Welcome to the April/May edition of Toward Q2 eNews.

It's been a busy few months with the Queensland election and the establishment of my new Government.

We are now forging ahead with our plans for Queensland, including the Q2 ambitions of producing a strong, smart, green, healthy and fair Queensland.  We are continuing with our Community Cabinet meetings, with the latest held in Highfields (near Toowoomba) and Gatton.  There are many new projects taking shape over the next few months - you can find out about some of these below.

I look forward to continuing to make this State a great place to live and work for all Queenslanders.

Anna Bligh MP
Premier of Queensland

Queenslanders need great parks and outdoor areas for physical exercise and to enjoy our wonderful weather.

I welcome new plans for a large children's activity area and a three-hectare park for Townsville - both part of our plan to protect our environment and help make Queenslanders Australia's healthiest people.  Located just 600m from the CBD, Southbank Townsville will be the third major park for the city with three distinct zones:

• the Discovery Precinct featuring the largest children's play area in Townsville with a combination of educational and play equipment
• the Nature Precinct where people can walk on floating boardwalks to view the mangroves and wildlife
• the Active Precinct with a large grassy outdoor area for people to play sport or relax in the shade.

Careful planning will ensure that ecological sustainability and environmental sensitivity is considered in every aspect of the park's design.  This includes the use of native flora in the gardens and solar panelling in the children's area.

The park's construction will generate up to 2704 full-time jobs in Townsville.  The activity area and park are part of Leighton Properties and Devine's Southbank Townsville project.

Locals and visitors to Brisbane will have new park space at Kangaroo Point, directly across the river from the Botanical Gardens.  As we want to help Queenslanders get moving, we will turn the old Southbank TAFE site into a green space for physical activity and recreation.  It will provide almost 10,000m² of extra space with great city views, linking to the existing strip at the very top of the Kangaroo Point cliffs.

Plans for this new park include a cafeteria, gas barbeque areas, picnic shelters and a children's playground.  This will be a space where families can have fun and tourists can come day and night to enjoy some of Brisbane's best views.

The new park is expected to open by November 2009. 

The construction of a new environmentally friendly cycle centre is underway at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

The centre will help traffic congestion in the area and, when completed later this year, will provide facilities for the hospital's 18,000 staff, outpatients and visitors.

With capacity to hold up to 750 bikes, this cycle centre will be even larger than the existing 400 bike centre at King George Square.

The centre contributes to the green and healthy Q2 targets by offering secure storage and clean and modern facilities so that people can ride to the centre, leave their bike and take a bus to the CBD for work or shopping.

The new cycle centre will have:

• 750 bicycle parking spaces - capable of being expanded to 900 spaces in the future
• 40 showers with a movable dividing wall so the proportion of male/female showers can be altered to meet demand
• 900 lockers
• a towel service
• CCTV and other security measures
• direct connection to the new Northern Busway RBWH Station.

We have continued to think green by ensuring the development includes eco-friendly initiatives for the area.  For example, three rainwater tanks with a total capacity of 91,000 litres will be housed underneath the centre, and the water will be used to clean the busway station and to water the adjacent hospital gardens.

Queensland opens its heart to kids in care

Queensland has a proud history of volunteering and the recent foster and kinship carer recruitment campaign has received great interest and support.  Foster and kinship carers provide for children who cannot live safely at home because they are at risk of abuse or neglect. There are approximately 7000 children in Queensland who require support or care and the campaign helps connect those in the community who are willing to help others with those in greatest need. The campaign aims to have 500 new carers and contributes to the Toward Q2 target of increasing by 50 per cent the proportion of Queenslanders involved in their communities as volunteers.  It is currently on track with more than 150 new carers approved and helping children throughout the State. For more information on becoming a foster or kinship carer, call 1300 550 877 or visit www.childsafety.qld.gov.au