RDA Townsville and North West Queensland chief executive Glenys Schuntner, also the secretariat for the Inland Queensland Roads Action Plan (IQRAP) was also trying to make sure all council representatives and mayors met together. 

“(We’re) hoping that will occur late May,” she said. 

“We’ll be communicating first off by writing to them and potentially talking to them one-on-one seeking a meeting getting them all together.” 

The RDA had been in approximately 70 meetings in the past two months, visiting capitals such as Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, to meet with federal, state and local officials. 

Ms Schuntner saw roads as a vital part of improving infrastructure and development potential, whether it be to decrease cost in freight or by creating new tourism opportunities through alternative routes. 

Reduced freight costs could happen by reducing the cost of maintenance needed for heavy vehicles that had to freight. 

“If we can get better quality roads on routes that can take heavy vehicles there’s lower fuel costs, less wear and tear on vehicles, and would be able to get product to the market quicker by using shorter, better routes,” she said. 

The RDA already had met with at least three mayors in the North West following the election.

The meeting held last Wednesday in Mount Isa included the city’s mayor Joyce McCulloch, Cloncurry Shire Mayor Greg Campbell and McKinlay Shire Mayor Belinda Murphy. 

The RDA’s branch’s chair Paul Woodhouse, who also attended the meeting, said much of the focus in communicating with north Queensland mayors was to build momentum in federal plans of developing the north. 

“It would be a shame to lose that momentum,” Mr Woodhouse said during a break in the meeting. 

“My biggest fear is that once we lose the momentum here there’s going to be a light rail project overnight somewhere else,” he said, and clicked his fingers.