Focus on crime, lower power prices
TROY Thompson is pitching himself as the man who’ll be tough on crime and unite Townsville’s fractured community if elected in Thuringowa.
The One Nation candidate is expected to lay out the details tomorrow with party leader Pauline Hanson by his side.
The Townsville Bulletin understands the party will release for the first time its election promise to lower the cost of power as a statewide policy.
Mr Thompson said the party had a comprehensive plan that would see it delivered but would not go into specifics before its announcement.
He also pointed to the party taking a hard stance on excessive fuel prices.
“It’s about making the regulators accountable,” he said.
“So the poles and wires of the electricity is billed out to all consumers at 100 per cent yet someone like Ergon Energy only uses 42 per cent yet we’re still billed the 100 per cent.
“We’re going to call on the State and Federal governments to hold that cost and that’ll deliver an outcome per family around $300 saving a year.”
Turning his focus more locally, Mr Thompson said Thuringowa had been abandoned following its amalgamation with Townsville City Council and that he intended to invest heavily into security and beautification projects to “revive” the former city.
Mr Thompson said he was fielding up to 80 emails a day with people concerned over crime and safety.
He said if elected his first priority would be “lighting up” the Riverway parklands and installing CCTV to make it safer and more inviting.
The Bulletin understands that Mr Thompson also has a radical plan to have the city’s public transport system remodelled and move away from relying solely on buses.
After living on the Gold Coast and acting as an adviser to its tram line implementation plan, Mr Thompson said Townsville’s existing service was dysfunctional at best.
“We need to bring the cost of public transport down because it’s far too high for starters. If you look at the tram line on the Gold Coast between Burleigh to Surfers Paradise, it’s at capacity because it’s easy to use and affordable.
“I understand the costs and everything.”
Mr Thompson said solving the region’s public transport woes was a huge enabler for connecting people with employment opportunities they otherwise couldn’t meet due to relying on an ‘unreliable’ system.
He said a major project would also provide a jobs boost and infrastructure project that could help the region survive the COVID-19 recession.
“I look at it and think when this is done it will be 12 months to two years out and we’ll be just out of COVID so this will create jobs.
“It gives accessibility to the stadium so there’s not a thousand buses clogging up the road and this can go to the bus hub.
“We need to stimulate the economy and the best way to do that is with State Government funding into infrastructure projects because there’s too many people who aren’t working.”