Labor adds new string to its bow

The Palaszczuk government has reached agreement to underwrite development of the ‘copperstring’ project to connect the northwest Queensland mining province with the national grid.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in a truck at the Port of Brisbane on Tuesday. Picture: Dan Peled

The Palaszczuk government will announce on Wednesday that it has reached agreement to underwrite development of the “copperstring” project to connect the northwest Queensland mining province with the national grid.

The $1.7bn project – long championed by Katter’s Australian Party – is touted as transformative infrastructure that could halve the energy costs of mines and smelters in the region.

It would also tap emerging renewable projects along the connection between northwest Queensland and Townsville, where it will meet the national grid.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will announce that the Labor government had reached an “implementation agreement” with proponent CuString that will underwrite further development costs of the project.

In a statement, Ms Palaszczuk said the Copperstring 2.0 will be vital for the development of new mining projects in the region.

“The North West Minerals Province will play a vital role in Queensland’s economic recovery from COVID-19,” she said.

“Our economic strategy is underpinned by traditional strengths like the resources industry.

“The northwest has over half a trillion dollars in critical new economy minerals needed for batteries and renewables.”

Local MP and leader of the KAP, Robbie Katter, said he welcomed the announcement after years of lobbying the state government to support the project.

“The government has been dragged kicking and screaming under immense political pressure to support this project,’’ he said.

Queensland opposition leader Deb Frecklington launches the Queensland State election campaign at Gilmour Space, Helensvale, on the Gold Coast on Tuesday. Picture: Sarah Marshall

“This will halve energy costs and could be one of the most cost effective industry-enabling pieces of infrastructure in the country.”

On Tuesday, the Liberal National Party proposed kickstarting the space industry by partnering with a Gold Coast company to build space vehicles to go with a rocket-launching facility in North Queensland.

LNP leader Deb Frecklington travelled to the marginal seat of Bonney on the Gold Coast to announce that, in government, her party would give $25m to partner with Gilmour Space group to deliver the new dedicated rocket-manufacturing facility on the Gold Coast. She said this would directly create 150 jobs in manufacturing on the Gold Coast.

“This is all about investing in the space race, and we know the space race is all about jobs, and we want Queensland to win that race,” she said. “Queensland’s space economy has the potential to pour up to $6bn into the state economy and support up to 6000 high-skilled jobs by 2036.”

Ms Frecklington said the announcement aligned with the federal government’s $1.3bn Modern Manufacturing Initiative, supporting space as one of six key manufacturing priorities.

Tuesday’s announcement follows the LNP’s recent commitment to construct a government-owned rocket-launch site at the coal port of Abbot Point near Bowen in North Queensland.

Space-based industries have a rich pedigree in the LNP, with former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen proposing a space station on Cape York in 1986 and the government of Rob Borbidge also proposing a space project a decade later. None came to fruition.

But Ms Frecklington said on Tuesday that manufacturing would be vital to Queensland’s post-COVID economic recovery, and investment in the space industry was a part of this.

She said this $40m investment would give Queensland “first-mover advantage over other states” in what she said was a growing industry.

Queensland is not the only state or territory chasing the space industry, with NASA announcing on Monday that it would be launching satellites into space from a launch site in East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.