 |
| The Prime Minister has announced funding for a statue honouring the Mud Army six months after Queensland's Premier rejected the idea. |
QUEENSLAND'S Mud Army is to be honoured with a statue after all, six months after Premier Campbell Newman refused to support predecessor Anna Bligh's $150,000 pledge for a suitable monument.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has used the second anniversary of the Brisbane floods to announce her Government will commission a statue to recognise the thousands of ordinary Queenslanders who descended on flood-ravaged streets and suburbs to help reeling residents.
She said the Government's backing was "not to score a political point but to ensure the story of the Mud Army is told to future generations".
In July Mr Newman scrapped the statue idea - which Ms Bligh announced on the first anniversary of the floods - saying that the previous Labor administration had not allocated any funds to back its promise.
The Federal Government will commit up to $200,000 to the project and has contacted both the State Government Brisbane City Council to decide on a suitable site.
Do you support the statue and where should it be built? Tell us below
Possible locations could include the Botanic Gardens, South Bank Parklands, Kangaroo Point or West End.
Depending on negotiations, the work could be completed within 12 months.
Deputy Prime Minister and Brisbane MP Wayne Swan said the statue would be "a very fitting way" to recognise the estimated 100,000 members of the Mud Army.
www.CourierMail.com.au
12.1.13
