A Shorten Labor Government will invest $25 million to rejuvenate Great Keppel Island, helping to grow tourism, create jobs and deliver an $80-million-a-year boost to the region\u2019s economy.
\nGreat Keppel has amazing, untapped tourism potential but it is held back by a lack of basic infrastructure, including drinking water and a reliable power supply.
\nFederal Labor\u2019s investment \u2013 which matches the Queensland Government\u2019s investment \u2013 will deliver new infrastructure for permanent and reliable electricity and water supply on the Island.
\nOpposition Leader Bill Shorten will visit Great Keppel Island on Wednesday morning to make the announcement.
\n\u201cI\u2019m taking a hands-on approach to job creation in Central Queensland,\u201d Mr Shorten said.
\n\u201cThis is a beautiful part of Queensland with massive potential. You just need a government in Canberra that listens and acts.
\n\u201cRussell Robertson has been on the phone to me about how important this investment is. He\u2019s done a fantastic job advocating for Great Keppel Island and the entire region.\u201d
\nShadow Minister for Regional Services Stephen Jones said water quality and reliable power supply presents significant challenges for island businesses and residents.
\n\u201cThe island relies on diesel-powered generators as the main source of power, and access to drinking water is through rainwater harvesting or bottled water from the mainland. This is costly and time consuming, and is holding Great Keppel back,\u201d Mr Jones said.
\n\u201cThis funding will see key infrastructure built on the island, including a permanent and reliable supply of power and drinking water. Our investment will aim to grow tourism on Great Keppel and the surrounding region, supporting existing tourism operators, residents, and future tourism development projects.\u201d
\nShadow Minister for Tourism Anthony Albanese said with improved infrastructure, it is expected that the island will accommodate about 860,000 visitors, workers and residents a year, and contribute more $83 million per annum to the local economy.
\n\u201cWe know tourism operators need reliable water and power, and the lack of these basic services is a barrier to investment. Labor\u2019s commitment will allow for sustainable development, meaning more visitors, more jobs and more money going to local businesses,\u201d Mr Albanese said.
\nLabor Candidate for Capricornia Russell Robertson welcomed Labor\u2019s investment to rejuvenate Great Keppel Island.
\n\u201cThis is a great day for the Capricorn Coast. I\u2019ve been working for months to secure this investment for our region, and now we know a Shorten Labor Government will deliver it,\u201d Mr Robertson said.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been calling on both Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison to make this commitment, but Bill is the only one who has listened.
\n\u201cMichelle Landry has been too caught up in the chaos in Canberra to secure this funding. She\u2019s forgotten Great Keppel Island exists at all.
\n\u201cGreat Keppel is the most beautiful on the Great Barrier Reef. Everyone knows that infrastructure funding for Great Keppel Island will mean more visitors, more jobs and more money going into our local economy.
\n\u201cAs your local member, I\u2019ll make sure Great Keppel gets the investment, infrastructure and jobs it deserves.\u201d
\nMr Shorten said only Labor is committed to rejuvenating Great Keppel Island.
\n\u201cI believe in a fair go for all Australians, and that means a fair go for Central Queenslanders.
\nI\u2019m determined to deliver job-creating infrastructure for Central Queenslanders, and I can pay for it because I will make multinational companies pay their fair share of tax.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Shorten Labor Government will invest $25 million to rejuvenate Great Keppel Island, helping to grow tourism, create jobs and deliver an $80-million-a-year boost to the region\u2019s economy. Great Keppel has amazing, untapped tourism potential but it is held back by a lack of basic infrastructure, including drinking water and a reliable power supply. Federal … Continue reading “LABOR\u2019S PLAN TO REJUVENATE GREAT KEPPEL ISLAND”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}