Member for Southport Peter Lawlor said works totalling more than $7.7 million would commence mid-year at Southport Special School and neighbouring Musgrave Hill State School.

“We need to ensure Southport Special School has the facilities and capacity to accommodate a steadily growing body of students,” Mr Lawlor said.

“A brand-new two-storey building will be established on the site, comprising seven general classrooms, a new library, outside play area and bathroom facilities.

“This is a great investment for our local community.”

“Outdoor learning areas and covered walkway connections will link the new block to existing school buildings.

Mr Lawlor said works at Southport Special School provided an opportune time to address site access concerns faced by both schools.

“Associated works include a new car park, set-down area and covered multi-purpose court at Musgrave Hill State School.

“Both schools will benefit from these extensions and upgrades.

“The extra facilities and improved learning environment will be a huge benefit to students of both Southport Special School and Musgrave Hill State School, and I look forward to seeing the results of construction in the future.”

Funding for the project was included in the Department of Education and Training’s 2011-2012 capital works program.

A new Labor Government will invest $7.5 million over the next three years to provide a permanent police helicopter for the Gold Coast.

Premier Anna Bligh said the trial of a police helicopter currently underway on the coast had proven the use of the aircraft was beneficial to fighting crime in the area.

“In July last year Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke agreed the council would provide $500,000 for the trial of the helicopter.

“The Queensland Police Service provided an officer to accompany each flight as well as communications equipment to keep the helicopter connected to the police radio network,” said the Premier. 

“In the first three months of the trial, the helicopter was tasked more than 520 times on a wide range of activities including patrols of known ‘hot spots’, surveillance, traffic management, searches and drug crop identification.”

The Premier said that feedback from police was that the aircraft had proven itself to be a useful additional tool in their ongoing efforts to maintain community safety on the Gold Coast.

“That’s why a new Labor Government will provide funding for the Queensland Police Service for a permanent police helicopter to the based on the Gold Coast,” she said.

“Our $7.5 million commitment will enable the service to lease a helicopter and operate it for an average 15 hours per week.”

Ms Bligh said the aircraft will be based on the Gold Coast and the company will be responsible for the cost of a pilot; supplying dedicated aircraft maintenance; aircraft accommodation and a replacement helicopter when the main aircraft is unavailable.

“My government is committed to giving the Queensland Police Service the resources it needs to keep the community safe,” she said.

“During this term of government the number of sworn police officers in Queensland has grown by more than 600, which has taken the total number to more than 10,650.

“Thanks to the strong investment in policing by successive Labor governments, the overall rate of crime in Queensland decreased by 30 per cent between 2000/01 and 2010/11.

“We are committed to continuing the work of decreasing crime rates to ensure our state remains safe and secure.”

Member for Southport Peter Lawlor said: “This is a great boost for crime fighting on the Coast and locals will be comforted when they see the police helicopter on patrol.”

Member for Broadwater Peta-Kaye Croft said: “Clocking up more than 500 jobs in just three months has well and truly shown the worth of a police presence in the sky.” 

Member for Burleigh Christine Smith said: “This sends a message to all criminals that you can run but it’s that much harder to hide.”

Member for Albert Margaret Keech said: “From gathering intelligence to patrolling crime hot spots to hunting down criminals on the run – the helicopter is a major asset for Gold Coast police.”

The bill ensures that residential and small business customers in the local government areas of the Gold Coast, Logan and Redlands will continue to benefit from the CPI price cap. The CPI cap provides price relief by limiting distribution and retail water and wastewater price increases until the end of June 2013. The Queensland Competition Authority currently has a price-monitoring role for the three distributor-retailers—Unitywater, Queensland Urban Utilities and Allconnex Water. The QCA published its report, the SEQ draft interim price monitoring report for 2011-12, on 1 February of this year. The QCA in its report noted that the three distributor-retailers have complied with the CPI cap. The council water businesses will be subject to the QCA’s price-monitoring role at the end of the CPI cap—that is, from 1 July 2013. From 1 July 2013 the 10 SEQ councils will be responsible and accountable to their community for setting water and wastewater retail prices. Councils must have a price mitigation plan and implement price increases through a price path of at least five years, moderating any increases.

