SUPPORT LOCAL, BUY 100% QUEENSLAND

The recent discovery that local businesses were not even given the opportunity to tender for the bikeway bridge in Cairns is a disgrace.If we want to be able to keep jobs and industry in our area we need to support the ones we have. This does not mean we do not seek competive bids. The problem on this occasion was that our local industry were not even given the opportunity to tender by Cairns Regional Council. This is a disgrace.
The response from the Mayor on WIN news was no better, trying to shift blame to the LGAQ.
If council didn't know that our funds can be spent on products without our locals even being given the chance to tender for it then they need to be held accountable.
A more constructive response to this issue would be that they were going to implement process to make sure it doesn't happen again so we can support our local industries, not try and shift blame to LGAQ.

The other concern is that the company the contract was given to is recognised under the current "buy local" scheme, yet they don't buy local. It's like a fruit juice maker importing overseas concentrate and putting it in a bottle and claiming it's Australian made.

EFFECTIVE POLICY NOT NAME CALLING REQUIRED

The recent issues regarding law and order issues in Cairns have seen the issue denigrate into a name calling and race debate when the focus should clearly be on the fact it is criminal behaviour NOT race related. These are opportunist crinminals preying on the vulnerable. Regardless of your or their race,if they perceive you as vulnerable and an easy target they will try their luck.
This is a direct result of the Labor governments soft on crime approach where there is no longer any deterrent from our Justice system.
If we want to address the crime in our city we need an effective law and order policy, not name calling and stereotyping. As a former cop in this city I dealt with these issues on a daily basis and know from firsthand experience that it is not limited to one race, suburb or social group.
The way forward is simple.
1. Put the protection of the community first and foremost
2.Legislative change, such as to Bail and Parole processes, to enact an effective law and order policy
3.Providing effective rehabilitation programs and support services for offenders released to the community
4.A holistic approach to underlying problems contributing to crime to reduce duplication and bureaucracy amongst government departments and other service providers and provide alternate activities to crime
5.A review of the policing model to better allocate staff and resources to areas like Far North Queensland

As the only party with an effective Law and Order policy open for public scrutiny the Queensland Party is providing real solutions to real problems and people can make their voice heard at the ballot box if they are truly sick of this soft on crime approach and it's results enabled by the current government

A party with a real law and order policy, not spin doctors

Fantastic to see the release of the law and order policy that we have been working on to shift the focus back on to protecting victims and the community. The people of Queensland would be disgusted if they knew the real story about repeat offenders and those on bail and parole committing further offences on a regular basis. Increasing maximum sentences changes nothing.

Some of the key points include-

o   Restoring Victims’ Rights

1.      Compensation for victims via a restitution register, which will confiscate 10% of wages until the effects of crime are paid.

2.      Empowering victims by granting them the power to forgive by suspending or and waiving restitution payments.

o   Justice for Each Crime

1.      No concurrent sentencing for less than 4 years.

2.      Each conviction requires a mandatory punishment, but not a minimum punishment.

o   Punishment, not Privileges

1.      Voting rights suspended while in jail.

2.      No further bail for those who have breached bail conditions, or who have been charged with new offences while on bail.

3.      No further parole for those who have breached parole conditions.

4.      Parole boards to oversee parole, ending court-ordered parole which cannot take into account the prisoner’s readiness to return to society.

5.      Toughening of suspended sentencing arrangements to ensure that new additional crimes committed while on a suspended sentence are met with increased punishments.

o   Rehabilitation

1.      Jail is not just about removal of ordinary rights, but is also an opportunity to educate and train.

2.      All prisoners will tested for the ability to read and write.

3.      Training programs will be established to increase educational abilities and provide trade training – prisoner’s participation will be part of the parole board process.

CSG farce.

Recently a successful meeting was held in Cairns by Queensland Party members with our leader Aiden McLindon and the living legend Bob Irwin due to the Queensland Party and Aiden's continued public opposition to the dangers of the current CSG process. As a result both men attended the Tara blockade resulting in Bob Irwin being arrested for contravening a direction.
This is an absolute farce that Bob Irwin has to front court yet the people responsible for allowing this process to go on when they don't know the chemicals being used in the fracking process, let alone the potential impacts on the Great Artesian Basin.
The Queensland Party moved a motion in Queensland parliament calling for a moratorium until the safety issues were addressed. Both the current ALP government AND the opposition LNP voted against the moratorium. These parties were more interested in the royalty $ then the possibly irreversible damage that could be caused, the loss of potential viable farmland and land owners rights being trampled into the ground.

If you want to see the dangers of CSG check out the Gaslands trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8 

Priorities-Put FNQ first

It is really frustrating when you hear the Labor government calling for "generational change" and long term committments blah blah blah in regards to spending on takling flood reduction measures for the Bruce Highway. It was quoted as $800 million to do the works on the Ingham section which, as Far Northerners we know, is the section that cuts us off on a regular basis as there is no way around it. It should be a priority but Labor keeps putting it off. Why????
Simple.For them they need the money in the war chest to pork barrel the electorates in South East Qld. While they talk about how important FNQ is, when it comes to taking real action all we get is lip service or the Bruce Highway would have the funding committed. Labor has demonstrated their focus is on SE Qld and always will be.
It is rather poor timing then to see two days after the roads minister makes these claims that the Premier has now decided to spend $11million on bidding for the 2018 Commonwealth games and they will spend $1billion on infrastructure on the Gold Coast for it.
I am a self confessed sports nut and know the obvious benefits that a big event like the games could have but there comes a time for priorities and surely reducing flood impacts on our roads that keep getting cut year, after year, after year is better for us than hosting the 2018 Commonwealth games.
If there's no money to fix our Highway, then there's no money for these games. I challenge the labor govt to commit the funding to upgrade the Bruce Highway in the upcoming budget and if there's money left for the games after that, go for it.