General News
30 April, 2025
Eleventh-hour call saves hard-fought Cloncurry RSL project
The Premier had to intervene after North West Weekly made him aware of the issue.
An eleventh-hour intervention from Premier David Crisafulli will allow for the construction of the long-awaited Cloncurry RSL headquarters to go ahead.
It was looking dire for the Cloncurry RSL sub-branch on Anzac Day amid news that construction would be cancelled and more than $100,000 in funding would have to be returned to the state government after recent wet weather had repeatedly delayed building deadlines.
Cloncurry RSL members have spent almost two decades without an official headquarters after the former building was destroyed in a fire more than 15 years ago.
Sub-branch president Kane Burgess said construction was just about to begin on a large single-room facility that would serve as a meeting hall and display area for the RSL’s historical memorabilia.
The Cloncurry sub-branch was less than a fortnight away from beginning initial earthworks when it received notice that the specified time frames to use the Queensland Remembers Grant had expired, and that $161,000 in approved funding would have to be refunded to the state government.
The notice said any money the RSL had already spent to date would also have to be returned, which would have left the Cloncurry sub-branch more than $13,000 out of pocket after it had already paid for building designs and soil testing.
However, following enquiries from North West Weekly to the Premier’s office on Monday, Mr Crisafulli overruled his departmental bureaucrats and announced that the funding timeframe would be extended to allow the Cloncurry RSL building to be constructed without delay.
“RSL sub-branches are the beating heart of regional Queensland and deserve our full support,” Mr Crisafulli told North West Weekly.
“The Cloncurry sub-branch will have all the extensions required to start and complete their project because there should be no barriers to rebuilding this important centre.”
With state parliament sitting this week, Mr Crisafulli also called Traeger MP Robbie Katter to his office on Tuesday morning to deliver the good news.
Mr Burgess said the Premier’s quick decision would allow construction to get back on track.
“This is fantastic news,” he said.
“I am a little surprised at how quickly things can change and that we can get a quick decision after enquiries are made to the right people.
“The only thing that stopped the construction was this last bit of rain – and then we found out we’d lost the grant.
“Now we have this commitment, I can take it to the rest of the RSL board and we can get the construction going again.
“I will personally oversee this so we can get a building up and running as soon as possible.”
After being first informed about the funding issue by North West Weekly on Monday, Mr Katter said he was alarmed that a government department would remove allocated money for such an important community project.
He praised Mr Crisafulli’s decision to intervene.
“The Premier has personally looked at this issue and said, as far as he is concerned, this money will continue to be made available to the Cloncurry RSL and the construction can go ahead,” Mr Katter said.
“Anyone living in remote towns and cities has to be very aggressive about protecting any funding that is given out to us.
“We can’t afford to lose any government funding that comes our way.”