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22 May 2013 Questions Without Notice 1665 Mr NEWMAN: This is a far more relevant and important question to Queenslanders this afternoon, as tourism is one of the four economic pillars. We said that we would grow tourism. Our aim is to achieve $30 billion in overnight visitor expenditure by 2020. What have we been doing? In the first three months of this government we hosted the inaugural DestinationQ Forum in Cairns, with hundreds of tourism operators coming together from right across this state. We signed a historic partnership agreement with QTIC and committed to a 12-month action plan. Delivering on this plan tonight, I will be joined by Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games, the Hon. Jann Stuckey, to host the inaugural Queensland tourism investment forum. Tonight’s forum will bring together more than 100 key industry representatives, many of whom are potentially significant investors in our state in tourism ventures. Other investment initiatives to encourage investment in tourism include the establishment of a one-stop shop for tourism investment—that is, the Tourism Investment Attraction Unit—to link investors to tourism investment opportunities; cutting green tape by changing legislation to encourage private investment in sustainable ecotourism ventures in and around national parks; delivering tourism marketing activities; and attracting new and increased capacity on aviation routes. In the last few days Emirates have made a commitment to bring A380s into Brisbane resulting in 100,000 extra seats into Queensland each year. We are also getting development moving across Queensland. We are making real progress on streamlining the planning system. For example, for the first time our State Planning Policy recognises tourism as a land use. We are also working in partnership with the Brisbane City Council to create a positive environment for new hotel development, offering streamlined planning processes and case management support to assist investors, operators and developers to get the approvals they need and to start building. I note again that this government has approved the Jewel project on the Gold Coast as well as the Great Keppel Island redevelopment, a huge new opportunity for Central Queensland. We have also approved the Ella Bay project south of Cairns for which one would think the member for Mulgrave would be more appreciative. These approvals alongside yesterday’s announcement of the outcome of the competitive bidding process for the former Supreme and District Court site, which includes a 190-room hotel, demonstrates the government’s commitment to stimulating investment in major new tourism infrastructure projects. By investing in tourism we are creating a bigger economy and new job opportunities—exactly what is needed to create a stronger Queensland for the future. Commission of Audit Mr PITT: My question without notice is to the Premier. I refer to the fact that the Premier has previously likened our state’s economic performance to that of Spain, and I ask: does the Premier stand by the dire prediction in the final Costello report that Queensland’s labour force participation rate is likely to fall to 53.7 per cent, well below that of Spain’s current rate of 59 per cent? Mr NEWMAN: Firstly, I wish to ensure that I am not verballed, because members of the Labor Party are good at that; they are the masters of that. Sadly, our Prime Minister and her incompetent Treasurer and sidekick are masters of verbal, spin and nonsense. That is what we have seen today. I said that amongst the Australian states this state had the worst performing public sector finances. Let’s not be confused about what I said. I was saying we were the Spain of the Australian states. It was a comment meant as a comparison. In relation to the specific figure that the member has quoted, it is the lower bound estimate. ‘Indeed, what of it?’, I say. The point again is that the Costello report is pointing out the things that we have to do to get the state back on track. I could assume from the question that the member for Mulgrave perhaps thinks there is something wrong with those figures; he is worried about those figures. He cannot have it both ways. He cannot come in here today and use a figure and say, ‘Oh dear, here’s a figure in the report; it’s a problem,’ and then on another occasion—or, indeed, on many other occasions—say he does not believe in the Commission of Audit report. It is inconsistent and that is all we see from the party with no position whatsoever. We have to get the economy of Queensland going and we have to use all the people of Queensland to their best possible capacity to take the state forward. We know that we have a growing population. There will be huge challenges for the health system, for example. Honourable members will no doubt see in the budget some responses to some of those issues. We should not be saying to older people that they are not wanted in the workforce; we need their skills, expertise and particularly wisdom. God knows the opposition could use some of the wisdom of the past because there is not much wisdom opposite me this afternoon.
1666 Questions Without Notice 22 May 2013 I know they have talked about bringing back people like my predecessor in Ashgrove and that chap from Greenslopes. However, I would go further back. I would be going after Wayne Goss, Keith De Lacy and maybe even Terry Mackenroth because the budget was holding together reasonably well until Terry left and after that it really tanked. We know who the Treasurer was then. That is right, it was the former member for South Brisbane, the current member for South Brisbane’s little pal. That is when the rot set in. That is why we had the Commission of Audit report—those important findings, those important things that we as a government have committed to do to get this state back on track. South of Embley Bauxite Project Mr KEMPTON: My question without notice is to the Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning. Can the Deputy Premier inform the House of the significance of federal environment minister Tony Burke’s recent approval of the South of Embley bauxite project on Cape York? Mr SEENEY: I thank the member for Cook for the question. The approval that Tony Burke gave last week for the South of Embley Project is especially significant for the communities that the member for Cook represents. It is significant also for the Queensland economy because this is the sort of project that the Queensland economy will depend on in the future. It is significant also in that it is the second time that this project has been approved because in May last year the original approval was revoked by Tony Burke. He revoked that approval for that important project based on a single page of anonymous claims—and I will table a copy—and that project has been delayed for 12 months. Tabled paper: Media release from the Wilderness Society titled ‘Burke must knock back mines threatening reef’ [2668]. Essentially, the claims were from a conservation group which claimed that the project was going to lead to 900 extra shipping movements through the Great Barrier Reef—900! On that basis, the federal environment minister delayed for an entire year that project that was so badly needed. The EIS that was completed during that process to consider that claim identified that there would be 60 extra ships through the Great Barrier Reef, a one per cent increase in shipping movements. Consider carefully what this situation has revealed: the federal environment minister, a man who should be considering these major projects from the perspective of how all Australians will benefit but especially the Australians who live in Aurukun, who live on the cape, who live in a world of welfare and despair, who need these projects for their economic future. But instead of considering the project from their perspective, the federal environment minister is held captive to the blind green ideology that has made these projects almost impossible to get up. He has turned the approvals process at a federal level into a farce. Tony Burke has become a mindless puppet to these blind, green ideology people who hold his government to ransom. Their mindless cheer squad in here did exactly the same last night: they voted against a proposal that would give the community of Aurukun an opportunity to develop an agricultural component to their economy. The same blind, green ideology that has done so much damage to the Australian economy, that has done so much damage to the Queensland economy, has turned the approvals process at a federal level into a farce. The sooner we get a change of government and ministers in a federal cabinet who can represent all Australians, the better it will be for all Australians. State Schools, Closures Ms TRAD: My question without notice is to the Minister for Education, Training and Employment. I refer the minister to the answer he gave yesterday regarding the proposed amalgamation of Brisbane State High and Coorparoo Secondary College, and I ask: for the benefit of local families will the minister confirm that the government’s preferred option for amalgamation would see the two current catchments become one large catchment with Coorparoo Secondary College to become the junior secondary campus for years 7, 8 and 9 for State High? Mr LANGBROEK: I thank the honourable member for the question. It is a very important discussion that we are having—a consultation process about this proposed amalgamation—but we are still in the consultation phase. So I can advise the honourable member that any plans about who might be where and when in terms of which classes or which grades might be represented at either campus are still things that are to be worked out; we have not decided what we are doing. We are consulting with the community. That is why I went to a public meeting at Coorparoo Secondary College a couple of weeks ago to listen to those parents and students about their concerns; about matters such as that; about which classes or which grades might be at which campus; issues such as
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