North Queensland split widens as Cairns scores big and Townsville is left behind in funding promises
Townsville voters are being handed small change while Cairns laps up tens of millions in election promises from the major parties — a move fuelling claims the city is being treated as the “poor cousin of the north”.
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Townsville voters are being handed small change while Cairns laps up tens of millions in election promises from the major parties — a move fuelling claims the city is being treated as the “poor cousin of the north”.
Despite being a key battleground in previous election campaigns, the shift from Herbert being a bellwether to a safe seat has left the city wanting.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has showered Cairns with big-ticket commitments, including:$33.8m for Cairns Regional Council infrastructure, $19m for a new Australian Technical College, $15m for a Cowboys high-performance centre, $6m to expand headspace youth mental health services, $1m to revamp Muddy’s Playground and 25 new medical training places for JCU Cairns campus.
In contrast, Townsville has been offered a pittance: $6m to upgrade lighting at Riverway Stadium, $2.2m to upgrade female player facilities at Townsville Rugby Club, $1m for new gear and facilities for local sport and volunteer groups, ️ $150,000 for the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific celebrations and $150,000 for CCTV, lighting and fencing at 10 community locations to boost safety.
That’s a total commitment of just $9.5m — nearly eight times less than what’s been pledged to Cairns.
Federal Labor hasn’t put much on the table for Townsville either, but there are a few projects in the works for Townsville that are already fully costed and budgeted and therefore not considered promises.
This includes $30m to fix traffic bottlenecks at the Townsville University Hospital roundabout, and $100m to revive Reef HQ, which is old funding previously promised as part of the Townsville City Deal originally earmarked for the Haughton Pipeline.
The party did include upgrades to the Townsville Headspace – including making it a Headspace Plus – in a broader announcement addressing metal health. There was no dollar figure attached.
Labor’s biggest infrastructure spend goes north — with a $245m bridge project for Cairns on the Kennedy Highway – promised as part of the federal budget.
Labor also matched the Coalition’s $15m pledge for the Cowboys centre in Cairns and has allocated $25m for housing support in the Far North.
Both major parties are touting $7.2bn in Bruce Highway funding, though it remains unclear how much of that will land in Townsville.
Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smtih said there was “no doubt” this election campaign had been “disappointing” for the region.
“North Queensland is on the cusp of an incredible time in its history – we continue to be an economic powerhouse, the geographical and trading gateway to Asia, and the defence capital of the nation,” she said.
“To not invest accordingly, will risk not only our region’s economic growth, but also the nation’s economic future and national security.
“We have an incredible $42.2bn pipeline of economic investment in the works and we count on election cycles to provide us the cash needed to get many of the promised projects off the ground.
“The failure of the two major parties to invest accordingly in our future will set the region back.”
Ms Brumme-Smith said key nation-building infrastructure like state 2 of the Townsville Port Expansion Plan, the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor, housing, and a Flinders Highway upgrade would have been perfect targets for investment.
“As a result of industry, energy and defence growth along the North and Northwest corridor, freight between Townsville and Hughenden is expected to significantly increase over the next five years along the Flinders Highway,” she said.
“The highway currently supports around $15bn worth of mining and cattle input annually, so to not invest properly in it risks the sustainability of current industries as well as any proposed future use.”
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said he had helped secure funding in the past for projects like the Townsville Concert Hall (which is now diverted to the Reef HQ redevelopment), and initial Reef HQ funding.
He called out the Labor government for treating the people of Townsville with “little regard”, suggesting they had “thrown the kitchen sink at Cairns”.
Mr Thompson said that he was “proud to have secured billions of dollars of investment into key projects across the Herbert electorate over the past six years”, which included the Port of Townsville, a new 33-bed ward at the Townsville University Hospital, and a new neonatal and maternity ward at the Mater Hospital.
“I always have, and always will, fight for the best interests of Herbert and have proven my ability to work with our local community to secure the funding we need to deliver critical projects that shape the future of our wonderful city,” he said.
Labor candidate Edwina Andrew said she was “proud” of the funding that had been allocated to Herbert.
“Of course on top of this we have provided a tax cut to everybody in Townsville, more bulk-billed GP visits, cheaper childcare and a massive $7.2 billion investment in the Bruce Highway,” she said.
“Labor will always fight for workers in North Queensland, ensuring wages are rising while inflation is coming down.”
Originally published as North Queensland split widens as Cairns scores big and Townsville is left behind in funding promises
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