A SIGNIFICANT turning point for the communities of rural and regional communities came this week with the handing down of the Rural Debt and Drought Taskforce final report.
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The recommendations of this report will reinvigorate farm businesses and rural towns which have been slowly dying across rural and regional Queensland.
As the Chairman of the Taskforce it’s been an honour to establish a long-term solution and recommend viable solutions for stability and growth.
We’ve been told time and time again there was adequate assistance to combat rural debt and the drought.
The consistent answer we heard at Taskforce meetings from those on the land was that these measures weren’t working.
This ‘head in the sand’ approach of successive governments clearly hasn’t worked and has left our rural communities in a precarious state.
To highlight the lack of suitable help, the failure of current drought assistance is proven clearly through the Australian National Audit Office's Federal Government's concessional loan scheme.
Out of 265 concessional loans as of December distributed last year - only four alone went out in the Mount Isa electorate, which is approximately a third of Queensland.
It’s blatantly clear that real and tangible help is required, and that is what the final report from the Taskforce recommends.
Our priority recommendation is the establishment of a Rural and Industries Development Bank and reconstruction authority.
This can be the catalyst for the revival of rural and regional Queensland.
Domestic Violence trial welcomed
IT was great to meet with the Honourable Quentin Bryce AD CVO, the Chair of Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland, in Mount Isa late last month.
This is an important topic for the Mount Isa electorate and it was a privilege to meet with key stakeholders about the issue.
It was great to get a more thorough understanding about this issue and how it impacts the people of our electorate.
I welcome the announcement by Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman and Dame Quentin Bryce of a new approach to responding to domestic and family violence with news of a new trial in Mount Isa.
With Mount Isa as a trial site for the integrated response services, it will determine the best way to respond to violence and abuse in homes of regional Queenslanders.
We have a band of local organisations, passionate volunteers and community advocates who work tirelessly to stamp out family and domestic violence.
It’s fantastic to hear they will be supported with the trial of an integrated response service in Mount Isa.
