BUDGET PUTS CAMPAIGN MODE IN FAST LANE

BUDGET buzz is intensifying as Far North leaders scour a list of projects and wonder what kind of grand plan lies ahead – one of pandemic austerity, pre-election logrolling or a bit of both.

Early signs are that the latter two options are on the cards.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will hand down his federal budget on Tuesday night, having already revealed measures to keep the economy moving like reduced home loan deposits for single mothers, childcare subsidies and a $10bn cyclone reinsurance pool guarantee.

Today’s $240m pledge to duplicate the Cairns Western Arterial Road is terrific for the city, particularly anyone who deals with the head-bashing rat race from the north every day.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has been teasing “a few more” big announcements to be rolled out.

He desperately wants to secure funds for the Daintree solar to hydrogen microgrid, having spent all of his career advocating for residents north of the river to get access to power.

There is also potential for a $50m commitment to build CQUniversity’s new CBD campus, and Commonwealth funds for medical student placements at James Cook University – required for the Cairns University Hospital expansion to work.

Whether it all makes it into Tuesday night’s budget remains to be seen.

Advance Cairns chairman Nick Trompf told the Cairns Post he expected some “broad buckets of funding” to be rolled out so project decisions could be announced closer to the election.

“It’s a typical pre-election approach. It allows them to be more specific later in the year and next year in the lead-up to the campaign,” he said.

When the election will be called is anyone’s guess – but an April 2022 date is looking increasingly likely.