Pauline’s in driving seat
INSTRUMENTAL in getting Driveit NQ off the ground, Senator Pauline Hanson has returned and vowed to secure more funding for the project if One Nation secures the balance of power in the looming state election.
When the senator first looked at the Driveit NQ plans, the organisation had been trying to secure funding for 13 years.
On her first visit to the precinct, Ms Hanson said the driver training centre just made sense.
Now, as work kicks off on the first stage of the precinct, Ms Hanson said this was an essential service that could pump millions of dollars into the North Queensland economy. Ms Hanson promised to help the project secure the final $12m in funding from the state government, if her team was elected.
The One Nation leader said making changes for the community was a crucial part of being a member of parliament.
“All they (Driveit NQ) wanted was someone to listen, to really push their agenda for them, and how important it was to the region,” she said.
“So, to actually achieve that, important to me.
“I don’t make false promises. I don’t go out there and say I’m going to give to the world. If I can keep my word, I will fight for that issue to get that money for it.
“Because of that we’ve made a start there. That’s why the Liberal government have injected another $7m into it.”
Driveit NQ chief executive Pat Driscoll said if the initial $5m had not been secured, the project would not be off the ground yet.
“It’s been our policy that we need three levels of government to deliver a piece of infrastructure like this. We’ve got council involved giving us the land, and we’ve got the state and council involved in some roads coming in but we actually need $12 million more to make this thing a totally viable business product,” he said. it’s very