There has been some mention by people on our side but certainly not on the other side of the letter that was sent on behalf of the Council of Mayors on 29 May 2009 and which was signed by Campbell Newman, the leader of the LNP. It is interesting that Mr Newman has sent that letter and now everyone on the LNP side wants to run away from it. Australia’s No. 1 state needs strong and transparent leadership. Campbell Newman offers neither. Late last year he told Queenslanders that his pecuniary interests had not been changed from the time he was Lord Mayor. That was not the truth. After 32 days of public scrutiny, he was forced to declare eight additional properties, interests in five other companies and income from a consultancy, Ultrex. He claimed he would not be earning a cent as the LNP candidate for Ashgrove. That was wrong. We now know that he gets $13,200 a month.

 Mr DICKSON: I rise to a point of order on relevance. Has this got anything to do with the bill whatsoever?

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr O’Brien): I do apologise. I was distracted there for a moment.

 Mr LAWLOR: Mr Deputy Speaker, it goes to the bill in the sense—

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry. The member has the call.

 Mr LAWLOR: It goes to the bill in the sense that I am getting back to this letter that they are all trying to run away from right now in terms of giving other examples of a lack of transparency on behalf of their leader, Mr Newman, the LNP leader. The LNP paid Mr Newman a consultancy fee through Ultrex. There are only two directors—that is, Mr Newman and his wife. The man who wants to be Premier owns and runs his own consultancy. Queenslanders do not know—

Mr DICKSON: I rise to a point of order again, Mr Deputy Speaker. I just want to know what this has to do with the bill. If you could clarify that please.

Honourable members interjected.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, order! I thought the member did make a reference to the bill before the House, so I am happy to hear him further and just urge him to be relevant to the bill.

Mr LAWLOR: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Queenslanders do not know who else he might be working for. That raises serious questions—as this letter does in relation to this bill—which must be answered by Mr Newman. The Australian tax office has legal requirements regarding the declaration of income. The threshold question for anyone who runs a consultancy like Mr Newman is does more than 80 per cent of the income come from one client?

 Mr DICKSON: I rise to a point of order again, Mr Deputy Speaker.

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Southport, resume your seat.

 Mr DICKSON: I am just looking for the relevance in this discussion that the member is having.

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: There has been a debate that has ensued tonight that has spoken about decisions that have been made with regard to the water grid. The member is referring to a letter by former Councillor Newman regarding his position on this water bill. I would think that that would be relevant to the bill before the House and certainly relevant to the debate given some of the political statements that have been made by the member for Maroochydore and the member for Coomera. The member has the call.

 Mr DICKSON: I concur, Mr Deputy Speaker, but it is outside the bill.

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no debate. That is the decision. The member for Southport has the call.

 Mr LAWLOR: So Mr Newman is an employee of the LNP, so for taxation purposes he is a PAYE employee and he should be paying 37 per cent in tax and also the flood levy. But the LNP is not paying Mr Newman as an employee and the LNP’s own ECQ return reveals that it is paying Ultrex Consulting. So he has a few questions to answer here, just as he has with this letter that he sent on 29 May 2009.

 The questions in relation to his—

 Mr Dickson: Can you table it?

Mr LAWLOR: I am happy to table it. It has already been tabled, but when I am finished with it I am happy to table it. So does Mr Newman receive income from multiple clients through Ultrex? If so, who are they? Or is he in breach of the tax act? Queenslanders are entitled to know. And does he pay the flood levy?

Getting back to the letter—which has been tabled before, but I am happy to table this copy of it— amongst other things he says in the opening paragraph directed to the Treasurer at the time—

The Council of Mayors (SEQ) acknowledge your willingness to consider a mutually agreed alternative to the model proposed by the Queensland Water Commission.

 It goes on—

Councils strongly support water businesses as separate legal entities, commercial in focus, and subject to appropriate asset and economic regulatory frameworks. We also support the development of a more rigorous service standard and customer protection framework to accompany the shift in accountabilities from councils to the new entities.

 Entirely supportive of the model that was put up at the time. It goes on on page 2—

The model has been endorsed by nine of the ten Mayors representing 95% of residents in South East Queensland.

