On mission to Canberra
NORTH Queensland community leaders will head to Canberra next week in a bid to fast-track recovery efforts in the wake of the flooding.
Regional mayors and representatives from the North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, the North West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, Mount Isa to Townsville Econ- omic Zone, Queensland Resources Council and Agforce will join Townsville Enterprise to meet with Cabinet and shadow cabinet ministers.
They will meet with leaders including the Deputy Prime Minister Michael Mccormack, Minister for Northern Australia Matt Canavan and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at Parliament House from Monday to Wednesday.
Townsville Enterprise CEO Patricia O’callaghan said the delegation would deliver a message from the North that extraordinary events require an extraordinary response.
“We are travelling to Canberra as a united regional delegation seeking immediate action on the economic rebuild of communities across North Queensland and North West Queensland in the wake of one of the most devastating natural disasters we have seen in recent memory,” Ms O’callaghan said.
“We have secured meetings with relevant senior members of the Cabinet and the Opposition to immediately put in place the plans to address the situation now and build for the long-term economic recovery of the North and North West.”
Ms O’callaghan said discussions would not solely focus on the immediate recovery and the drag caused by the disaster but also deal with the preexisting structural issues that undermine future resilience and the investment necessary to resolve these issues.
“This will require all levels of government to work in concert to establish a significant response to the ongoing crisis with the objective of returning confidence and demonstrating that nobody will be left behind.”
Ms O’callaghan said priorities included flood proofing and upgrading the Mount Isa to Townsville rail line, which remained at standstill from water inundation, as well as support for the mining and resources industry in regional Queensland.
They would also highlight the North West Mayors’ SixPoint Plan and Townsville Enterprise’s 2019 federal budget submission which were aimed at stimulating economic growth, encouraging industry and private investment, lifting business confidence and creating jobs.
“Governments will play a key role in our region’s econ- omic recovery following this devastating weather event, and an economy building package is about giving communities and people hope for a better future,” Ms O’callaghan said.
“We know it won’t be an overnight cure, and there is plenty of work still required on the immediate recovery. But over the next few days in Canberra we will be endorsing putting significant recovery and resilience plans in place.
“It is to ensure communities and industries from across North and North West Queensland can get back on their feet as soon as possible.”