Hinchinbrook MP, Andrew Cripps, has welcomed news that upgrades to facilities at the Jourama Falls section of the Paluma Range National Park between Ingham and Townsville have been completed just in time for the Easter long weekend and school holidays.

Mr Cripps said day visitors and campers to Jourama Falls would benefit from more than $125,000 worth of upgrades, including new gas barbecues and improvements to the camping ground’s sewage treatment system, providing an enhanced visitor experience.

“This investment, delivered by the former LNP Government, provides better access to our National Parks for locals and tourists alike, maximising the recreational and tourism opportunities that can be derived from our beautiful natural environment” said Mr Cripps.

“I expect that the recent fine weather in North Queensland will see many families and visitors venture out into our National Parks over the Easter long weekend and during the upcoming school holidays, so these improvements at Jourama Falls are just in time” he said.

Mr Cripps said the former LNP Government had invested strategically in National Parks within the Hinchinbrook electorate to maximise benefits for both locals and tourists, including:

• A $250,000 project to establish the new Panjoo Lookout on the Cardwell Range, within the Girringun National Park.
• A $365,000 project to replace the Broadwater Fig Boardwalk within the Abergowrie State Forest Reserve, after it had been badly damaged by Cyclone Yasi
• Giving the Mamu Canopy Walk a new lease on life by putting the tourism attraction on a commercial footing within the Wooroonooran National Park.
• A $1.8 million project to upgrade the Paluma Environmental Education Centre in the Paluma Range National Park.
• A $20,000 upgrade to walking tracks and mountain bike tracks on the Misty Mountain trails within the Tully Gorge, Tully Falls, Japoon and Wooroonooran National Parks.

Mr Cripps said he hoped the increased efforts to improve facilities and the accessibility of National Parks in the Hinchinbrook electorate would continue into the future.