 That is signed by Campbell Newman, then chairman of the SEQ Council of Mayors and of course at the time the Lord Mayor of Brisbane city. I am happy to table that. It was tabled, as I understand it, on 15 September 2010, but I am happy to table it again.

Tabled paper: Letter, dated 29 May 2009, from Mr Campbell Newman, Chairman, Council of South East Queensland Mayors, to Hon. Andrew Fraser MP, Treasurer, Minister for Employment and Economic Development, and Hon. Stephen Robertson MP, Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and Minister for Trade, regarding alternative model for water businesses.

On other issues, there have been various media and council comments on the state bulk water price. It is important that bulk water prices are put in the proper context. Bulk water charges account for around 28 per cent of the average residential water and sewerage bill. The Queensland government has already played its part in keeping bulk water prices low and water security high by ensuring that residents are no longer reliant on a single source of supply such as a local dam and uncertainty of rainfall and establishing a bulk water price path to gradually increase bulk water prices over a 10-year period; by foregoing a commercial return on its investment and drought proofing South-East Queensland; and by accepting a $438 million financial loss for water supplied to the council owned water businesses for the 2010-11 financial year, effectively a subsidy of $375.18 per residential and non-residential property.

 It also provides a South-East Queensland pensioner with a water subsidy which, for 2011-12, has increased to $120. Bulk water prices support the South-East Queensland water grid, which connects South-East Queensland key water sources, including climate-resilient supplies such as desalination and purified recycled water, and provides long-term water security for South-East Queensland residents.

Additional water supply infrastructure will not be needed until around 2027, provided residential consumption stays below the voluntary 200 litres per person per day over the long term.

I understand that the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Mr Seeney, has in the last week or so sent letters to both the Logan and Redland councils assuring them that, if this bill was debated in the final week of the term of this government, the LNP would be supporting it. Similar noises have been made by other members here today. In fact, members such as the member for Glass House said that the bill provides certainty. What sort of certainty do those councils really have? How much reliance can we place on those comments when we see comments from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and one of the alternative premiers? I suppose Mr Seeney is one alternative Premier and another may be Mr Nicholls. Certainly, on 7 December 2011 in the Gold Coast Bulletin the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tim Nicholls, said that if they win—

… we will be moving to implement our four-point water plan.

He said—

It will mean Allconnex will still exist.

I repeat: ‘Will still exist’.

Mr Ryan: On what date did he say that?

Mr LAWLOR: That was on 7 December—a matter of eight weeks ago. Mr Nicholls went on to state—

Under the LNP’s four-point plan there would be one bulk water entity in the southeast but the control of water retailing would be handed back to councils, non-performing assets would be written off and a 40-year debt repayment plan would be adopted.

Even the Mayor of the Gold Coast City Council, Cr Clarke, said in relation to the comments by Mr Nicholls—

I think they are purposely not giving us a clear definition of what they are intending to do because they are not sure themselves.

So much for the certainty that is being promised by members of the opposition. There are certainly plenty of rumours going around about what will happen after the next election in the unlikely event that the opposition takes over the Treasury benches. What will it do? Does the fact that Allconnex will still exist mean that the Gold Coast City Council will still be free to get out of Allconnex? Does it mean that the Logan and Redland city councils will be compensated? What exactly does it mean?

 Again, on 9 February of this year—a matter of only a week or two ago—Mr Nicholls, the member for Clayfield, is quoted as saying that the ‘legislation would be scrapped and reworked if the LNP won government’. How does that provide any certainty for any employees of the Gold Coast, Redland or Logan City councils? Where is the certainty there when you are giving an undertaking to scrap and rework this legislation?

 So what is the opposition’s position on this issue? Do we believe the Leader of the Opposition in this parliament, Mr Seeney? Do we believe the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the member for Clayfield? What is the position anyway of the third alternative Premier, Mr Newman? What is his position on this issue, given this letter that he wrote some years ago? Considering he put up and supported the model, what is his position? We have not heard from him. Is he waiting in order to try to avoid scrutiny from the media? Is he running around North Queensland at the moment trying to avoid the scrutiny when all the journalists are down here? Really, ratepayers of the Gold Coast, the Redland and the Logan city councils are entitled to know what the position is. Is it the position of Mr Seeney? Is it the position of Tim Nicholls where he said that the legislation would be scrapped and reworked if the LNP won government? Or is there a third option—the option of Mr Newman?

