In Brief

�Today I represented Education Minister Cameron Dick at today’s Earth Smart Science Celebration Day, and congratulated 14 Far Northern teachers for inspiring their students to take steps towards reducing their environmental footprint.
The $5.8 million Earth Smart Science program is part of the State Government’s $43.5 million commitment to rejuvenate science teaching and re-ignite student interest [...]

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�Fisheries Minister Craig Wallace is encouraging fishers across Queensland to have their say on Queensland’s Fisheries regulations.
Mr Wallace said fishers are being given the opportunity to provide feedback on issues important to them.
“I am very interested in finding out what recreational fishers think about a limited take of female mud crabs,” Mr Wallace said.
“Protection measures [...]

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Queenslanders are voting overwhelmingly to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday public holiday in the second half of next year and to enjoy an extended school holiday break at Easter.
The discussion paper titled Getting the balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland also looks at allocating an extra public holiday when Christmas, Boxing, or New Year’s [...]

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Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today announced the Government would establish an independent Queensland Mental Health Commission.
“I’m very pleased to announce the next stage in our fundamental transformation of Queensland’s mental health system through the establishment of the Queensland Mental Health Commission,” the Premier said.
In 2011-12 alone, the Queensland Government is investing over $1 billion in [...]

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Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today called on Queenslanders to change their minds about mental illness and join her in pledging to end the stigma surrounding it.
Speaking at the launch of the Appeal for Respect and Inclusion, the Premier said living with a mental illness presented many challenges.
“But one of the biggest challenges is [...]

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The Federal Court of Australia today recognised the Djiru People’s Native Title rights and interests over approximately 9,450 square kilometres of land in Far North Queensland.
 
I was delighted to celebrate the recognition of the Djiru People’s native title rights and interest in their traditional lands around Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach, South Mission Beach and El [...]

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Local residents should remain vigilant following recent media coverage of cases involving counterfeit $10 notes.
Thousands of Australians fell victim to scams each year, with the impact of fraud on the community was often underestimated. Advances in technology have provided more opportunities for offenders to prey on the most vulnerable members of our community.
In this recent [...]

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders, that no matter where they are tonight, it’s imperative they stand up and be counted in the Census.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the 1971 Census – the first in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians were included following the historic 1967 referendum. But even four decades [...]

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Gordonvale’s polocrosse field will be renamed this weekend in memory of the Pyramid Polocrosse Club’s inaugural president.
 
Division 1 Councillor Paul Gregory performed the official opening of Vic Petersen Memorial Park this morning, prior to the start of the club’s major annual carnival.
 
“Vic started the club with his family in 1978 and remained involved in the [...]

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A further $1 million in community grants are now available for the Cyclone Yasi affected region of Far North Queensland, and aim to assist the community to move into the post recovery phase.
Six months on from the cyclone we have seen the success of Operation Cleanup in the Yasi areas, where teams have been busy [...]

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