Budget Wins
To begin, to the State Budget. Items welcomed were $25 million for the widening of Eumundi Noosa Road, progress on the Sunshine Beach State High School Advanced Manufacturing Hub, major grants for our sporting clubs, extra police and paramedics, co-responders and more. However, ‘missing in action’ was the detailed design allocation for the next stage of the Tewantin Bypass.
Youth Justice
Of note for broader Queensland regarding Youth Justice Reform, there are a number of major funding allocations that align with the 60 recommendations from our Inquiry, and during the upcoming Estimates process, I will be searching for more. A list of Noosa-specific Budget outcomes is at www.sandybolton.com/budget-2024-25-summary, which will be updated after Estimates as we are still digging through the finer details.
Social Housing
To finish, it was wonderful to celebrate the Bendigo Community Bank and Coast2Bay Housing Group’s partnership on the construction of domestic and family violence (DFV) units. Noosa RISE 2 (which stands for Restart In A Safe Environment) is an instrumental project that I have proudly been involved in, and I thank all who have made this possible, including the Queensland Government for providing over $9 million in funding towards the project here, as well as further down the coast. A special call out to our Zonta Club of Noosa and Noosa Coolum Salvos, who both have, and will continue to be involved along this journey to create safe, supported havens for our families impacted by family violence.