{"id":216830,"date":"2018-08-29T20:31:47","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T10:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=216830"},"modified":"2020-07-28T12:37:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T02:37:52","slug":"kingaroy-link-to-pms-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/08\/29\/kingaroy-link-to-pms-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Kingaroy Link To PM’s Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senator Bridget McKenzie,\u00a0 Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, Nationals Leader Michael McCormack and Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the Tully family property on Monday
(Photo: Maranoa Electorate Office)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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John and Wendy Tully’s grandson Hugo, 10, shows the visiting pollies his School Of The Air set-up on ‘Bunginderry’ (Photo: Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 29, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

When newly elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison made his flying visit to Queensland on Monday, most people wouldn’t have realised the strong Kingaroy connection to the event.<\/p>\n

The PM, accompanied by Agriculture Minister and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud, Regional Services Minister Senator Bridget McKenzie and Deputy PM and Nationals Leader Michael McCormack, dropped in to visit ‘Bunginderry’, a 185,000 acre sheep and cattle station west of Quilpie.<\/p>\n

‘Bunginderry’ has been in the Tully family for five generations, enjoying good times as well as enduring droughts.<\/p>\n

Owners John and Wendy Tully retired to Kingaroy in 2006, leaving the property in the capable hands of son and daughter-in-law\u00a0Stephen and Annabel but they are still frequent visitors out west.<\/p>\n

Mr Littleproud invited the PM to visit western Queensland to see at firsthand the effects of drought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tullys are fifth generation farmers bringing up five children on Bunginderry Station, so they\u2019re bred tough but no one is immune from this ongoing drought, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re out here listening and helping,\u201d Mr Littleproud said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in drought six or seven years so it was great to have the PM see firsthand what proactive measures \u2013 like wild dog fencing and other pest and weed management activities \u2013 does for a community going into the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to try to explain something like drought or dog fencing to someone but it\u2019s always so much better when they see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Morrison came to learn and didn\u2019t pretend to know it all. He listened to locals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The electorate of Maranoa covers 42 per cent of rural Queensland, stretching from the Northern Territory border in the west to Blackbutt in the east and north to past Winton.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to have the new PM visiting Maranoa and making drought his first priority as PM,\u201d Mr Littleproud said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best things Australians can do for these drought-affected communities is get off your butt and come out here.<\/p>\n

“Visit our towns in rural and remote Queensland and spend a few dollars to keep the local economy going. I bet you\u2019ll be met with smiling faces and a cold beer and it\u2019ll make one of the best holidays you\u2019ve ever had.”<\/p>\n

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Annabel and Stephen Tully<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n