State’s wealth generated here

THE North’s wealth is indisputable.

It is from mining royalties, agricultural earnings and tourism dollars that the State Government is able to build highways, tunnels, sports arenas, schools and hospitals in Brisbane and other parts of the southeast corner.

The North and Central regions have long been regarded as the economic engine room of Queensland.

Insidiously, this engine room that drives the state has been turned into a cash cow for the southeast corner.

Now, the state’s “poor cousins”, the people starved of government largesse, are starting to flex their muscle. They are saying “enough is enough, we want our own state”.

Queensland’s resource industries principally located in the Northern and Central regions of Queensland, contribute about $ 56 billion to the state economy. Coal, silver, lead, zinc, copper and rare earths are all mined in North and Central Queensland. The Galilee and Bowen Basins hold some of the richest coal reserves in the world.

The bulk of the state’s $ 6 billion beef industry is located in Central and Northern Queensland. Coupled with this is a thriving meat processing sector located in Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.

The live cattle export trade out of Townsville and Karumba, principally to South- East Asia, provides the beef industry with a solid support platform that will continue to grow as these nations grow in prosperity and China comes on board as a market.

Much of the state’s $ 2.8 billion horticulture industry is based in Northern and Central Queensland. Crops like tomatoes, capsicums, zucchini, corn, pumpkins, chillies and beans are grown in the Bundaberg, Bowen, Burdekin and Atherton Tableland districts.

In Queensland sugarcane is primarily located in the Bundaberg, Sarina- MackayProserpine districts, as well as in the Burdekin area and along the wet, tropical coast from Ingham to Mossman and on the Atherton Tableland. The North and Central region’s sugar industry is worth approximately $ 2 billion to the Queensland economy.

The state’s banana industry is worth around $ 951 million. It is located in the Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail and Tableland areas.

The Great Barrier Reef is the state’s international tourism drawcard. World Heritage listed rainforests and our outback are also on the must- do list of national and international tourists. North Queensland generates $ 2.5 billion in tourism revenue.

Proponents say a separate state starting at either Bundaberg or Rockhampton would be an economic powerhouse. They want the will of the people to decide if it happens.