Mayor says Labor’s cash for major projects promising
Townsville is primed for growth, having secured more than $100m in election commitments promised by the new Labor government.
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TOWNSVILLE is primed for growth, having secured more than $100m in election commitments promised by the new Labor government.
The region was lucky, with many other areas across the state failing to secure funding for major projects.
The party’s biggest investments in the North were $32m for NQ Spark, $22m for Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct and $70m for a hydrogen hub, with both expected to bring a significant increase in jobs to the region.
Mayor Jenny Hill said these projects would cement Townsville’s place as a leader in emerging global industries.
“When operational, these projects are forecast to contribute over $1.6bn annually to the Townsville Gross Regional Product and Australia’s national productivity,” Cr Hill said.
“Labor’s $22m commitment to Lansdown means Townsville is on the verge of becoming Australia’s first environmentally sustainable advanced manufacturing, processing and technology hub, powered by locally generated renewable energy.”
Cr Hill said more than 90 per cent of the land at Lansdown had been allocated and proponents were eager to move on to the construction phase.
“The funding from the new government will help establish common-user infrastructure, which is critical for these businesses to finalise their investment and commence development,” Cr Hill said.
However, she is concerned about added that the “bigger problem” was if Labor did not secure a majority government with six seats still in doubt because councils like Townsville would need to convince independents and the Greens to support certain projects.
“If Labor wins with a majority, I think it’d be easier for us to work as a local government organisation to be able to influence them,” Cr Hill said.
“It’s a lot harder if we’ve got to influence and it’s not just one group.”
The Mayor said now that Labor was in government, there would be an opportunity to secure more funding for the precinct.
“I’m confident there will be very minimal gap in terms of delivering infrastructure, but we really have to wait and see what comes out of the Queensland government budget,” Cr Hill said.
She added that the council had already done the masterplan for the infrastructure and had put two people in place to help move the project forward.
Cr Hill said the contribution to NQ Spark would help the region maximise on the city’s strengths.
“Including defence, science, and health and knowledge expertise and allows us to move forward on what will be a nationally significant simulation precinct on the doorstep to Asia and the Pacific,” Cr Hill said.
But when asked if the council felt the region could do with more cash, Mayor Hill said “I’d love more.”
“The stuff we have been doing actually fits into what the rest of Australia wants to happen.
“We’re fortunate that we had projects that would appeal to both sides of politics.”
During the election campaign, it was revealed that if elected, Labor would slash $350m from the Community Development Grants Program and return the $400m Regionalisation Fund back to the budget.
Cr Hill said she would be working through the Local Government Association of Queensland to reverse that decision.
Originally published as Mayor says Labor’s cash for major projects promising
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