Cabinet sitting in Rockhampton

Ms Palaszczuk will be in Rockhampton until late this week before leaving for Gladstone, and has a barrage of meetings, community consultations, and events booked in for her time here. 

At the top of the topic list is the Shoalwater Bay defence land issues, but the State Government are taking the opportunity to make plenty of local announcements. 

Announcements, day one:

- Education Minister Kate Jones visited Emu Park State School today with Member for Keppel Brittany Lauga to officially open a new classroom building, X Block, at the fast-growing school.

Ms Jones said the $2.8 million teaching block included six extra classrooms, student amenities and a covered undercroft, increasing the school capacity to around 640 students.

- Rockhampton regional residents of all ages are accessing free coding and robotics activities after receiving State Government funding to improve digital literacy.

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch today visited the Rockhampton Regional Library to see first-hand robotics at play with The Cathedral College Year 8 students.

- Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has repeated her call for the nation’s leaders to meet outside the capital cities for the first time, by offering to the host next Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in regional Queensland.

The Premier, who convened her Cabinet in Rockhampton today, said it was time for the COAG – Prime Minister, State Premiers and Territory Chief Ministers - to meet in regional Australia and it should do so at its next meeting, due in April.

- Two new financial counsellors will help residents in Rockhampton, Biloela, Moura and Gladstone to keep their bottom line in the black, as part of the Palaszczuk Government’s $31 million Better Budgeting program.

During her visit to Rockhampton today, Communities Minister Shannon Fentiman said Uniting Care Queensland will receive $600,000 to deliver financial support to Rockhampton residents while Anglicare Central Queensland will receive more than $1.5 million to help people in Biloela, Moura and Gladstone.

- The Palaszczuk Government has slammed Federal moves to include more than 5000 hectares of environmentally significant public land in Central Queensland into Shoalwater Bay’s defence training grounds.

Minister for Environment and National Parks Dr Steven Miles today revealed the State Government had requested an urgent meeting with the Department of Defence to raise concerns about the proposed “occupation’ of the land.

- The Palaszczuk Government has asked Relationships Australia Queensland to provide counselling to landholders affected by the proposed expansion of the Shoalwater Bay military training facility.

Communities Minister Shannon Fentiman said individuals and families affected by the Commonwealth Government’s proposed land acquisition will be able to take advantage of counselling support from Monday.