LNP lights promise ‘desperate’: Labor
A $5M election promise has been labelled as “desperate”.
Labor’s John Ring says Herbert MP Phillip Thompson’s commitment to fund broadcast-quality lighting at Riverway Stadium will never eventuate as the MP cannot work with state and local governments.
On Saturday, Mr Thompson announced funding for the project, which the Townsville Bulletin had campaigned for over many years.
Without broadcast-quality lighting the Townsville venue has been passed over for multiple national and international sporting events.
“He’s only announced … the partial funding for Riverway lighting, so he would need to work with the local government and the state government to deliver this,” Mr Ring said.
“I don’t believe he will be able to do that because he’s not shown over the past three years that he will work with anyone. “I think he is just desperate because he knows he is in trouble.
“People are sick of Scott Morrison’s
man in Townsville, Phil Thompson, they want change.
“It is something I will support, and will be fighting for, but I think there is a better chance that I could deliver that than the current federal member.”
Mayor Jenny Hill said people needed to be wary of promises made “by someone who very well could be out of
government and unable to deliver”. Polling shows Mr Thompson is tipped to win Herbert, but it is likely he will be in opposition.
“What North Queensland, what Townsville now needs to understand a week out, is who is actually going to be in government,” Ms Hill said.
“At the moment it doesn’t need Herbert or Dawson to decide that, so we need to know whether or not we’re going to have a member in who could be in government or have a member screaming and whining from the backbenches, that’s really now the choice for North Queenslanders.”
Townsville City Council owns the Riverway precinct – including the stadium. “There is still a $3m shortfall,” Ms Hill said.
However, Queensland Cricket is understood to have costed the project at $6m. The mayor said TCC was undertaking budget discussions and that the shortfall would need to come from somewhere.
“It is all very well coming out and saying it but it’s not being done in consultation with the council.
“The second problem is there is an operational cost to these things, which is why there has been a general resistance to putting the lights off until we have a guarantee of content.
“It is expected the lights will cost about $700,000 a year to run, so are we expecting the ratepayers then to foot that bill?”