THOUSANDS of rail jobs are being created in South East Queensland while the North West suffers through a lack of jobs and resources.
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Only days after it was announced that Inlander Rail passengers would be forced to sit up for the 20-hour journey from Mount Isa to Townsville with the scrapping of sleeping and dining carriages, more infrastructure and better services were announced closer to the coast.
Transport Minister Scott Emerson said about 350 people were now employed on the construction of a new maintenance centre at Wulkuraka to service South East Queensland’s next generation of trains – and there’s more work on the way, with the workforce soon to hit 514.
“The project will also provide more than 1500 indirect opportunities for contractors and other businesses, creating even more jobs for the Ipswich region,” Mr Emerson said.
But while the South East is flourishing with state government investment, state member for Mount Isa Rob Katter has asked why the North West is ‘‘being snubbed’’.
“Where are the jobs, the resources and the funding for North West Queensland?” he asked in response to the government’s unveiling of more jobs for the South East’s rail project.
“Just a few days after announcing the demise of the sleeping carriages and the dining car from the Inlander rail service between Mount Isa and Townsville, the Transport Minister is boasting about boosting 350 jobs on the South East’s New Generation Rollingstock project.
“Where are the jobs and services for the North West, as promised by the Queensland Plan?” Mr Katter asked.
He said the four-pillar economy could not grow simply by pouring money and resources into the coastal cities.
“Out here in the North West, we are the productive sector for the state. The gross regional product per capita is $63,632 for Brisbane, and $186,503 for the North West.
“We are three times as productive as Brisbane, yet all we’re getting out here from the government is empty promises about decentralisation and populating the regions, while our services and jobs are cut.”
Mr Katter said the government paid $12.5 million to cover the subsidy on the Inlander – less than 1 per cent of the total amount paid by the government to Queensland Rail annually ($1.75 billion).
“There has been a 61 per cent increase in the government subsidy for some public transport services in South East Queensland since 2008-09 and that will increase a further 35 per cent by 2015-16, yet this government is unwilling to commit a minute amount of funding to the Inlander, which is one of only two public transport options available to people living in the North West,” he said.