Nation building, or a boondoggle that might enrich the extended family of a crucial member of the Federal Parliament? That’s the question over CopperString 2.0, an 1100-kilometre power transmission line connecting the Queensland mining hub of Mount Isa with Townsville.

The project is owned by John and Joseph O’Brien, the brother-in-law and nephew of Bob Katter, the big-hatted populist who might at some point determine the fate of the Morrison government and its vanishing majority. This needs scrutiny. This looks more like an unsolicited bid than part of any real energy plan, and with every temptation for pork-barrel spending by Canberra.