The federal and Queensland Governments have put in $415 million to deliver shovel-ready infrastructure projects and urgent road safety upgrades across the state but Bob Katter says more is needed around the seat of Kennedy.
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The federal government will bring forward $325 million from its recently announced $1.5 billion infrastructure fund while Queensland will contribute $90 million.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the package built on the fast tracking of $1.4 billion for infrastructure in Queensland announced last November, locking in priority upgrades that will "bust congestion, increase productivity, improve safety, and boost jobs."
The road upgrades in the project include $20m for the Cloncurry-Dajarra Rd, $25m for the Gregory Developmental Rd (Charters Towers to the Lynd), $14m for the Burke Developmental Rd (Cloncurry to Normanton), $37.5 for the Kennedy Highway (Mareeba to Atherton) and $13m for the Richmond to Winton Rd.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said investing in lasting infrastructure projects would strengthen the economy in the long run.
"Shovel-ready upgrades we're investing in include the Burke and Gregory Developmental roads as well as smaller works right across the regional network to improve safety, accessibility and flood immunity," the Premier said.
Mr Katter welcomed more than $100m in vital road upgrades for his electorate but said there were other shovel ready infrastructure projects that must start immediately to take Australia out of the pandemic depression.
"We must go into public works and we must fund 'make money projects' rather than 'absorb money projects," Mr Katter said.
"North Queensland has shovel-ready projects. Copperstring 2.0 will open up the mines in north-west Queensland with cheap and reliable electricity. A taxpayer owned, multi-user rail line into the Galilee Basin coalfields will allow for production of over $20b a year and Hells Gate Dam with its zero emission bio-technologies will be worth $3.5b a year to Australia's economy."
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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.
