All credit to leaders for nous

THE strong endorsement of Townsville City Council’s inducement deal with Adani will come as a shock to some in the community this morning.

Amid howls of corruption and all kinds of colourful conspiracy theories across social media websites in recent days, the backing of Townsville’s captains of industry should be welcome relief for those in the community who have lingering doubts about the council’s move to invest in a FIFO airstrip for the Indian company’s Carmichael mine.

As business leaders point out in the open letter published on this page today, Townsville needs to come together and work towards reaping the benefits this mine and the associated economic boost it will bring to our region.

These leaders – representing the full gamut of business types across our city – have welcomed the council’s tough negotiations in securing firstly Adani’s Carmichael headquarters and secondly 50 per cent of the FIFO requirements for the mine.

The modelling by KPMG shows that the council’s $ 15.5 million-$ 18 million investment in the Adani airstrip in the Galilee Basin will return up to $ 90 million a year in economic inflows to Townsville.

Our business leaders and local council deserve credit for standing up for the needs of Townsville jobseekers and struggling small businesses in the face of the slick and well- funded activist campaign against the Indian company.

When it starts construction in the coming weeks, Adani’s Carmichael mine will easily be the most scrutinised, challenged and monitored project of its kind in the history of minerals exploration.

While celebrities, musicians and smug commentators repeatedly attack Adani’s track record and predict doom for our Great Barrier Reef should any coal be extracted from the Galilee Basin, ordinary North Queenslanders and businesses should be confident that the mine’s opening will not herald the death of life as we know it. In fact, for many struggling communities, it will be a new lease of life.