Shorten pledges $ 75m for Port
THE Port of Townsville channel- widening project will begin in April after Labor leader Bill Shorten today pledges $ 75 million to the project.
The Opposition Leader will visit Townsville today, where he will make the multimilliondollar port pledge before joining Herbert MP Cathy O’Toole at Currajong State School for a question- and- answer session tonight at 6pm.
Mr Shorten will then take his three- day “jobs blitz” to Mackay and Rockhampton, holding town hall meetings in each of the three cities.
“My No. 1 priority for Queenslanders is jobs. It always has been and it always will be,” Mr Shorten said.
“I love getting back to regional Queensland and I can’t wait to spend most of my week up here.
“After the soap opera of parliament and the TurnbullJoyce saga, it’s great to get back to what really matters.”
The widening of the Port of Townsville is expected to create at least 120 construction jobs and 60 ongoing jobs for locals, and more than 200 additional jobs across the state.
Labor’s pledge, contingent on winning the next federal election, is the balance of the project’s capital cost.
The port is now too narrow for larger container vessels, leaving a lot of cargo bypassing Townsville for southern ports.
“Widening the channels will set up the Port of Townsville to attract more shipping traffic, increasing import and export opportunities and delivering a $ 580 million economic dividend,” Mr Shorten said.
“It will also deliver substantial growth in cruise ship traffic, boosting tourism.”
The Townsville Port Channel Widening project is part of Labor’s “Plan for Real Jobs in Regional Queensland”.
“Labor will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure projects to grow local economies and create thousands of new jobs for Queenslanders,” Mr Shorten said.
Port of Townsville CEO Ranee Crosby welcomed Mr Shorten’s pledge.
“The Channel Capacity Upgrade is critical for growth in shipping in North Queensland,” Ms Crosby said.
“The $ 193 million project has $ 118 million funding committed by the State Government and Port of Townsville.
“A commitment for the $ 75 million balance will enable the project to get under way, which can start by April.
“This is a welcome commitment, recognising the national significance of this infrastructure project for Northern Australia’s largest container and automotive port.”