget reveals that Labor will spend another $18.2 billion on net zero,” he said. “Labor’s net zero spending now equals at least $80 billion. Labor plans for almost 300,000 people to migrate to Australia next financial year. “Labor has flown the white flag on trying to increase the wealth of Australians. This Budget does not invest in new roads, new dams and new mines to increase Australia’s economy.” Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the budget as "the most important and ambitious in decades”, delivering "a fairer tax system for workers, first home buyers and future generations”. According to Mr Chalmers the plan focuses on ‘reform’, to ‘level the playing field for first home buyers’, and support workers through "the most meaningful, permanent increase to the effective tax-free threshold since Labor last increased it more than a decade ago.” In his speech Mr Chalmers also highlighted that the budget delivers the largest savings package "on record", with $63.8 billion in savings. Further details on regional funding allocations and project delivery are expected to emerge in coming days as councils, tourism bodies, industry groups and Federal MPs continue analysing the Budget’s impact on Mackay, the Whitsundays and wider North Queensland. Federal Member For Dawson Andrew Willcox called the 2026 Federal Budget a ‘slap in the face.’ Photo supplied