LNP shadow minister David Crisafulli has stressed the importance of opening the borders when the North West Star caught up with him on his tour of Queensland this week.
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The LNP shadow minister for tourism and the environment is considered future leadership potential and he clocking up the kilometres as he promotes Queensland tourism driving from Coolangatta to Cairns and out to Cloncurry and beyond.
Mr Crisafulli said there were two reasons for his trip out west,
"One is to promote to those who have the time and the capacity to holiday to do it in Queensland and your decision to come into a community at the moment can mean the difference between their mortgage repayments or having their home repossessed, that's how serious it is," Mr Crisafulli said.
"The second reason is (we want) the government to stick to their plans to open the borders in July."
Mr Crisafulli acknowledged there was opposition to reopening the border quickly, particularly out west.
"But I make the point we started this campaign about flattening the curve which was all about having ill people lining up for hospital beds that weren't ready, that's well and truly been avoided, and I don't think that every time we have a couple of incidents we have to go back into the bedroom and put the doona over our heads, " he said.
"We've got to strike the balance between economic, health and mental wellbeing and at the moment unless the borders are open there are swathes of business that won't get back on their feet."
Mr Crisafulli said social distancing, thorough washing and other changes to daily life have made a difference and we cannot use the barometer of no one catching the disease because the effect could be felt for generations.
"We have to learn to live with it, It doesn't mean it should be open slather, but it means we should be disciplined health-wise but we've got to get back to work," he said.
With an election looming in October, Mr Crisafulli said the LNP were ready to govern and offered a balance between Queensland's social and economic needs.
"Right now we need to get people working again, I look at the things that have been hurting and there's mining because of the anti-everything brigade, agriculture,because of the lack of understanding of the farmers' ability to manage their workforce and their land, manufacturing where we walked away from making things any more," he said.
"We need a change of government and I think there will be a change of government."
In his own portfolio, he said there were opportunities for regional and outback Queensland
"Tourism is as bad as it's been, but people won't go overseas like they have, that will change forever, and I reckon there is an ability for the Outback to market themselves to the states as an authentic destination, to go an experience something unique, the quality of the offering I saw in Longreach and Winton is world class," he said.
"The lure of the holiday in the Outback is something that will remain with them forever."
Mr Crisafulli also pledged full support for leader Deb Frecklington barely weeks after rumours of a leadership challenge.
"I made the point that you should judge people by actions not words," he said.
"I did a press conference in Brisbane and I looked them all in the eye and I asked them was there anyone in that (media) gallery that heard me say anything bad about Deb Frecklington. They said no."
Mr Crisafulli said he then asked the same question in the party room or whether he had "picked up the phone and hustled for numbers" and got the same answer.
"I'm not very good at that, what I am good at is finding a way forward for Queensland," he said.
"We owe it to the state to work together and I'm hundred miles an hour to make it a success."
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
