Bligh said that although Queensland was emerging from the worst financial crisis in a generation, the future looked bright and she was determined to stick to her plans to ensure the government seized the state’s opportunities.“That’s what today’s strategic cabinet is all about – harnessing these opportunities and making the most of them for the future of our great state,” Bligh said.“We’ve delivered on our commitments but we won’t be standing still – there’s still a lot to achieve and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”One of the key plans set out in the agenda was maintaining the building program keeping more than 100,000 Queenslanders in jobs. That program has reached the halfway mark target for creating 100,000 jobs and facilitating industries such as liquefied natural gas.Bligh intends to manage the state’s growth by delivering jobs to regional Queensland and encouraging people to move to these regions with $11,000 homeowner grants. Other critical areas of focus were environmental strategies and education.Bligh has goals for a greener Queensland by creating more national parks, delivering solar rebates to reduce power consumption, protecting the Great Barrier Reef with a moratorium on mining for shale oil, and ending the sand mining on North Stradbroke Island. “Three years on, the achievements of our government speak for themselves but we need to keep on delivering to build our economy and continue to build Queensland as the strongest state in the nation,” Bligh said.The premier plans to deliver 240 additional kindergarten services, the biggest research fellowship program in Australia and 150,000 extra training places, all to strengthen Queensland’s future.“I’m determined to keep delivering jobs for Queenslanders, I’m determined to keep building our economy, and I’m determined to keep delivering the infrastructure we need for the southeast corner and our regional areas,” Bligh said.
