Please click below to read some of my speeches in the Queensland Parliament.
Please click below to read some of my speeches in the Queensland Parliament.
This government supports the Adani project. We have supported this project from the beginning and we will continue to support it. During the state election campaign the LNP members erected two shipping containers, one on top of the other, to form a big billboard. In fact, it was so big it almost needed its own postcode. The billboard that they placed a poster on said that a vote for Labor would cost 2,000 Adani jobs for the people of Townsville. It was pure scaremongering. How did that work out for the LNP members in the area of Townsville at that time? Members can join the dots. The people of Townsville are smarter than the LNP took them for. We support the jobs that Adani will bring and provide to the people of North Queensland and the economic development that will stem directly from this project and from the opening up of the Galilee Basin.
This government has clearly demonstrated its commitment to North Queensland and to ensuring continued employment and job creation for the benefit of North Queenslanders in general. We have worked hard to ensure not just that the Adani project can go ahead but also that there is a pipeline of projects to support employment in North Queensland. Recently the Minister for State Development announced that the Coordinator-General had granted prescribed project status to the $1.4 billion Dugald River zinc project. This project is not just a resource project; it will see the construction of a processing plant, maintenance workshop and will involve road, rail and port logistics for export from Townsville, the hub of Northern Australia. Construction of the 622 kilometre pipeline between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa is expected to start in the second quarter of 2017. This project will create up to 600 jobs and will have flow-on effects from businesses throughout the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Another initiative that this government has to bolster infrastructure development and jobs is the Building Our Regions program. The first round of the Building Our Regions program saw more than $5.4 million worth of infrastructure committed to North-West Queensland and included funding for projects as varied as the construction of new optic fibre links and upgrades to cattle saleyards.
With everything this government has going on in North Queensland, I ask: what is the federal government doing to support economic growth in the region? We have a federal government that will not commit to providing funds for the Townsville stadium. Townsville is a community that sorely needs jobs and opportunities. That project would provide a vital economic injection and would kickstart growth and deliver much-needed jobs.
I also point out the lack of federal support for Queensland's bid to build patrol boats in Cairns. Cairns is another region that needs jobs and the loss of that bid was hugely disappointing. There is still an opportunity for Cairns to continue as a major maintenance, repair and overhaul hub for the existing Royal Australian Navy vessels, including Armidale class patrol boats, hydrographic vessels and the new yet to be built offshore patrol vessels. This ongoing through-life support and sustainment, including deep maintenance, for the Pacific patrol boats is valued at $400 million over the life of the boats, which is up to 30 years. Can members imagine the employment possibilities with that? Through the Department of State Development, the Queensland government will work with North Queensland shipyards and Ports North to investigate what additional steps need to be taken to advance this project.
It is clear that this government supports the continued growth and development of North Queensland and has demonstrated, through its support of resource projects and major infrastructure initiatives, that it is hugely supportive of North Queensland in general. The Queensland government is committed to ensuring the Adani project is clear and continuing for the people of North Queensland, who can be assured that we are doing everything we can to support growth and jobs in our region.