HOW THE FEDERAL BUDGET WILL AFFECT YOU

TOWNSVILLE will get a leg up, as it bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic with a slew of initiatives tailor-made to help small and medium businesses announced in the federal budget.

Key announcements around creating jobs will also benefit North Queensland, with investments in Copperstring 2.0, subsidies for workers, incentives for employers to hire apprentices, along with a number of projects set to receive funding.

This is on top of millions worth of projects announced in the lead up to the official budget, including $76m for Riverway Drive stage 2, $10.6m for Reef HQ and $1.5m for Magnetic Island National Park trails.

Townsville Enterprise Limited chief executive Patricia O’callaghan said the budget was one of the most important in Australia’s history and focused on the economic recovery coming out the coronavirus pandemic.

“The targeted subsidies for workers, especially young people, is important for North Queensland’s youth unemployment which in recent years has been the highest in the nation, then was adversely impacted by the floods in 2019 and then compounded with COVID-19 this year,” Ms O’callaghan said.

“There is also a strong focus upon infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, water, lower energy prices, tourism, and unlocking gas potential.

“There is a clear pivot from business survival and Jobkeeper to boosting business recovery and jobs ensuring both people and the economy get back to work, which aligns with the platform we have been strongly promoting.”

Federal Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said Townsville had been “comparatively” thought of in the budget.

He said the significant investment in defence would flow through to Townsville, the country’s largest garrison city.

The budget outlined a number of key defence investments, including $1bn over two years to deliver projects that will support an estimated 4000 jobs across the country.

Mr Thompson said the country needed a “strong” budget to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everything that has been outlaid in this budget is about keeping more money in people’s pockets,” he said.

Another $60m will be spent on improving affordable telecommunications and energy access, improvements in disaster risk management planning and mitigation.

The Copperstring 2.0 project is expected to create more than 400 jobs.