Katter takes late shine to power plant
AT FIRST “sceptical, cynical and antagonistic” over the high cost of a new coal-fired power station at Collinsville, Bob Katter has now backflipped to support the Shine Energy venture.
After talks with Dawson MP George Christensen, the maverick MP was “won over”, jokingly saying he was too “slow and dumb” to see the benefits at first.
The $2bn power station is proposed as one of the measures to bring down power prices in the North.
The federal government has funded a feasibility study into the Collinsville coal-fired power station.
Mr Katter was won over with the promise of “new technologies” which will help bring down the cost of making power.
“We know all the emissions from George’s power station, and Collinsville is particularly suitable for this, can be pumped into algae ponds,” Mr Katter said.
“Because algae lives on sunlight, water and CO2, so we pump the CO2 in, get it absorbed and provide food for the algae.”
The algae produced is used as feed for stock, pigs, cattle and fish.
With it based at the “mouth of the coal mine” in Collinsville, Mr Katter said the transport costs would also be minimal.
Mr Christensen said with the new-found power Mr Katter had in the parliament after Craig Kelly left the Coalition, it was more important than ever to have the Kennedy MP’S support.
He said once more planning had been done, the federal government would need to show support for the project through grants or a Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan.
With Mr Katter’s support, the project now has the backing of federal politicians from Rockhampton to Townsville.
Despite reports revealing coal-fired power stations across the country were running at a loss, Mr Christensen said this power station would be “viable”.
He said there was a “limited window” in which solar and wind power were useful and the proposed power station would be profitable and bring down energy prices.
“The benefits are also in job creation, with the construction of the power station and with the ongoing operation of the power station,” Mr Christensen said.
“(It will) also save the government hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies.
“But also that subsidy doesn’t apply to businesses in the North.
“There is probably about a 14 to 20 per cent impost on a lot of businesses here ... the extra costs they have to pay in energy to bring the power up the line to North Queensland.
“If you build a power station here, those costs immediately come down.”
THE BENEFITS ARE ALSO IN JOB CREATION, WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE POWER STATION AND WITH THE ONGOING OPERATION OF THE POWER STATION
GEORGE CHRISTENSEN
WEATHER delays in the construction industry have led to calls for change to the Homebuilder scheme, with a Townsville developer raising concerns with federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Monday.
Regular rain has played havoc with new home construction in Townsville, with developers concerned some construction companies will not be able to meet the federal government’s six-month Homebuilder timeline.
Construction on a new home needs to have started within six months for the owners to be eligible for the grant.
Maidment Group’s Glen Maidment spoke to Mr Frydenberg about the issue in Townsville on Monday, and asked him to consider extensions for companies affected by weather.
Mr Frydenberg said the issue was “very practical” and he would speak with the Treasury about it.
“This is a national program and obviously there are some challenges in terms of time frames for laying that first slab, and unexpected weather events are particular to certain regions,” he said.
“What we heard from Glen is Homebuilder has been a remarkably successful program.
“It has been the spark that the construction industry needed and with nearly 15,000 people in Townsville either directly or indirectly employed in the construction centre, that’s helped save jobs, but also create jobs, and that is really important.”
While there had been a push to extend the HomeBuilder program, Mr Frydenberg said the government was looking at ways to support continued economic momentum, with an announcement to be made in coming days.
“Here in Queensland you’ve gone from 8.8 per cent unemployment last July to 7 per cent now, and what we’ve seen here in Townsville is 72 per cent of people graduating off Jobkeeper between September and December last year and more coming off between now and the end of March,” he said.
“It is fantastic to come to Townsville and meet with local business leaders to hear first-hand about what programs are working, what challenges they are confronting and how they’re seeing the labour market more generally.”
Federal Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said HomeBuilder had helped the Maidment Group come off Jobkeeper, which had kept 25 employees in their job.
“Glen … is the busiest he’s been in years because of the Homebuilder grant,” Mr Thompson said.
A LOCAL park ranger who sexually assaulted a teenage girl has heard of the personal anguish she has endured for the past two years.
Haydn Troy Togo, 49, appeared in the Townsville District Court, where he pleaded guilty to eight counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.
Over a two-week period starting in late August 2018, Togo sexually assaulted the girl on five occasions while she was visiting Townsville.
The court heard Togo touched the girl eight separate times over the five occasions, including on her breast, buttocks and genitals.
Crown prosecutor Molly Mahlouzarides read out a victim impact statement written by the teenager, who was 15 at the time of the sexual assaults.
“I feel like this happening at such a young age will shape my entire life. I may come to terms with it one day but it is a memory I can never erase,” Ms Mahlouzarides read.
“It has consumed my life for the last two years. I can only hope at some stage it will stop consuming me.
“He should be held accountable for what he did. I was 15 years old at the time. I was vulnerable.
“He has spent the last two years walking free, doing whatever he wants. I feel like I have been in prison for the last two years when he should have been.”
The court heard how the girl told police about the offending on November 26, 2018. When police arrested Togo eight months later, he initially claimed to not remember anything of the sexual assaults.
The court heard Togo had
been a park ranger in Townsville and Cardwell for the past 10 years.
Defence barrister Michael Hibble acknowledged the offending had a “significant effect” on the child but said the assaults lacked common features.
“There are some elements of the offending which are perhaps absent which your honour often sees,” he said.
“There was no coercion or threats made or physical restraint.”
He presented character references describing Togo as “softly spoken” and culturally involved in the community.
Judge Gregory Lynham told Togo his offending was “persistent and intrusive insofar as your inappropriateness of your touchings”.
Togo was sentenced to two and a half years’ jail, to be suspended after serving 10 months.