Mr WETTENHALL (1 Nov 2007) (11.56 am): I rise to speak in support of the Judicial Remuneration Bill. The purpose of this bill is to establish a statutory mechanism for determining adequate judicial remuneration which maintains judicial independence by being independent of the executive and ensures the attraction and retention of high-quality appointments to the judiciary.

Mr WETTENHALL (30 October 2007) (12.09 pm): On Saturday, 27 October 2007 I had the privilege of representing the Hon. Rod Welford, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts, to officially open stage 1 of the Redlynch State College middle school in my electorate. The opening of stage 1 of this three-stage project realises the hopes and visions of the school community, which has been campaigning and working towards this goal for over eight years. In 2004 the state government formally committed to a middle school on this magnificent site adjacent to the existing primary school. That followed the Cairns Education Renewal Project which examined the educational needs of the entire Cairns community and resulted in the amalgamation of Kuranda high and primary schools and the construction of a $4 million brand-new P-6 campus in my electorate.

Mr WETTENHALL (18 Oct 2007) (3.41 pm): It is with pleasure that I rise to support this bill. I want to briefly mention a couple of the very significant heritage places that are preserved in my electorate of Barron River. The first that I shall mention will be well known to all honourable members throughout the state and around the country-and in fact around the world-and of course that is the Kuranda Scenic Railway. As a heritage listed place, the Kuranda Scenic Railway is one of the major tourist attractions in Queensland and one of the major tourist attractions in Australia. Thousands of people come to far-north Queensland and jump on the train for the scenic railway journey from Cairns to Kuranda.

Mr WETTENHALL (17 Oct 2007) (12.56 pm): I thank other honourable members adjacent to me for expressing their confidence and their ongoing support. In the early 1990s when I first arrived in Cairns one of the first public events that I went to was a slide show on the Cape York Peninsula presented at the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre by a fantastic local photographer, Kerry Trapnell. Kerry has gone on over the ensuing years to publish widely and to be engaged by many prestigious organisations including the National Geographic Society, the World Wildlife Fund and others. He has exhibited widely and he has published his own book.

Mr WETTENHALL (9 Oct 2007) (5.18 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Transport Legislation Amendment Bill and to speak principally on the taxi and limousine provisions of the bill which are going to have great benefits in the Cairns area. But before I comment on those, I will make a couple of observations about the heavy vehicle provisions. As has been said by other members in this debate, the amount of freight that is going to be carried on our roads by heavy vehicles over the next decades is expected to increase very significantly. I am very pleased that this bill creates a modern, flexible and adaptable framework for the regulation of that industry and for provisions that will ensure compliance with the road safety provisions. That is going to have a very important and direct impact on areas right throughout the state. It is a very important provision of the bill.