Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I want to inform the House that while in Canberra this week I hosted talks with key mining executives about employment issues facing the Central Queensland coalfields. Rest assured, as the hardworking member for Capricornia, I have not been idle. There are two key issues here: the unfortunate recent job losses in the mining sector and the impact fly in, fly out workers from Cairns and the Gold Coast are having on our local mining towns. I will be making a further statement about this later today. In the meantime, I draw the House's attention to a new exhibition at the Rockhampton Art Gallery titled 'Cream'. It was featured in Brisbane's weekend Courier Mail. 'Cream' refers to the cream of Rockhampton Gallery's own public art collection, which is worth $14 million. The 'Cream' exhibition covers four decades of Australian art from 1940 to 1980 and includes works by Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd. Thirty-five artworks from Rockhampton will go on tour until 2016 at venues near Melbourne and in New South Wales, and at five other key galleries in Queensland. The tour is possible thanks to a contribution from the Australian government via the Australia Council. 'Cream' is a prime example of the diversity of the electorate of Capricornia. We not only offer our nation the wealth generated from our resource and agriculture exports but also make a real contribution to Australia's cultural interests. Finally, I am pleased to note that visitor numbers to the Rockhampton Art Gallery under the guidance of director Tracy Cooper-Lavery have increased dramatically in the past three years from 8,500 to 23,700. (Time expired)