NEWS ALERT: Why my war on North Queensland is starting to pay off Nearly five weeks after declaring war on Australia’s Far North, Federal Member Capricornia Michelle Landry said Central Queensland had gained some ‘big wins’ in its fight for greater recognition in the future development of Northern Australia. The Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia today handed its final report to Parliament in Canberra, which now includes more focus on Central Queensland. “It has been an intense battle, but I am pleased that in the final report released today that Central Queensland has picked up greater recognition for its role in developing Northern Australia’s economic future,” Ms Landry said. “It was vital that we were included, or our region would have been overlooked for another decade.” Last month Ms Landry made headlines by claiming industry, research and political leaders further North had hi-jacked the decision making process by ignoring Rockhampton and inland Capricornia, while favouring Townsville, Cairns, Darwin and Kimberley. Some of the key points endorsed on Ms Landry’s fighting list include: • The inclusion of the Fitzroy’s Eden Bann and Rookwood weirs on a list of six key regional water projects ear marked for ‘priority development’. “The Committee recommended that the Australian Government give priority to these proposals,” Ms Landry said. The report acknowledged that the proposal to raise the dam wall at Eden Bann Weir and build a new weir at Rookwood, near Rockhampton, had the potential to allow large scale development of horticultural crops for export to Asia. If it went ahead, the project would form part of a Fitzroy Agricultural Corridor (FAC) in an area between the junction of the Dawson and McKenzie Rivers and encompassing the Fitzroy River and the Fitzroy River Barrage. • The list of six recommended water projects also includes the proposed Urannah Dam east of Collinsville in northern Capricornia. “This would guarantee a supply of water to new coal mine projects in Capricornia and open up the potential for irrigation farming near Collinsville,” Ms Landry said. • Rewording of recommendations to support the creation of a Northern Agricultural Co-operative Research Centre (CRC). Previously, the CRC consortium was singled out for failing to effectively engage with CQUniversity, while instead dealing with James Cook University. The Committee has now acknowledged that all of the universities in Northern Australia, including CQUniversity, should be involved in the CRC process. The CRC consortium CEO Mike Guerin will meet with CQUniveristy in Rockhampton next month to flesh out a potential role for CQU. The CRC could play a vital research role in future agriculture and industrial projects. The Parliamentary Committee noted that CQUniversity had a high reputation for agricultural research with a ranking of ‘5’, which is well above the world standard • In other key areas of higher education, the report recommends that the Australian Government allow graduates to have some or all of their HELP (old HECS) debt ‘written off’ in return for working and living in remote locations. • The report also called for an examination of the tax system for Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) work and housing arrangements in major mining projects to ensure those living in remote towns were not disadvantaged compared to workers on FIFO rosters. “In the final week there were some pretty heated discussions about what wording should and should not appear in the final recommendations,” Ms Landry said. “We fought hard to keep Central Queensland and Capricornia on the radar. I am certain that if we had stood still in recent times we would have been overlooked. “I have been encouraged by reports from Committee Chairman Warren Entsch that Rockhampton and Mackay are recognized among the the five key hubs of Northern Australia along with Darwin, Cairns and Townsville,” she said. The joint parliamentary report will feed into a Government White Paper and form part of the foundations in cementing the future development of the northern part of Australia that lies above the Tropic of Capricorn. The latitudinal line runs through Rockhampton city. Ms Landry said she expected to be able to make more announcements on Central Queensland’s involvement in the northern process in the near future.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 06:47:57 +0000
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