Fast-tracked and finished Bruce Highway upgrades are at the top of Wide Bay MP Llew O Brien s wish list for 2021 following a shocking spate of crashes to start the new year. The safety fixes were one of several things Mr O Brien said the region needed, joined by a reduced cost of living, job creation and improving services. And, of course, securing a four-lane future in the region s north. There s been a shocking number of crashes on the Bruce Highway around these areas during the Christmas holidays, and I d like to see these works fast tracked and completed as soon as possible, Mr O Brien said.
This did not mean there were not a few pitfalls which needed to be dodged.
Chief among these was COVID-19, along with the potential long-term impact of the eventual cuts to Jobseeker and Jobkeeper payments and the debt incurred to provide them in the first place. Mr Perrett says there is a need for a new police station and more police in the Mary Valley. Photo Lachie Millard Words Peter Hall
“Governments’ success has been predicated on a vaccine arriving,” Mr Perrett said.
“Let’s hope the vaccine works.”
A big part of his optimism was that, even with the crisis of the past nine months, the overall risk to the region was “fairly low”.
The interactive map of the Cooloola Coast shows the location of all the derelict vessels in the region. Another four derelicts vessels in the inlet have yet to be removed, and six more have been identifed as possible risks. Boaties are glad to see the back of them, but it comes at a cost. Noosa Commercial Boatman s Association spokesman Craig McGovern welcomed Maritime Safety Queensland s four-year, $20 million War on Wrecks program. He told News Corp, abandoned, unsightly and unsafe houseboats have been a bone of contention. for decades . They re a danger and they re polluting the river and they end up getting vandalised and the tinny rats get on them and make it worse, Mr McGovern said.
Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O Brien said the regions were part of a south-east Queensland rainforest area targeted for environmental recovery under the Liberal and Nationals Government s $200 million wildlife and habitat recovery package. The importance of Wide Bay s environment is recognised locally and internationally with its stunning landscapes containing many threatened plant and animal species, particularly in the fire-affected Great Sandy National Park, Mr O Brien said. This additional bushfire recovery investment will fund on-ground activities in the area such as pest animal control for deer, cattle and pigs and for predators like foxes and feral cats on private property adjacent to the heritage areas and national parks.