Glencore needs to commit to Mount Isa, or get out of town. Just as the government needs to show some serious commitment to the North, or hand over running this state to someone who will.
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I’ve been criticised for calling for a separate state for North Queensland. I wish my critics were right, and that the only reason we needed one was because of the Electoral Commission Queensland’s boundary changes. Despite the critic’s claims, a separate state is not about protecting my job. It’s about protecting all of the jobs in North Queensland, including the 2,000 that could be lost if Glencore follows through on its threats to pull its copper operations out of Mount Isa and Townsville.
At the beginning of this Parliament, I sat down with the leaders of this State’s new government. We talked about the North West Minerals Province, and I urged the need to put politics aside and commit to addressing the severe risks from rising energy and transport costs.
For some major mining companies rail access charges have increased by up to 70% over three years, and gas and electricity costs have more than doubled, with further increases likely.
Those across from me agreed, and I left that meeting confident that they understood the significance of the province, and the need to develop. Two years later there has been little, if any meaningful action.
We are still waiting for the North West Minerals Province Taskforce’s report, more than two years after it was started. Unfortunately, this seems to be a direct reflection on how seriously the government takes the issues facing the North.
Glencore and the government are both to blame for the current situation facing Mount Isa.
If the government had shown vision and commitment to the North West Minerals Province, including management of infrastructure to support business investment, there would be no reason for Glencore to be threating to close.
The government has an opportunity with this month’s budget to invest in infrastructure, such as rail and irrigation in the state’s North, to support long term development. It continues to baffle me why we as a state or a country would loan Adani or any other business money to build a rail line we could have built ourselves and leased to them and other users for profit.
Management of state owned assets is something else that needs urgent attention. The government cannot justify the industry crippling prices on the Mount Isa- Townsville rail line or the increases in electricity prices for both households and businesses. Predictably these high prices are putting business investment at risk and tightening household budgets. How can the government expect to create jobs when it reduces the ability for households to spend and businesses to invest?
The government’s narrow and short term economic vision is a big contributor to Glencore’s recent announcement however they should not shoulder all of the blame.
Glencore needs to make sure it is making the most of any opportunities offered by the government. This community has worked hard to support Glencore to ensure it has every chance to create a long term profitable future in Mount Isa.
There is a world class resource which Glencore currently has the rights to. If they don’t want to use it, I will do everything I can to get them out of the way and let someone else in who will. They only thing worse than Glencore pulling out, is indecision on their part. That resource is a huge part of Mount Isa, and whenever it’s under threat, the whole community feels it.
The current economic issues are a direct symptom of a government who is only interested in governing for the south east. To those who criticise the idea of a separate North Queensland state I say look at the numbers. Unemployment in the north and western Queensland 10%, while for Brisbane the average is around 5.5%. Analysis of major energy and transport infrastructure project expenditure from the 2016-17 budget shows that less than 10% was in North Queensland. Additionally of the 20 major projects currently being investigated by building Queensland (the government’s major project advisory body), only 4 are in North Queensland.
So yes, while the government continues to focus on the south east at the expense of the North I believe there is a case for a separate state.