 Mr Dickson interjected.

 Mr LAWLOR: Have you a fourth option?

 Mr Dickson interjected.

 Mr LAWLOR: You are trying to pass yourself off as the alternative government.

 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr O’Brien): Order! The member for Southport will refer his comments through the chair.

 Mr LAWLOR: The member for Buderim is trying to pass that side of the House off as the alternative government, yet on this important legislation—legislation that has such a critical effect on the ratepayers, the constituents of the Gold Coast, Redland and Logan city councils—they have as far as we know three positions. In fact, from what the member for Buderim is saying, maybe it is even a fourth position. So which one is it? Make a choice.

This is an excerpt from the speeches on this topic. To the the full discussion please go to Hansard. http://bit.ly/yyk12A

Mr LUCAS: Since 2007 we have had the Do Not Call Register, which has protected members of the community from unsolicited telephone calls. At the ministerial council on 9 December I raised the consumer view of a ‘do not knock’ register, and that proposal has been strongly supported by the Queensland Consumers Association. The ACCC is taking the lead on progressing that matter. I think it is very important to many Queenslanders.

The one group of Queenslanders to whom such a register would be most important is the residents of Ashgrove. Last week we saw the results of the ReachTEL poll. As soon as Campbell Newman was panicked, he did a Michael Caltabiano and pulled in all the resources from everywhere else and sent out his shadow cabinet. I am told reliably that, rather than ReachTEL having to ring the next lot of people for its next survey, ReachTEL is already being told, ‘Don’t send them around. We won’t vote for them.’

Let us have a look at the doorknocking that the poor people of Ashgrove would have to put up with. There would be the member for Clayfield at the door—‘No, sorry, sir. Ballymore is three kilometres further into the city.’ We would have the member for Caloundra—‘No, sorry, we don’t want aluminium cladding or our roof painted.’ The member for Callide—‘Hey, darl, a bloke just came campaigning for Campbell Newman and said we shouldn’t vote for him.’ The member for Kawana—‘The paperboy is here, darl. Do we have any money for him?’ Or the member for Maroochydore—‘No, sorry. We’re Catholics here.’ The member for Indooroopilly—‘Hey, there’s a guy with a fake tan at the door. Do we need the pool cleaned?’ Or the member for Currumbin—‘Hey, the doctor’s wife up the road is complaining about the kids.’

One thing about those on the other side is for sure: when they are out there, they agree on nothing. They would have to be the greatest debacle of a shadow frontbench. Every house they doorknock in Ashgrove raises more questions about the leadership of the LNP. Imagine having a leader so spooked that he has to have a mass doorknocking campaign in an electorate he is running in! We know this about ReachTEL: due to the nature of its sampling, it overestimates the conservative vote.

That says that Kate Jones, an outstanding local member, is the one whom people want in their community. No amount of sending out the members opposite frightening the kids, scaring the dogs and making the birds fly away will change that. They are unelectable. For 20 years they have not been able to govern themselves. They are a joke, they are a rabble—and, by God, it is good to have another three days.

Mr Lawlor said 10 local organisations will share in the new funding, enabling more services for people with a disability and older Queenslanders.

“The Bligh Labor Government is delivering an extra $382,406 for home and community care services in the Southport Electorate,” Mr Lawlor said.

“It’s a important boost which will help more local residents to live independently for longer in their own homes and communities.

“The funding is going to real grassroots organisations with a strong track record of delivering quality frontline services.

“These organisations are reaching out into the heart of the community and making a real difference to people’s quality of life.

“The services they deliver include domestic assistance, personal care, social support, home modifications, transport, and respite care.”

Disability Services Minister Curtis Pitt said the extra funding for Southport is part of a $40 million boost to the joint State-Commonwealth Home and Community Care (HACC) program.

Mr Pitt said the Statewide program is worth $523 million to Queensland in 2011-12.

“Queensland has around 800 home and community workers who deliver crucial services to over 170,000 Queenslanders,” Mr Pitt said.

