{"id":374871,"date":"2026-08-07T15:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T05:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=374871"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T05:17:23","slug":"proston-goes-to-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/","title":{"rendered":"Proston Goes To Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_374874\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-374874\" style=\"width: 740px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-374874\" src=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary.jpg 740w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary-269x167.jpg 269w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary-285x177.jpg 285w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary-340x211.jpg 340w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary-263x163.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-374874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proston P-10 students at Parliament House in Brisbane (Photo: Nanango Electorate Office)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/debs-diary210.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-85802\" title=\"Debs Diary\" src=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/debs-diary210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/debs-diary210.jpg 210w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/debs-diary210-180x300.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>August 7, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Making the journey from Proston to Brisbane is no small undertaking, and I commend the students, teachers and families who made the trip possible. Visits like these provide a valuable opportunity for young Queenslanders to experience firsthand how our state&#8217;s democracy works and to learn more about the role Parliament plays in shaping our communities.<\/p>\n<p>Parliament House is one of Queensland&#8217;s most significant public buildings, and I believe it is important that students from all corners of our state have the opportunity to visit and experience it for themselves. Seeing where laws are debated and decisions are made helps bring classroom learning to life and encourages young people to become engaged and informed citizens.<\/p>\n<p>For students from regional and rural communities, these experiences can be particularly meaningful.<\/p>\n<p>They provide an opportunity to connect with the wider Queensland community while gaining a deeper understanding of the democratic institutions that serve all Queenslanders, no matter where they live.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #006699;\"><strong>Investing in Tourism Opportunities Across Our Region<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>The Crisafulli Government is continuing to back regional Queensland, with applications now open for the second round of the $20 million Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After strong interest in the first round, grants of up to $300,000 are now available to help tourism operators and communities deliver new experiences, upgrade infrastructure and attract more visitors to our regions.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the government\u2019s Destination 2045 vision, this fund supports innovative tourism projects, from nature-based attractions and farm-gate experiences to infrastructure improvements that encourage visitors to stay longer and explore more of what Queensland has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>This investment is about giving local communities and tourism operators the support they need to turn great ideas into reality, creating jobs, strengthening local economies and showcasing the best of regional Queensland.<\/p>\n<p>I encourage eligible tourism operators and community organisations to explore this opportunity and consider how it could benefit our region.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.detsi.qld.gov.au\/tourism\/funding-grants\/current\/regional-tourism-infrastructure-fund#toc-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Applications close Wednesday, September 9<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #006699;\"><strong>TradieStart Program<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Queensland is investing in the next generation of skilled tradespeople through the new TradieStart program and the extension of the Small Business Apprenticeship Program.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With a predicted peak shortfall of 50,000 skilled construction workers, these initiatives will help build the workforce needed to deliver future homes, hospitals and roads across the State.<\/p>\n<p>TradieStart will provide a base payment of $10,000 to businesses that take on apprentices in construction, plumbing, engineering and electrical trades.<\/p>\n<p>The Small Business Apprenticeship Program will also offer wage subsidies to support a further 2000 construction apprentices.<\/p>\n<p>The Queensland Government has partnered with Construction Skills Queensland to support apprentice training and help address workforce shortages in key industries.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>For more information, click on these links:\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business.qld.gov.au\/tradiestart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TradieStart<\/a> or the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.business.qld.gov.au\/apprenticeship-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Small Business Apprenticeship Program<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/debs-diary\/\"><strong>Read more Deb\u2019s Diary columns<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DEB&#8217;S DIARY<\/p>\n<p>It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":374874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[629,3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T05:16:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T05:17:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deb Frecklington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deb Frecklington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/\",\"name\":\"Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-07T05:16:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-07T05:17:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/2bc1d38ff0a04dbc345bf83c154a0952\"},\"description\":\"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/\",\"name\":\"southburnett.com.au\",\"description\":\"Kingaroy and South Burnett News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/2bc1d38ff0a04dbc345bf83c154a0952\",\"name\":\"Deb Frecklington\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/deb-frecklington\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au","description":"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au","og_description":"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.","og_url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/","og_site_name":"southburnett.com.au","article_published_time":"2026-08-07T05:16:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T05:17:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":740,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260806debsdiary.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Deb Frecklington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deb Frecklington","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/","name":"Proston Goes To Parliament - southburnett.com.au","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-07T05:16:45+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T05:17:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/2bc1d38ff0a04dbc345bf83c154a0952"},"description":"It was a pleasure to recently welcome students and staff from Proston State School to Queensland Parliament House.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/07\/proston-goes-to-parliament\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/","name":"southburnett.com.au","description":"Kingaroy and South Burnett News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/2bc1d38ff0a04dbc345bf83c154a0952","name":"Deb Frecklington","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/deb-frecklington\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374871"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374871"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374876,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374871\/revisions\/374876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}