Funding shortlist finalised
State’s electric car facilities charge ahead
THE Federal Government’s long-awaited $20 million jobs package for the Far North finally has a date set in stone for its announcement.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch had said the Regional Jobs and Investment Package for the Cairns, Douglas and Yarrabah regions would be finalised by the end of last month.
It followed months of previous delays blamed on the Federal Government’s citizenship saga.
Regional Development Minister John McVeigh will be in Cairns to unveil the list of successful projects receiving dollar-for-dollar funding on February 21.
“I’ve got them pinned down to a date now,” Mr Entsch said.
“The only reason it’s on the 21st is because on Monday (today) Parliament goes back for two weeks. I’ll be catching up with him in the first week of Parliament to go through the final details.”
Mr Entsch said he had not seen the list of projects but the full $20 million would be spent.
“It will be spent right across the whole area so that everyone that has an interest in it will benefit,” he said.
Labor Senator Murray Watts said the long wait was unacceptable.
“Warren Entsch at the … federal election 18 months ago had lots of talk and lots of money for a regional jobs and investment fund,” he said.
“Eighteen months later, not a single job, not a single dollar has been spent.”
Geelong’s $20 million portion of the package was announced last month, with 21 projects securing funding for works expected to create 600 new jobs during construction and 600 ongoing jobs. ELECTRIC car drivers can now drive from Coolangatta to Cairns after a charging station went online in Townsville.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the charging sta- tions at Townsville and Carmila south of Mackay marked the completion of the initial phase of the Queensland Electric Super Highway project.
“We now have the world’s longest electric vehicle super highway in a single state stretching all the way up our beautiful eastern coastline,” he said.
Mr Bailey said the charging stations would be available for use at “no cost” for the initial phase of the super highway.
“The global market continues to head full-speed towards a future where electric vehicles dominate the transport space, with major manufacturers unveiling their newest models in recent expos in the US and making major commitments to increasing the range,” he said.