Mayor denies risk in switch

TOWNSVILLE Mayor Jenny Hill has denied the city could lose job opportunities to Rockhampton after $ 18.5 million slated for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine airstrip was redirected to other local projects.

Cr Hill said the Townsville City Council’s decision to reinvest the money earmarked for Adani did not mean the region would lose economic benefits should the airstrip go ahead at a later date.

“The door is always open for Adani to come back once they have settled everything including native title and their financials,” she said.

“We can’t just wait for the Adani project, we need to keep moving forward.”

The council is co- funding the $ 30 million airstrip with Rockhampton Regional Council. But Rockhampton yesterday confirmed it would not be redirecting its share of the funds.

Cr Hill said she didn’t think Townsville’s situation was the same as her southern counterpart.

“We have more than one project we’re depending on in our community. I’d like to say we’re more than a one- pub town like Rockhampton,” she said.

“There is a need for us to ensure that we prioritise our funds where they’re needed to most, and at the moment our big active projects are water security and the pipeline, the Townsville 2020 vision … and finally the battery plant.”

Cr Hill said the council still supported the Adani project, which is projected to create about 1200 jobs during construction and 750 in operation.

“( Adani) can even come back to us and say right we’re ready to start and we want them to come back to us because we want jobs,” she said.

However, Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow disputed Cr Hill’s assessment of the differences between the two regions.

She said her council’s funds for the Adani airstrip were “sitting in the bank” ready to go.

“While it’s in there, we are earning interest on it,” she said.

“Council is not delaying any projects or infrastructure as a result of our additional cash holdings and our 10- year forward projections include the draw down for Adani, several major infrastructure projects and a budget that remains continuously in surplus.”

Cr Strelow said the Rockhampton council was always conservative in budgeting so its cash reserves were fairly high as debt was gradually paid down.

“We’re comfortable that we would be able to draw down our contribution to Adani and still keep our cash reserves at an acceptable level,” she said.

I’D LIKE TO SAY WE’RE MORE THAN A ONE- PUB TOWN LIKE ROCKHAMPTON JENNY HILL