Entsch defends budget and hints Cairns will get more in lead up to federal election

Federal member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch says the Far North will benefit broadly from budget measures to address the cost of living - but others say the budget has ignored Cairns.

FEDERAL Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has defended the budget and hinted there would be more to come for the Far North in the lead up to the federal election.

He said measures to provide relief from the spiralling cost of living applied to Leichhardt, there was $68m for the Peninsula Development Rd and road spending of more than $1.3b locked in.

“I am confident we will get the money for defence, it’s only been presented in the last couple of months,” he said referring to Advance Cairns’ big ticket item of up to $400m for a common user facility at Cairns Marine Precinct.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch – the Prime Minister visited the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park near Cairns to announce $1 billion in funding over nine years for the reef. Picture: Brendan Radke.

“There’s a hell of a lot more that will be coming, I’m confident we’ll get something across the line with CQ University, the money is there to make these things happen.”

Advance Cairns pushed for $50m for a new Cairns City campus for fast-growing CQU.

Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith said the budget was disappointing.

“Regional Queensland got left behind, Far North Queensland has the right to feel a bit left out and neglected, and the budget doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Ms Faith said.

Labor candidate for Leichhardt Elida Faith said the budget didn’t make a lot of sense. Picture: Stewart McLean.

“If the Morrison government was serious about tackling the cost of living crisis that we have and that a lot of families are experiencing they wouldn’t have spent the best part of a decade attacking workers wages, security of work, and Medicare.”

Federal MP for Kennedy Bob Katter welcomed a $1.3b telecommunications package to expand mobile and internet coverage in the region, but said the government’s cost of living measures including the temporary cut to the fuel excise, and its extra 50,000 places Home Guarantee Scheme, were shortsighted.

He said the extra 50,000 places would drive up demand for housing without increasing the supply, resulting in property price increase.

Advance Cairns chairman Nick Trompf said the peak body would continue to push for money for the marine precinct.

Federal member for Kennedy Bob Katter applauded budget initiatives for regional and remote areas. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Our highest priority now is to get one or both sides of the house to commit to the federal government providing half of the funding for a common user facility here, because there’s no doubt that with the geopolitical uncertainty in our region, the importance of the Pacific in terms of sovereign protection, Cairns is such a critical place as a hub, the navy base is expanding with more boats going here, the shipyards have so much work ahead of them – unless we get better facilities here in Cairns we will miss out on that work, it will go to Darwin or WA or offshore,” Mr Trompf said.

Katter’s Australian Party candidate for Leichhardt Rod Jensen said ‘bandaid’ solutions were offered and there was not much that hadn’t already been announced.

“There was no money for the Cairns water supply and the fuel excise cut is a short term fix,” he said.

“Even the Prime Minister visiting Cairns was all just a show.”

Originally published as Entsch defends budget and hints Cairns will get more in lead up to federal election