Politicians fight for home turf

A REPORT released by Infrastructure Australia two days ago shows why it is so important we have strong leadership in North Queensland.

The report flagged the second stage of the Haughton Pipeline was not necessary, basically a waste of money, and Infrastructure Australia refused to put it on its list of priority projects.

The report raised some eyebrows, mainly because the pipeline was one of the major promises to the Townsville people before the last federal election.

And the report Infrastructure Australia took their guidance from missed some vital information and didn’t look at the big picture of jobs and water supply for North Queensland.

The pipeline isn’t just about protecting Townsville from drought.

It’s about freeing up water for agriculture to allow farmers to increase output and bolster the economy.

After the report, many in town thought this might be a way for the Federal Government to back out of the promise because of the hit COVID-19 was having on the economy.

Thankfully, both North Queensland Coalition federal MPS Phillip Thompson and George Christensen stood by the

$195 million election promise.

They went on the attack, calling Infrastructure Australia out and labelling them “pencil pushers” and “bean counters” that did not understand the real world, let alone the needs of people in North Queensland.

“These same clowns also said the Haughton River Bridge Project shouldn’t go ahead but we went ahead with it anyway because it was something that needed to be done … for the safety of motorists and to create jobs,” the Dawson MP said.

“If we listen to them all the time, there will be nothing but infrastructure going into Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and that would be it.”

It’s great having local representatives who are not afraid to stand up for North Queensland.