MOUNT Isa Mayor Tony McGrady says the “disgraceful” Royalties for Regions funding model of the previous LNP government must never happen again.
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The new Labor state government’s four focused funds within the revised Building Our Regions initiative should be of major benefit to Mount Isa, Cr McGrady said.
“All I ask is that the funding be allocated in a fair and equitable way and not used as a pork barrelling exercise and part of the political patronage which the former governments scheme was,” he said.
“We were informed by the highest authority in the Department of State Development that our previous applications ticked all of the boxes but were rejected by their political masters.
“This was a disgraceful episode in the life of the previous government.
“This must never be allowed to happen again.”
Mount Isa city was allocated only $500,000 from the Royalties for Region funding for its Sewerage Augmentation application worth $6 million.
While other local government areas such as Livingstone Shire Council grabbed $15 million for a rural bypass after the former LNP government gifted half of the $30 million required for the Panorama Drive development near Yeppoon.
“The new government’s four focused funds should be of major benefit to Mount Isa particularly; Royalties for Resource Producing Communities,” Cr McGrady said.
“Nobody but nobody could possibly doubt that our community is resource producing. I would claim the largest resource producing area in our state.
“Mount Isa is a remote community which is crying out for infrastructure and the possibility of a water project, coupled with maybe a joint application with Townsville for assistance with the second stage of the gas pipeline from Mount Isa to Townsville.
“This could be considered under the Regional Capital Fund and should be considered by both councils.
“Such a project could bring major benefits, by way of cheaper energy costs, not just to our city and the Port City of Townsville but many potential developments on that route particularly in the mining sector.”
Cr McGrady said there was also the potential for a meatworks as part of improving infrastructure in the North West.
“I can assure the ratepayers of our city that a major effort will now go into selecting our applications and once again presenting them in a professional way in the knowledge that they will be assessed through a fair process,” Cr McGrady said.
