Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to rise and talk about a beautiful part of Queensland, Great Keppel Island. It's a wonderful place and worthy of the visitation and tourism that it receives. I have had the pleasure of visiting Great Keppel Island. I know it's a very proud jewel in the crown for people in Central Queensland. Obviously, this motion that's being debated today and put forward by the One Nation party is all about a state campaign happening near Great Keppel Island in Yeppoon and more broadly in Queensland. It is a culture war designed to get the name of the candidate from the One Nation party in the headlines. It doesn't involve any consideration of community views and it's peddling mistruths about what is actually happening on Great Keppel Island. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to set the record straight and for the record of the Miles government and the federal government to be recorded.

To be very clear: there have not been any plans, and there will not be plans, to change the name of Great Keppel Island, despite what Mr Ashby says in the community. Despite what Mr Ashby says in the community, there are no plans for the Queensland government to support the current native title claim that has been reported over the weekend for exclusive use of parts of Great Keppel Island. What there is, though, is a plan from the Miles government and particularly led by Brittany Lauga, the state member in Yeppoon, to work with the local community to deliver a $30 million master plan to revitalise tourism on Great Keppel Island, working with traditional owners and tourism operators. That is the work that is underway. Despite the culture wars and misinformation from One Nation and the LNP in Queensland, that is the work that is ongoing. It is being led by a fantastic local member in Brittany Lauga. She is a fantastic local member.

We're going to hear today arguments about the fact that this proposed native title claim will prevent economic development, prevent tourism and stop people from travelling to Great Keppel Island. There will be claims that apparently tourism jobs will be put at risk. I'm not going to stand here and let people from One Nation make those claims, whether they are a state candidate or a member of the Senate or members of the LNP, who will get up here today and rave about the fact that tourism jobs are at risk on Great Keppel Island while they currently have a plan to defer climate action and not do anything to help. What tourism operators actually need all along the coast of the Great Barrier Reef is an energy plan on climate change delivering renewables. It is absolutely hypocritical for those opposite to come in here and argue that they are standing up for jobs on the Great Barrier Reef, like Great Keppel Island, without having a credible plan for how they're going to take action on climate change.

Just down the road from Great Keppel Island is Gladstone. I'm sure you have visited from time to time, Acting Deputy President Polley. This is where one of the supposed nuclear reactors from Peter Dutton and the Liberals and Nationals will go. They want to put nuclear power just down the road from Great Keppel Island.