Surf-Lifesavers
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Dec 05 2008
2008 >>

Question:

Mr LAWLOR: My question without notice is to the Premier. Surf-lifesavers are not only icons here in Queensland; they also play a vital role in keeping our beaches safe. Can the Premier inform the
House how the government is supporting this organisation?

Answer:

Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. I think we all know—and the member for Southport certainly knows, as someone who has the great fortune to live near a beautiful beach—that the red and yellow flags are synonymous with the beaches of Queensland and beaches around the country.

A government member: They’re iconic.

Ms BLIGH: They are iconic. There are 59 clubs around the state with more than 36,000 members involved. They keep our beaches safe and they do a terrific job. I am very pleased they were named a Queensland Great in 2007. I want to acknowledge all of those people who gave very generously last weekend to Channel 9’s annual Surf Safe Appeal. I understand they raised a record $642,000, so well
done.

Our surf-lifesavers not only save lives; they compete, they have fun and they keep fit. In October I was very pleased to announce that the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships would be coming back to where I have always believed they belong, and that is to the Gold Coast. The Aussies, as they are known, will now be headquartered at Kurrawa Beach and they will compete there at least seven times between 2010 and 2022. This is another example of our government’s commitment to the Gold Coast—one of the fastest growing parts of Australia and one of the most important parts of Queensland
and the south-east.

This stands in sharp contrast, though, to the views of the Gold Coast held by those opposite. As revealed in the last sitting of the parliament or the one before, the Leader of the Opposition has never
even been to that great Gold Coast iconic event the Indy, and I am prepared to bet he will not be at the A1, either. He is not even in the parliament this morning.

When the Liberal National Party formed, one of the things its members said in their first days was that they would put their headquarters at the Gold Coast. Nearly five months later, there is nothing at the Gold Coast. The Leader of the Opposition has not even been to the Indy. I understand that the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce invited him to be a guest speaker and he cancelled on them. So much for the Liberal National Party caring about the Gold Coast!

Mr Lucas: His loss was their gain.

Ms BLIGH: It may be true that his cancellation was the Gold Coast’s gain. Of course, the Liberal National Party not only has a recycled leader; it is recycling every single one of its candidates down
there on the Gold Coast. A former expelled member of the Liberal Party who failed in the 2008 council elections is running in Broadwater, a failed Liberal state candidate for Burleigh is running again, the National who lost his seat in 2006 is running again in Gaven, and the failed Liberal candidate is running again in Mudgeeraba. So much for offering a fresh new voice to the Gold Coast. Instead we have no office, no attendance, cancelling functions and offering the public nothing more than the same old recycled products that they have rejected in the past.

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