Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tourism is one of the backbones of Australia's economy and there are a handful of experiences which should be on everybody's bucket list: the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef and the Cairns Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Skyrail is truly an iconic cable car experience that transports passengers on a 7.5-kilometre journey that starts from the bottom of the Cairns Range but then flies above the rainforest canopy to the village of Kuranda. On 31 August, Skyrail celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over the last two decades, it has hosted more than 11 million visitors—that is equivalent to half the population of Australia. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II rode on it, as did the Olympic torch and the Melbourne Cup.

The highest credit goes to George Chapman AO, his wife Margo, their daughters Karen and Helen, their son Dr Ken Chapman and his wife Karen—the family who developed this tourism attraction into the world-class business it is today. Under their leadership, Skyrail has consistently punched above its weight and received awards at local, national and international level. Most recently, it won the 2014 Tropical North Queensland Tourism Award for Ecotourism. The Skyrail team is an undisputed success story for Cairns and the wider Far North Queensland region. I wish them many more successes in the years to come.