Editor's Note

Hi Everyone,

We woke up this week with a brand-new state government and welcomed back two familiar faces to our region - Amanda Camm Member for Whitsunday who represents the Airlie Beach, Proserpine and Cannonvale areas and Dale Last Member for Burdekin who represents Bowen and Collinsville.

No matter which party you voted for, the whole region gains in this election because for the first time in more than a decade our local leaders are from the same political party as the new Premier, David Crisafulli.

This means that funding streams are likely to be more forthcoming and projects we have dreamt about for years are likely to come to fruition.

I’ve met David Crisafulli a few times now and at every interaction I have found him to be respectful, humble and engaged.

Our first meeting was here in the Whitsundays, and I think he was accustomed to being asked the hard questions by city journos. It may have come as it bit of a surprise when I put my recording device down and chose to just have a chat to get to know him instead!

The second time I met David was this year at the Queensland Country Press Association Awards night, he was there to present the award for Best Free Newspaper of the Year.

When our name was called for this award, it was particularly nice that he was there to present it – I could tell he was thrilled a small regional newspaper like ours had won such a big award.

David was born in Ingham and began his career as a journalist, this means he not only understands regional towns, he also loves regional newspapers which is another win for us here locally.

To finish off I would also like to personally congratulate the new Member for Mackay, Nigel Dalton. From Police Officer to Parishioner to Politician, Nigel is a good man and I know he will do a wonderful job for his electorate.

Rach

Quote of the Week: “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” (Susan B Anthony)

‍