📋 Tender Overview
Minister for Transport and Main RoadsThe Honourable Mark BaileyCustomers travelling on Queensland Rails long-distance and tourism services can expect more Indigenous cultural experiences onboard with the establishment of a First Nations Steering Group.Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey made the announcement at todays Destination IQ event.Its a pleasure to make this announcement today which is a collaboration between Queensland Rail Indigenous tourism leaders and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council Minister Bailey said.This important partnership will work to incorporate more First Nations storytelling content on our much-loved long-distance travel and tourism trains.Queensland Rail previously introduced a Welcome to Country onboard the Spirit of Queensland and have worked closely with Traditional Owners to share expertise and storytelling that can be shared with customers.We also designed brand-new menus for Gold Class Kuranda Scenic Railway customers which acknowledge Traditional Owners Kuku Yalanji and Djabugay.The Steering Group had its first official meeting in October and already were seeing brochures and imagery featured onboard the Spirit of the Outback to include elements of Country as customers travel through them.Im proud we can show and share the story of Traditional Owners and pay respect to Queenslands rich Indigenous history.Barron River MP Craig Crawford said many tourists on the Kuranda scenic rail journey were interested to know the dreamtime story of Buda-dji.Djabugay people believe Buda-dji is the giant Carpet Snake who in the dreamtime carved out the Barron River from the Tablelands to the coast Mr Crawford said.The Kuranda train follows the Barron Gorge and along the way tourists hear about notable places like Barron Falls Din-Din and Kuranda Ngunbay.This is an important part of truth-telling on the Path to Treaty and Queensland Rail are leading the way with these cultural connections.Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism experiences were highly sought-after by visitors to Queensland.Its terrific to see Queensland Rail sharing our States unique Indigenous culture with passengers onboard the regional Queensland network Mr Hinchliffe said.We know supporting Queenslands genuine First Nations tourism experiences and stories are important for reshaping our visitor economy to welcome the world toward 2032. Queensland Rail Head of Regional Jim Benstead said the rail operators focus on First Nations content meant improvements were on the cards for stations too.With some of our regional stations welcoming up to 80000 customers each year prior to COVID the First Nations Steering Group will be key to ensuring Indigenous content is kept front of mind in Queensland Rails planning process for the Regional Station Upgrade Program Mr Benstead said.The group will support consultation with Traditional Owners on upgrades at Maryborough West Rockhampton Bundaberg Townsville and Cairns stations to identify design elements at each station to ensure the cultural experience continues when customers disembark the train.These are important improvements to the regional rail network and just the beginning of what will be an ongoing collaboration into the future to deliver an inclusive rail network he said.
