What North Queenslanders should expect in federal budget
Healthcare workers and firm details on already announced big-ticket items are key for North Queensland in Tuesday’s federal budget. See why.
Townsville
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Desperately needed healthcare workers and firm details on big-ticket pledges will be North Queensland’s focus in Tuesday’s federal budget, the Townsville Enterprise chief executive says.
The group’s chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said $1.2bn upgrades to Lavarack Barracks and RAAF Base Townsville and $163.4m for the Australian Institute of Marine Science had already been announced.
“We want to see the next phase of those investments committed on paper,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
A delegation including Ms Brumme-Smith went to Canberra in March, and raised the issue that the region desperately needed more healthcare workers and medical training placements.
“So we hope to see the Albanese Government commit to this next week,” she said.
Housing investment would be welcome to accommodate the current and projected increased populations, particularly as more houses would be needed for workers on major projects like CopperString, Ms Brumme-Smith said.
Townsville mayor Jenny Hill does not expect funding for any major projects in the budget, but hopes funding for growth at Townsville Hospital and expanding student numbers at JCU is included.
The investment in the marine institute coupled a $150m grant scheme to repair waterways so sediment doesn’t run off on to the Great Barrier Reef, which was announced last month.
“Really that’s a big injection of funding into North Queensland even though they (federal Labor) don’t have a seat north of North Lakes,” Ms Hill said.
Ms Hill said the proposed 1100km CopperString transmission line dovetailed with the Government’s renewable energy policies.
“The project itself is worth billions to the Australian economy. But the reality is the federal government needs to kick in, or should kick in, considerable sums because it goes a long way in helping us decarbonise industries.”
“You can’t just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. And it would make sense that some of that investment, particularly in Rewiring the Nation, would come across to Queensland for a project like this.”
Rewiring the Nation is a corporation within the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Its aim is to help plan projects that modernise Australia’s electricity grids, increase access to renewable energy, and drive down power prices.
An increase in federal financial assistance grants for local government was something the Townsville mayor would also like to see on Tuesday.
“Particularly my colleagues out in places like Hughenden and Boulia, they’re all doing it tough because of the rising costs.
“Those grants can make or break some of those smaller communities.”
Those grants also offset the million dollar void the Townsville City Council does not get from personnel who live on military bases and do not pay general rates.
Originally published as What North Queenslanders should expect in federal budget
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