Premier's journal - April 2009
Take up the reading challenge
As a mum, I know how important it is to encourage your kids to love to read.
This week, I launched the Premier's Reading Challenge for 2009. The challenge involves students from Prep to Year 7 reading 20 books between Monday, 11 May and Friday, 21 August.
It amounts to about one book every five days – but most importantly, it's about making reading fun.
The challenge is in its fourth year and last year 60,000 students read 1.2 million books.
It would be great to see even more getting on board this year, and I urge schools, parents and students across Queensland to take up the challenge.
Find out more about the Premier's Reading Challenge for 2009.
New Green Army: good for jobs and the environment
I recently promised to mobilise a Green Army across Queensland to shore up our future on two fronts - protecting jobs and the environment.
And this week we began to deliver on that promise with a new hotline and website for those interested in getting on board.
This is a groundbreaking new $57 million program which will provide 3000 jobs over the next three years - an important part of my Government's plan to create and secure Queensland jobs in these tough economic times.
It also plays an important part in helping to protect our precious environment for the generations to come - our national parks, our internationally renowned walking trails, our waterways and our wet tropic regions.
I urge anyone interested in joining our "Green Army" initiative to find out more by heading to the Green Army website or calling our hotline on 1800 249 215.
First day of the 53rd Parliament
Today was the first day of the 53rd Parliament and an historic occasion.
We had lots of fresh faces taking their seats in the chamber for the first time – 19 all up, which is just over one in every five members. So a big welcome to the Class of 2009.
I fully expect as Parliament continues throughout the year we will see ideas passionately debated and forcibly prosecuted. That’s the wonderful part of being in a vibrant democracy and what Queenslanders who have strong views themselves want to see in their elected representatives.
This is going to be a big year and I'm looking forward to getting on with the job of delivering for Queenslanders!
Governor's speech at the opening of Parliament
At the opening of Parliament, Queensland Governor Penelope Wensley AO delivered an address which outlines the Bligh Government's priorities, plans and vision for the next three years.
You can download a copy of the Governor's speech:
Busway project five months ahead of schedule
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Premier Anna Bligh visits busways site.
This morning I inspected a major construction milestone with the Boggo Road and Eastern Busways now connected over Ipswich Road.
These projects are good news for Brisbane commuters because they will cut travel times and take hundreds of buses of the road every day.
And commuters will see the benefits earlier than anticipated! The Eastern Busway is five months ahead of schedule and is now due to be completed in August.
It means up to 10 minutes will be cut off some journeys from the southern and eastern suburbs to the University of Queensland.
These projects combined are an investment of more than $366 million in vital infrastructure for our future. They also mean jobs for Queenslanders and will have created around 2855 jobs by the time they are completed.
Kurilpa Bridge on way to completion
This morning, I walked on the deck of the new Kurilpa Bridge for the first time.
It's not yet complete, but the $63.3 million bridge already looks spectacular, with masts and cabling in place on both sides of the river.
This is an exciting project which will include around 6.8 kilometres of spiral strand cables when complete - a truly unique design in the way it balances the tension of the cables with the concrete and steel.
And it's good news for the community as well as the economy, with more than 1050 people employed on site since construction began.
Stay tuned. By September, Queenslanders and visitors alike will be able to walk across it, over the river between the CBD and the Gallery of Modern Art on South Bank.
Q150 Steam Train begins its journey
It was great to be out at Roma Street today with lots of school kids on holidays, families and steam train buffs turning out for the start of the Q150 Steam Train's journey across Queensland.
It's the chance to celebrate our people, our places and our stories for Queensland's 150th birthday year - a journey which will go as far north as Cairns, as far west as Quilpie, Winton and Mount Isa, and as far south as Wallangarra.
This really is an exciting time. We have been talking about the Q150 steam train since August last year, and now it's a reality. Just the smell and sounds of the steam train at Roma Street this morning conjured up the spirit of the past.
More than 200 people boarded this morning for the first leg, from Brisbane to Gympie. And there will be more than 3,500 people stepping back in time on the journey between Brisbane and Rockhampton alone.
It's fantastic to see the lengths to which some communities are going, to make the Q150 train and its travellers welcome, including students sharing messages of goodwill between towns.
I urge everybody to get on board with the Q150 celebrations!
Delivering on our solar hot water promise
Last month, I outlined my plan to deliver 200,000 solar hot water systems to Queenslanders at the very affordable price of $500 for households and $100 for pensioners.
It's raised a lot of interest, and rightly so - it's good for your hip pocket as well as helping to reduce our carbon footprint, an objective in my Q2 plan.
This great initiative means the average home can save up to $300 a year on their electricity bill.
It's also important for the solar hot water industry to have certainty so we want to move ahead as quickly as possible. The tender process begins on April 15.
This is a real chance to grow the solar industry here in Queensland and I want to see local business getting the lion's share.
So I urge anyone interested in the program to contact the Queensland Hot Water Program Hotline on 1800 243 585 or visit the Office of Clean Energy at www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au
Gold coast kicks AFL goal
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Premier Anna Bligh with Andrew Dimitriou, AFL Chief, at the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement to develop the AFL Stadium at Carrara.
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Gold Coast Football Club team, who in 2009 play in the 'TAC Cup' Under 18s competition.
It was great to be there for the big announcement this week that the Gold Coast will officially be part of the AFL competition from 2011.
Our decision to commit $60 million towards the Carrara stadium's redevelopment has been the catalyst for the AFL to offer its 17th playing licence to the Gold Coast.
This is great for the game in Queensland but it’s also fantastic for the Gold Coast – it's a win for jobs, tourism and sport.
These are tough economic times and funding is tight. But we wanted to make it happen because it’s good for jobs in our fastest growing region.
A group of Gold Coast business and community representatives - known as GC17 - have been working to secure an AFL licence for a new Gold Coast-based team and I congratulate them on their success.
The GC17 venture will deliver a massive boost for the local economy generating more than 350 jobs during construction and contributing $340 million to the Queensland economy over the next 10 years.
Last updated Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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