Queensland offers million dollar holiday in new competition

A humble Aussie butcher shop has as much chance of bagging a million dollar holiday package to the sunshine state as a global multinational, Tourism Queensland says.

The tourism body is dangling the million dollar trip for one business or company anywhere in the world to rekindle tourism in the state.

The contest could be dubbed the digital version of "in 25 words or less" as business have to submit a 60 second (or less) video on why they should receive the prize.

Premier Anna Bligh said companies or workplaces with as few as three people were eligible to enter Million Dollar Memo to win the luxury Queensland holiday package, which targets global incentive travel for employees.

"The incentive travel market is a multibillion dollar market internationally and it is also a growing market, particularly in major developed countries where high-skilled people are increasing demand and companies are competing all the time to keep the best people," she told reporters on the Gold Coast on Friday.

"Tourism Queensland currently attracts some $380 million from that market but we think we can do considerably better.

"When employers all around the planet are thinking how can I best reward my staff, we want Queensland to be one of the destinations on the top of their list, not just now but forever."

Ms Bligh said a small company with just a handful of employees has just as much chance of winning the million dollar package as a huge global corporation that can sink tens of thousands of dollars into a slick video production.

"I think when you go to things like YouTube, the things that capture global imagination are often those that are the most amateur because they capture something very human," she said.

"When you're looking for the X-factor, anybody can have it anywhere, so big slick productions won't necessarily capture what we're looking for."

The competition is now open to any company or workplace with three or more employees in Australia and right around the world, with entries being taken online at www.milliondollarmemo.com.

Tourism Queensland boss Anthony Hayes said he had no idea how many entries might be attracted to the competition, which has been 18 months in planning and follows The Best Job in The World.

"We ended up with 35,000 video entries for The Best Job in The World, but this is different ... so we really have no idea," he said.

"We have a very large bank of staff lined up ready to dedicate the next month or two of their lives to watching one minute videos."

The Million Dollar Memo competition closes on May 1.

The contest then enters three phases with a top 50 short-list which will be culled to a final 20 companies.

The top 20 will send a representative to Queensland to compete in an incentive challenge in unique locations throughout the state from August 23.

Website visitors can also vote for their favorite entries to be given a wildcard spot in the final and the overall winner will be announced on August 31.

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http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/queensland-offers-million-dollar-holiday-in-new-competition-20110318-1bzu9.html

Heavy rains hamper Rockhampton recovery efforts

HEAVY rain over Rockhampton is stopping the recovery effort from the floods and increasing the possibility of more water leading to higher flood levels.

Flood waters at Rockhampton peaked yesterday, but it has been raining heavily in central Queensland's biggest town for several hours, with strong winds and lightning in the early morning.

The rain is putting at risk the recovery of the town of Theodore, which was evacuated last week as floodwaters rose, with plans to start moving people back into the town tomorrow being now reviewed.

A major problem is that the ground is already saturated or flooded, so rain falling now is adding directly to the floodwaters.

Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter has warned the city could take a year to get back on its feet, adding that flood victims faced a long wait, possibly up to two weeks, before they could return home.

The BoM has warned water levels will remain above 8.5 metres until at least late next week.

"I think that this could drag on for 12 months,'' Mr Carter told the Nine Network, adding it would be three weeks before the airport could be re-opened.

However, the flood peak for the southern inland town has been revised downwards, with the Balonne River now not expected to rise beyond 14 metres.

"The information we had originally was 14 metres on Saturday, and possibly that could creep just above that on Monday or Tuesday,'' Balonne Shire Mayor Donna Stewart told the ABC.

But the latest advice was that the peak would be under 14 metres, she said. At 14 metres, only about 30 homes would be affected.

St George resident and Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said more sandbags had been sent in to help residents prepare.

He spoke of the need for new dams to prevent future disasters, with St George facing its second major flood in less than a year.

"It's not good for our economy to be shut down and lose billions of dollars in production,'' Senator Joyce told Sky News.

"In the future I think we need to look at building dams to mitigate the effects of floods.''

The rain has led to several road closures in the Darling Downs area of southern Queensland, which was hit by the floods last week, but has started rebuilding efforts.

The main road up the range to the city of Toowoomba has been cut off because of a landslide caused by the rain, while to the west, waters have risen up and cut the Warrego Highway near Jondaryan.

More rain is expected over both central and southern Queensland this afternoon, with the possibility of heavy storms.

Meanwhile, daylight rail shuttle services have restarted in Queensland's north to help people resume their holidays or get home after flood-related delays.

The service will operate between Mackay and Cairns after floodwaters cut train services between Brisbane and Cairns, at Bundaberg and Rockhampton.

"The special services were a response to unique circumstances affecting customers in far North Queensland,'' Acting Transport Minister Paul Lucas said.

"Unfortunately, the flooding in Central Queensland has had a knock-on effect for many, including disrupted travel plans.''

The services will run until at least next Tuesday, but could be extended depending on the flooding situation further south.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/heavy-rains-hamper-rockhampton-recovery-efforts/story-e6frg6n6-1225982981189

Queensland city Rockhampton hitting flood peak

Southern and western approaches to Rockhampton are more like huge lakes

Flood preparations in the inundated Australian city of Rockhampton are being put to the test as river levels hit their peak.

The River Fitzroy which flows through the Queensland city is at 9.2m (30ft) and expected to hit 9.4m, having already swamped hundreds of acres.

Officials say more than 400 homes will be flooded and another 4,000 will have water pouring through their gardens.

Many residents have already evacuated, some forced to do so by police.

More than 100 people spent the night in an emergency evacuation centre.

City Mayor Brad Carter said the waters were expected to remain at their peak level for about two days.



"We do not think they are a risk to public safety if people keep out of the waters, but if people do enter the waters their safety cannot be guaranteed," he told The Australian newspaper.

As the waters rose on Wednesday, Queensland's cabinet was meeting in emergency session to discuss its response to the crisis.

State Premier Anna Bligh said: "Given the scale and size of this disaster... we will continue to have major issues to deal with throughout January.

"There are literally thousands of Queenslanders who need our support."

More than a week of heavy rain has created a huge inland sea across Queensland which is now draining towards the ocean along the state's river systems, causing chaos in its wake.

Officials have said the flooded area is the size of France and Germany combined and 200,000 people have been affected. At least three deaths have been blamed on the floods so far.

South of Rockhampton, floodwaters are threatening St George where officials predict 80% of the town could be inundated next week.

To make matters worse, more rain is forecast for the state.



On Wednesday meteorologists issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southern areas, saying "very heavy rainfall, flash flooding" were likely, with St George among the locations that could be affected.

"Then as it starts to drop and flatten out, it is likely to be about 10 days or so that it could stay at about the 8.5m mark, which indicates that we will have significant water inundation for the best part of ... two weeks," he said.

Many of the city's historic buildings are being protected by piles of sandbags.

The city's main road to the north is still open but the airport is closed. Supplies are being flown by military cargo plane to a town north of Rockhampton and taken on by road or barge.

Mr Carter said residents had reported seeing snakes moving through the water looking for dry ground and some saltwater crocodiles had also been spotted in the Fitzroy River.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said the cost of the flood damage would run into "billions and billions of dollars".

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12116919