OUR BRISBANE- BASED LEADERS ARE BLOWING BILLIONS TO EASE CITY PEOPLE’S MORNING COMMUTES WHILE THE NORTH IS ASKED TO PATIENTLY WAIT FOR SOLUTIONS ON JOBS, POWER PRICES AND CRIME. TIME TO DRAW A LINE

ITHINK it’s time for the secession argument to be elevated from an easily dismissed thought bubble by those nutters up north to something our community can embrace as a platform for the next major age of expansion.

The call for a separate state to be declared to free the North from the southeast began almost as soon as Townsville was established in 1865.

Indeed, in the oldest surviving editions of the Townsville Bulletin – the proud Voice of the North since 1881 – there are regular references to meetings, speeches, declarations and delegations presenting the case to southern leaders.

And the debate was fierce, with one unearthed editorial opinion piece from 1924 deriding a push that began 30 years earlier as folly; that the North needed the southeast’s support after the economic upheaval of the tumultuous post- federation decades.

That may well have been true then, but times have changed a lot.

The issue bubbles up whenever talk turns to the disadvantage the North suffers in playing second fiddle to the southeast.

Northerners are proud. We are custodians of much of the state’s wealth, with our rich mineral resources filling the southeast’s coffers and tourism showcasing the region to the world.

Just as the coal- shovellers in a ship’s engine room detested the snobs above- decks whose lifestyles were only made possible by their back- breaking work, so North Queenslanders consider our contribution to Queensland is unfairly minimised.

When issues North Queenslanders consider truly trivial are made top priority by our southeastern leaders – as is the case in the State Government’s pursuit of a $ 5.4 billion new tunnel that has been deemed unnecessary – the secession debate rightly flares up.

Our Brisbane- based leaders are blowing billions to ease city people’s morning commutes while the North is asked to patiently wait for solutions on jobs, power prices and crime.

We North Queenslanders are humble, hard workers who only want our fair share.

We have some of the brightest minds in business, sport, education and the arts, yet our contributions are too often ignored or hijacked by our southern masters.

One of the major arguments against the push for a new state up here is that “it can’t be done” or that there are more important things to worry about.

Consider this. When Townsville was established, the United States had just declared Nebraska its 37th state. Much has changed since.

Of course the US had a much larger population and its frontier expansion is the stuff of legend, but the lines etched on the map of Australia soon after the English arrived here were never intended to remain in place for all time.

Another popular “anti” argument floated even by North Queenslanders is “we need less government, not more”.

I couldn’t agree more, but the creation of a new state would not introduce an extra layer of “STOP looking out the window, and concentrate” he said with a smirk, and dashed out of my studio laughing. My boss knew both his requests would be near impossible for me. Windows, the gateway to a different world.

To me of an early morning its watching the beginning of a new day in the tropics, the dawn, the cars and the trucks, the push bikes, the white cockatoos on the lamp posts, all on the stage of life.

A month ago I looked out of a round window at glaciers and sheet ice, through the plane windows at mother nature’s art in white, and my car window at kids playing volleyball on The Strand, but last week, Thursday and Friday, I looked into different windows.

Windows of wisdom, of stories of the early days, of loves found, and some with stories of lifelong loves taken, of laughter, of hope, of the careless joy of life, and some of suffering.

These windows are the ‘ eyes’ of the glorious well- lived folk who I met at the seniors lunches. It was an absolute privilege to be the host, and meet and laugh with some incredible people who have achieved remarkable things.

Then in the evenings, I looked through similar windows, but this time of excitement, confidence, of liberation from the real world into that of fantasy, more so, of fantasy that becomes truly real. I was looking at the eyes of the wonderfully talented kids of Wicked.

Then on Saturday night after the government; a new state administration would simply replace the Brisbane- based one we have now. Some argue we don’t need state governments at all, that super councils should be all the government we need to deliver services, but we can argue about that another time. The State Government received almost $ 4 billion in royalties from coal and other resource extraction, the vast bulk of which was sourced north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Imagine if those royalties flowed to a new capital in Townsville? We would not be trudging to Brisbane with our begging bowl pleading for alms to fix the shockingly derelict Mount IsaTownsville rail line, which stands as a national disgrace and an economic embarrassment for industry. “Drawing the line” would also instantly trigger better representation for our region in the national parliament, as Wicked matinee, I looked into a window filled with the sadness of loss, yet of unbelievable determination and the joy of giving new life, that window, those eyes, belonged to Ren Pederson, a man so determined to rid the world of childhood brain tumours – it’s truly inspiring.

The charity he created is The Cure Starts Now, and with thanks to Kirwan High, Todd Fellows from Pickles, endless generosity by local companies and people, we raised $ 60,000.

It was an incredible four days really, truly quite emotional and enlightening, and I guess I wanted to share it. The well lived, the youthful exuberance of giving theatrical joy, and those wanting to save lives. Extraordinary city we 12 senators would need to be elected to the Senate.

If you consider that to be overkill, consider that now there is one solitary senator in all of Australia north of Rockhampton.

Tasmania, just 4 per cent of the size of Queensland, has 12 senators representing its population of around 518,000. Queensland has the same number representing 4.8 million people. North Queensland is home to around 940,000 people.

Our senators are high profile and strong campaigners for our region but when the numbers are stacked in this way, is it any wonder North Queenslanders feel left out of the national debate?

If you’ve read this far, I assume you’re all for creating a new state and that’s where we get to the biggest hurdle for the campaign: our constitution.

Secession requires a referendum and, therefore, the support of the population of the southeast, and that’s the problem.

Even the most arrogant of elite Brisbanites reading the passage above about royalties and tourism will realise the southeast needs the North far more than we need them.

A popular vote would most likely fail, despite the push by our leaders to make it happen.

So perhaps the system should be changed. All I’m arguing is that this shouldn’t be the end of the debate.

If there is a real appetite for a change, all stops should be pulled out to make the will of the North Queensland people a reality.

So let’s start with feeling the pulse of the North on the issue. My feeling is many would support such a push, no matter how unlikely it may be. Let me know what you think.

What would you name our new state? I’d push for Flinders, Cook or Leichhardt and look forward to a future State of Origin series dominated by the North. have, or is it the extraordinary people within, all we have to do to find them, is look through the windows.

I mentioned to our guests at the John Livingstone gala for the Cure Starts Now, that perhaps these days are linked – they say ‘ life is a stage and we are but players upon it’. Well Saturday night we were raising money to keep hands around the curtain rope, holding tight, even burning, so the curtain does not come down prematurely on a young life, so they can enjoy youthful exuberance, and one day, be well lived also.

OK, it was serious, but why not for a change, and in truth we had a huge laugh along the way too.

Happy Days.