“We need to ensure they have the resources they need so they can keep delivering quality services.

“Investing in home and community care services not only gives people a better quality of life, it also helps to reduce pressure on residential care and nursing homes.”

Mr Lawlor said the organisations to receive a share of the extra funding in Southport include:

• Alzheimer’s Australia Gold Coast Services – $98,980
• Churches of Christ Care South Coast HACC Services – $8,000
• FSG Australia – $57,838
• Gold Coast and Districts Home Care Meals on Wheels and Senior Citizens Welfare Organisation – $13,000
• Gold Coast Community Connections – $61,558
• Gold Coast Community Transport Inc – $35,000
• HACC Home Modification Services (Gold Coast) – $35,000
• Home Modification & Maintenance Program – Gold Coast – $30,030
• MCCGC Aged Care Services – $35,000
• Ozcare – Ashmore Day Respite Centre – $8,000

“The one-stop shop for sports will be held at Broadwater Parklands from 10am till 1pm, making it easier for Mums and Dads to sign their kids up for winter sports,” Mr Lawlor said.

“The clubs will have an information stand inviting new members to find out information relating to training and meeting times, coaching and fees.

“There’ll be stalls promoting a range of sport and recreation opportunities including AFL, soccer, hockey, netball, rugby league and rugby union.

“There’re so many activities to choose from, and having all the clubs in one spot will make it a breeze for busy families.

“It’s also a great way for clubs to find volunteers and network with other groups.”

Mr Lawlor said will take the stress out of choosing a winter sport for children.

“Making sport fun and easily accessible is what this is all about.

“Under our Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland initiative, our goal is to help Queenslanders become Australia’s healthiest people.

“We’ve made the tough economic decisions to ensure we can continue to support local sport and recreation.

“Because of the strong leadership of the Bligh Government we are able to invest more in sport and recreation than any other state in the country.”

Locations across Queensland for the Super Sports Day include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Wide Bay, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Deception Bay, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Brisbane, Redlands, Logan and Gold Coast.

For more information, please go to www.communities.qld.gov.au/sportrec

Media contact: 3224 7081 or 3235 9236

For the last 12 months the Government has carried out early construction works in Southport to prepare the roadway for Stage One of the $1 billion Gold Coast light rail system. As part of these early works it was required that parts of the Southport Croquet Club were relocated.

The relocation process was streamlined through a strong partnership between the Croquet Club, construction contractor Seymour Whyte, Gold Coast City Council and the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project.

The Gold Coast Rapid Transit project relocated and re-established the three playing lawns, built a new, larger car park and added new perimeter fencing. The lawns themselves are now of a much higher quality, irrigation has been improved and an extensive upgrade to the sub soil drainage took place.

When the light rail begins operations in 2014, the club members and visitors will also have easy access to an adjacent station, adding to the appeal of the Southport club.

According to Club Project Liaison Officer Jim Northcott members of the Southport Croquet Club are looking forward to hammering the hoops into the new lawns and getting on with some friendly competition.

“We’re delighted that we were able to work closely with the light rail project to ensure that not only did we not have to move from the area but our members and the community now have the best set of mallet lawns in Australia,” Mr Northcott said.

The Southport Croquet Club has a proud history. It was established in 1935 and moved to its current location on the corner of Queen Street and Ada Bell Way in 1947. The club has around 50 members ranging in age from 11 to 102. Various mallet sports are played at the club and many inter-club regional and national and international competitions held on the lawns at Southport.

Southport also has a long and successful competitive history. In September 2010 they fielded the best performing team from Queensland at the World Gateball Championships in Shanghai, China. Gateball (the Japanese version of croquet) is one of the most popular participation sports in the world, with more than 10 million players worldwide.

The opening ceremony and events will take place on Saturday 11^th February from 9am until late. People are invited to come along and see the new facilities, watch demonstrations of various mallet sports by top players, and have a go themselves.

Early construction works in Southport for the light rail project are largely completed. The works involved moving services such as water, gas, telecommunications and electricity along with widening and levelling roads, upgrading intersections and restoring kerbs, paths and driveways in order to prepare the area for the construction of the light rail system.

