What would Newman cut in Far North Queensland?

by | Sep 8, 2011 | Media Releases

Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said infrastructure for the Far North would be slashed under Campbell Newman.

“Unbelievably, the LNP’s Infrastructure Plan doesn’t even mention the words ‘Far North Queensland’ until the Appendix, where this lazy Opposition simply lists all the projects Labor has already committed to,” Mr Pitt said.

“In comparison – the LNP devotes 44 pages to a section on South East Queensland – spruiking $22 Billion worth of projects for the City.

“When he was Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman wrote to the Government and said he thought South East Queensland should keep 70 per cent of all infrastructure spending.

“Now he wants to make sure of it,” he said.

FNQ projects that don’t appear in Newman’s plan include:

  • Cairns Cultural Precinct – $2.5M committed by the Government for planning and another $40M in land.
  • Cairns Bus Station – $36 million committed by the Government to date.
  • FNQ Industrial land – $11M committed by the Government to date.
  • Bruce Highway, Innisfail to Cairns – $150M committed by the Government to date.
  • Mareeba Airport upgrade – $13.4M committed by the Government to date.
  • Badu Island new police station – $10M committed by the Government to date.
  • Saibai Island Primary Health Care Centre – $8.4M committed by the Government to date.
  • Thursday Island Chronic Disease Centre – $39M committed by the Government to date.

“Each of these projects will be delivered by Labor. They are in our Queensland Infrastructure Plan. Each of these projects is backed by direct funding in this year’s Budget.

“All of these projects are now at risk of being cut under the LNP.

“I challenge the LNP candidates Robyn Quick (Mulgrave), Michael Trout (Barron River) and David Kempton (Cook) to say whether they support these cuts.

“The only thing we know for sure about Newman is his record of delivery.

“He broke a promise when he increased council rates by 44 per cent – more than double the rate of inflation.

“His Clem 7 tunnel is now bankrupt and he produced a public square with no shade so that it is unusable in summer. It is so hot you can fry an egg,” Mr Pitt said.