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16 Jul 2021
Qantas is launching direct flights from Brisbane to the Whitsunday Coast for the first time in seven years.
From 17 September 2021, QantasLink will operate up to seven weekly return flights between Whitsunday Coast Airport (WCA) and Brisbane with its 74-seat Q400 turboprop aircraft, adding more than 1,000 seats on the route each week.
The new service will complement Jetstar flights to the Whitsunday Coast from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Between Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, the group has now launched more than 45 new routes since international borders closed, around half of which are into Queensland.
Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Andrew Willcox said it had been a dream of his to lure the flying kangaroo back to WCA and offer more choice for the corporate and premium leisure market.
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The Whitsundays will facilitate Queensland’s first foray into the multi-trillion-dollar global space industry, after a feasibility study found a site at Abbot Point, north of Bowen, is suitable for rocket launches.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the government was committed the development of launch infrastructure, and keen to work with private investors and local stakeholders on a plan for the Abbot Point site, with venture-backed Gilmour Space Technologies already expressing significant interest.
Mr Miles said the government’s aim was to “position the state to have the potential to meet longer-term, broader industry requirements” and this may result in multiple launch facilities being developed, likely along the coast.
Cr Willcox said these premiums were double the rest of Australia. It is not just homeowners who are struggling with high premiums, but also our tourism accommodation and marine operators face similar prohibitive expenses, he said. We are advocating for the Federal Government to underwrite cyclone insurance for North Queensland to bring our premiums in line with the rest of Australia. Everyone is happy to put their hands out for a share of our region s huge mining royalties, food from our horticulture and meat from our graziers, so it is only fair we get some financial relief to protect our key industries from financial stress.
Whitsundays face rising insurance costs as cyclone season nears, but ACCC may have solutions
ThuThursday 14
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ThuThursday 14
Whitsundays Mayor Andrew Wilcox says premiums went through the roof after Cyclone Debbie hit.
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North Queensland residents are divided on how best to respond to rising insurance costs as the region enters cyclone season.
Key points:
Dawson MP George Christensen says the ACCC s recommendations do not go far enough
Its report found 20 per cent of northern Australians live without insurance due to its rising costs
Strata insurance in the Whitsundays rose 145 per cent between 2008-09 and 2018-19
Margaret Shaw knows firsthand the impact rising insurance costs have on home owners and residents across the Whitsundays.