Hobbled by party politics

IT’S been a disappointing few weeks for the Port of Townsville, which means a disappointing few weeks for Townsville, because the success or otherwise of that piece of critical infrastructure is always felt right through the city, and North Queensland more generally.

Yesterday the Queensland Government said it would not fund the balance of the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor ( TEARC) despite the Federal Government already committing $ 150 million towards the critical piece of infrastructure.

This project would allow longer trains into the port, which would reduce bottlenecks and improve capacity to meet demand on the Mount Isa to Townsville rail line. Just two weeks ago the Federal Government said it would not help fund the $ 1.64 billion channel widening at the port, despite the State Government already committing $ 75 million for the project.

Both tiers of government have acknowledged that both projects are essential to the growth of North Queensland and both projects are part of the City Deal, which is supposed to be an acknowledgment that all levels of government will work together, regardless of party politics, for the betterment of the region.

Yet both of these projects have been denied the support they need to proceed.

The State Government argues the TEARC project doesn’t stack up, but Townsville Enterprise argues the costbenefit analysis used did not include future projects and that this particular piece of infrastructure shouldn’t be considered in isolation.

The Federal Government failed to agree to fund the channel- widening and instead suggested the port apply for NAIF funding.

This stalemate seems to show yet another unacceptable example of party politics getting in the way of our city’s progress. It’s up to our local politicians to take a stand with North Queenslanders and not with their parties.