Riches in the wind
CONGRATULATIONS to the Premier and the Labor Party on retaining government.
Labor announced a commitment towards the development of Defence industries in North Queensland.
This is a key priority that Townsville Enterprise has been working towards for 18 months.
The region also secured $ 2 million towards the Museum of Underwater Art, $ 3.1 million to commence the lithium- ion battery plant feasibility study and an additional $ 50 million over five years to the Mount Isa to Townsville rail line.
While it was encouraging to secure several election commitments, a major priority for our region is the progression of the Carmichael mine project.
By opening up the Galilee Basin, a projected 16,000 additional jobs will be created by future mines operating in the region, delivering ongoing opportunities for regional Queensland for decades.
Townsville Enterprise encourages the State Government to continue its support of this significant project.
On behalf of Townsville Enterprise, I also wish to extend heartfelt sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of Adani media manager, Ron Watson on his passing last week. Ron was a good friend of regional Queensland. THINGS are definitely looking up for the once struggling rural economy of Hughenden.
An Australian company with investment from Japan is developing a $ 160 million renewable energy project, a separate 60,000- panel solar farm has just been commissioned, Chinese investors are eyeing a meatprocessing project valued at more than $ 100 million and Flinders Shire Council will start work soon on an 80ha recreational lake.
As well as that, if the developers of the $ 160 million renewable project proceed to a larger scheme involving investment of more than $ 2 billion into some 300 wind turbines, Hugh- enden will be big news as the largest regional energy hub in the southern hemisphere.
Long- time Hughenden resident and Flinders Shire Mayor Jane McNamara is excited.
But the quietly spoken community leader is also cautioning patience. Cr McNamara said if there was one thing the $ 160 million Windlab project, launched this week, had shown her it was that big projects take time.
“They have been working on this for up to seven years. That’s a good lesson for me, in that it doesn’t happen overnight, you have to be patient,” Cr McNamara said.
But she did say that people were “really excited by the prospects”.
The Windlab project will be an Australian first combining solar, wind and battery storage. Cr McNamara said in some ways it was “back to the future”.
“As a child I lived on a property where we generated all of our own power. We had 16 two- volt batteries and a generator,” Cr McNamara said.
The council is in partnership with cattle supplier North Beef and the Chinese- backed CNVM Investment Pty Ltd, which is considering investment of more than $ 100 million on a beef cattle processing plant.
Cr McNamara said the project was proceeding but she was concerned about the potential fallout from heated national debate of political interference by China.
“It’s one step at a time because we have many layers of government that we are working with,” she said.
“Of course we have the Chinese central government which everything has to go through.”
The council was awarded $ 4.1 million in the latest round of the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions fund for its lake project on the southern side of town.
Cr McNamara said the lake would be up to 6m deep, cover 80ha and would be shaped “like a big foot”.
It would be a magnet for swimming, fishing and people wanting to do water- skiing and use jet skis.
“We are in the planning stages at the moment and looking to start excavation in March next year,” Cr McNamara said.