STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mrs ELLIOT (Richmond) (13:31): I have some very exciting news for the House today. The Tweed region has been named Australia's premier travel destination in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2027. In fact, the Tweed was the only Australian destination included in the world's 25 top destinations for 2027, beating some world-famous tourism hotspots, including the Maldives.

Lonely Planet highlights some of the amazing things that the Tweed has to offer visitors and locals alike, whether it's enjoying our beautiful beaches from Tweed Heads to Pottsville, riding along the wonderful Northern Rivers Rail Trail, hiking in our national parks or experiencing the very vibrant arts and culture scenes of Murwillumbah and the Tweed Valley villages.

This recognition showcases the outstanding job done by our local tourism operators, small businesses and their workers. This important acknowledgement will be really good for locals, good for jobs and really good for our local economy. Tweed Shire's new mayor, Reece Byrnes, whom I'd like to congratulate on his recent election as the Tweed Shire's first Labor mayor, put it best when he said: 'To be recognised by Lonely Planet as one of the world's must-visit destinations is a wonderful honour for Tweed and a proud moment for our entire community.' It was just last month that I encouraged members of this House to come and visit our beautiful region.

Lonely Planet has now extended that invitation to the whole world.