While the early works were necessary for the introduction of light rail, they’ve also left a significant legacy for the community. For example, old water and sewage pipes have been replaced with new pipes, many overhead high and low voltage electrical cables have been placed underground to improve safety during storms and stormwater management has been improved, with flooding ‘hotspots’ such as Carey Lane receiving special attention.

The Queensland Government has appointed GoldLinQ to build the 13km Gold Coast light rail system from Griffith University to Broadbeach via Southport and Surfers Paradise. GoldLinQ commenced construction in early 2012.

The Gold Coast light rail is a green transport solution for the city and will be operational by 2014. The  system has the potential to move up to 75 000 passengers a day through key activity centres along the coastal strip between the new Gold Coast University Hospital and Broadbeach.

Background

The Southport early roadworks project created jobs for 1,500 Gold Coast based workers and at least $40 million has been spent locally on construction-related goods and services benefiting the local economy. Of the 60 major subcontractors and suppliers working on the Southport roadworks, 40 were local companies and approximately half of these organisations gained the experience and skills to achieve compliance with the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry which allows them to compete for future work on Australian Government-funded construction projects.

Multicultural Affairs Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the funding as part of the Bligh Government’s $4.287 million funding boost into multicultural Queensland.

State Member for Southport Peter Lawlor said the $85,968 funding would help to give Southport’s culturally diverse communities equitable access to services.

“This funding initiative is about recognising and supporting Southport’s cultural diversity and celebrating the richness these cultures bring to our community,” he said.

“The Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) initiative will provide $85,698 to the Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast for a multicultural community worker who will support the needs of local people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.”

“This funding has been allocated to Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast.”

Ms Palaszczuk said that the community workers supported by CAMS would provide community capacity building activities, undertake group advocacy and strengthen multiculturalism in the region.

“Southport is enriched through its multicultural diversity,” she said.

“By supporting Queensland’s regional areas the Queensland Government’s Toward Q2 initiative is delivering fairer communities for all Queenslanders – irrespective of race, religion or culture.

“By promoting community participation and embracing cultural diversity we make Queensland a fairer place to live, while developing a stronger sense of community.”

For more information about Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ), please visit www.communities.qld.gov.au/multicultural or call MAQ on 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

Media contact:  Southport Electorate Office 5532 5068

Funded by a $320,000 grant under the Bligh Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, the PCYC ran two parallel ‘Enhancing the Communities’ projects – one in Nerang and a second at the Southport State High School (SSHS) Farm doing repair and rebuilding work.

Eight of the 10 Nerang participants, who completed their training at the landscaping, building and beautification project at the Gold Coast Community Hub facility, have found full-time work, while seven of the participants at the SSHS Farm rebuilding and revamping project also have full-time jobs lined up. 

Member for Southport Peter Lawlor said the outcome could not be better for the 15 Gold Coast locals who have spring-boarded from the jobs skills project into full-time work.

“This is exactly what we know happens when you take people labelled as long-term unemployed and build up their confidence with skill development, workplace camaraderie and a regular pay packet – they find work, it’s as simple as that,” he said.

“It’s not a miracle, it makes sense. It’s the reason we run the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative – to break the unemployment cycle.”

Beenleigh PCYC Project Manager Marie Barber applauded the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative for putting long-term unemployed people back into work.

“We could not be happier – we have 15 out of our 20 graduating participants back into full-time work,” Ms Barber said. “And a further five graduates from the project, we feel, have every chance of finding a suitable work option with their newfound skills and improved work ethic,” Ms Barber said.

“Mostly the guys have gone into construction, landscaping, factory work, installing solar panels and one has become an apprentice carpenter. 

“Seventeen year-old Zakery Sharp got a job as an apprentice carpenter – he was unemployed for nearly a year and had never had a job before he commenced on the project. He is over the moon about his new job and I know he will be successful in his new career.”

Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining Stirling Hinchliffe said this financial year, the Bligh Government will invest $104 million in the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative to give an estimated 24,000 long-term unemployed and underemployed people job related assistance and skills training to maximise labour force participation and increase Queensland’s prosperity.

“Tracking shows us that twelve months after receiving assistance, more than two-thirds of participants are employed or undertaking further training.

For more information on the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, visit www.employment.qld.gov.au or call 1300 369 925.