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.
It gives me great pleasure to stand in this chamber today and speak openly about the impact of having the Premier and Deputy Premier in Townsville last week and to have the cabinet meet in Townsville last Tuesday. Madam Deputy Speaker, once the announcement was made about the visit, the buzz around the city was amazing and very positive, as you can imagine. People wanted to know what announcements could be expected and the businesspeople were asking me what the Premier and Deputy Premier will be doing to help the Townsville economy. I can safely say that the people of Townsville were certainly not disappointed, particularly when the Premier outlined in her CEDA speech on Thursday the government's commitment to the Galilee Basin. I will quote the Premier directly from her speech—
No-one should doubt the resolve of my Government to ensure the development of the Galilee Basin. We know how important that project is to regional economies like Townsville, but for the state economy as well. When we came to government in February 2015, it is fair to say that there was a long way to go with the approvals that Adani needed before they could start construction ... Adani has now obtained all the necessary primary approvals for its mine, rail and port project—and most importantly, we have granted the mining leases. And we have increased resourcing for the Land Court and appointed a new President to streamline some of the legal challenges.
Adani have also publicly said that they expect to begin initial construction early next year which is great news for Townsville and for North Queensland. The Premier then went on to outline the infrastructure development work that is happening in the Townsville region that brings jobs to local people and includes investment in projects like the $18.9 million primary school at the North Shore estate; section 4 of the ring-road, a $200 million project that is creating 300 jobs; the new $6.6 million paediatrics wing at Townsville Hospital; the $30 million Riverway Drive duplication, which will start next year; $55 million berth 4 grade upgrade to the Port of Townsville, supporting 100 jobs during construction; the $10 million Arnot Creek bridge upgrade, supporting 31 jobs; and the $6 million Hervey Range Road widening works, supporting 19 jobs. That is not to mention the tens of millions of dollars of regular maintenance money being spent in Townsville.
The Premier also spoke of the additional front-line services that the government has invested in after the atrocious culling of some 14,000 jobs by the previous Newman-Nicholls government. In Townsville we have seen under the Palaszczuk government extra nurses, extra doctors, extra health professionals, extra teachers and teacher aides, extra paramedics and extra police.
The Premier also spoke of the Advancing our cities and regions strategy that provides opportunities to reassess what we have right in front of us and to look at ways to unlock economic growth opportunities. That kind of development means one thing above all others: it means more jobs. This thinking has led the Palaszczuk government to consider how we can create new partnerships with the private sector and with other levels of government and transform state land across Queensland. Advancing our cities and regions will see under-utilised state property renewed and repurposed, breathing new life into communities across the state and, more importantly for Townsville, into our city.
Townsville has been singled out as one of the four priority projects under the Advancing our cities and regions strategy. The Townsville transformation project encompasses a range of renewal opportunities that will play a key role in the Australia-first Townsville City deal. It includes the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area, incorporating the North Queensland Stadium, which is the most comprehensive economic development project in the city and one of the largest urban renewal projects currently underway in Northern Australia.
The Deputy Premier announced the first project of its kind under the Advancing our cities and regions policy. The Palaszczuk government is co-investing in the new $28 million waterfront promenade, as well as opportunities like the JCU health and knowledge precinct and strategies to release surplus land on campus for renewal and development so local people get local jobs to build their local infrastructure projects that will build a strong local economy.