North West Queensland mayors have laid out what they would like to see for their regions in this weekend’s election.
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Mount Isa City Council mayor Joyce McCulloch said they were supporting for support for the proposed transport hub on the northern edge of the city.
“At the moment we are working on our transport and logistics hub concept for Mount Isa which will bring benefit not just for Mount Isa but for the region,” Cr McCulloch said.
“Mount Isa is at the centre of a great corridor and what we’d like to bring together all of our transport and logistics to the one location and that looks at the airport as well.”
“The other one everyone is using an election promise, and it is a hard one to deliver, is affordable travel and freight for rural and regional Queensland and that’s something the Mount Isa City Council has been working on very closely with our elected state member for the last 12 to 18 months.”
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Cr McCulloch said they supported the Local Government Association of Queensland ten point election plan.
“The first part of the plan is real funding reform for local government which has taken a lot of responsibility (from the state) without the resources to deliver them,” she said. “(We want) real support for water infrastructure, for roads and freight travel, support for child literacy, we feel the LGAQ has come out with a really good plan.”
Over in Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell also has a list of priorities he wants elected representatives to consider.
“We want to see a genuine effort to understand the supply chain to ensure the right balance between road and rail freight, and policy set up to deliver a safe and efficient system to cart time sensitive freight by road and heavy freight by rail and dollars to maintain both to a high standard,” he said.
Cr Campbell wanted an access charge system that rewards rail companies for having staff based locally, a new 'Royalties for Regions' program that delivers funding to the areas the royalties are generated and greater council involvement in mining Social Impact Assessments.
He also wanted a scheme to provide relief to high power bills in rural areas and government support in airfare pricing.
The Mayor also wants major refurbishment to Cloncurry Hospital, the sealing of the missing 15km link on the Cloncurry to Duchess Road, reinstatement of lost government jobs and support for an agricultural precinct.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
