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General News

18 September, 2024

Fixing critical infrastructure the key to unlocking region’s wealth

Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell says the region can't grow with the current infrastructure challenges.

By Matt Nicholls

Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell speaks at the Meeting of the Mines conference on Friday.
Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell speaks at the Meeting of the Mines conference on Friday.

Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell says that unlocking the key pieces of infrastructure will be the path to prosperity in the North West as a critical minerals mining boom looms in the region.

Speaking after the Meeting of the Mines conference in his town, Cr Campbell said he was pleased to see a high calibre of speakers and guests fill Cloncurry’s motel rooms in what can be a traditionally quiet period.

“The nature of industry, in particular mining, is there are always ups and downs, and that’s one thing we talk about at council, that even though the current climate for Cloncurry Shire is positive, there’s got to be a time where every mine closes,” he said.

“Hopefully that’s well in the future for all of our mines, but it’s something we’re cognisant of.

“What frustrated me (about the Meeting of the Mines), was that the key themes were the same as last year, and it’s particularly around government infrastructure, and the policy around the government infrastructure.

“I think we’ve got good intentions by the government wanting to see critical minerals developed, but then you start hitting roadblocks with other departments.

“I would just love the political will similar to what the Premier talked about (last week) with Mount Isa. If that could flow through to a rail or a water policy, we might actually see that change that truly does remove barriers to development.”

Cr Campbell said it was time the state government did something about the North West rail network, although he said it wasn’t just about fixing the line.

“The regulatory framework is the biggest barrier,” he said.

“One of the questions we heard (at the forum) was, ‘why can’t we have 50 cent containers as opposed to 50 cent seats’, which I thought was pretty clever.

“Unfortunately, under the state’s framework this rail line has to make money, even if that’s to break even ... I don’t believe that’s the case on other rail networks around the state.

“The state might have to take a bit of a hit on profit to unlock some of the development in the North West that actually creates more money in the long run.

“Not to dumb it down, but our daycare centre – generally, our aim is to break even but most years we lose some money – but it allows people to work.

“So what it costs council a little bit creates a lot more opportunity for the broader community.”

‘VIRTUALLY SHUNNED’

THE mayor said it was time for the federal government to also discover the North West.

“Hats off to the state government and the agencies that turned up. I can’t give the Department of State Development enough credit,” Cr Campbell said, while also paying homage to the Departments of Resources and Agriculture and Fisheries for their engagement,

“Considering the level of engagement we had at a federal level only last term, it is bitterly disappointing for our industries, and the people that operate those industries,

to be virtually shunned by the federal government.”

Cr Campbell was particularly critical of Minister for Northern Australia Madeline King, who has refused several invitations from both the Cloncurry and Mount Isa councils to visit the North West.

“She’d see a thriving community that embraces agriculture and mining, which is going to drive a decarbonised future, which is one of the government’s mantras,” he told North West Weekly.

“We would like to show her the funding shortfalls that are needed, especially around road funding, which was 80-20 (federal-state).

“The feds have cut that back to 50-50, which has made things difficult from a funding perspective.

“We’d also love to see the Federal Assistance Grant boosted back to one per cent and then we’re actually starting to see local governments be able to at least make those basic services equitable across the country.”

Cr Campbell said he would love to show Ms King the state of the Flinders Highway, which is the lifeblood of the region.

“(Richmond mayor) John Wharton, as the chair of the regional roads and transport group, will always tell a minister or a director-general to come out, and experience the road in a truck, because driving that road in a truck ... you can literally get thrown into the roof, and that’s when you know where the bad bumps are,” he said.

“It would be fantastic to get (ministers) on the ground, and I think that’s the only way they truly get an awareness – one, of the distances that are involved when we talk about the supply chain, and two, some of the extremes in temperature that we deal with – but more importantly, how genuine the people are that are actually coming out and meet them.

“At times we’re facing literal roadblocks in the region.

“It was only last year we saw a bridge on the Flinders Highway signed down to 40km/h.

“I think about an hour after the CopperString project was first announced, I met with the treasurer and said, ‘How long do I need to wait before I ask you for more money?’ And he said, ‘Well, what can you want more money for after we’ve just announced $5 billion?

“I said that if you want that $5 billion to be spent efficiently and safely, you need to put money into the Flinders Highway.

“We need to fix the framework around rail so that when we repair the Flinders Highway it doesn’t get destroyed again because too many trucks are using it instead of the rail line, which is under-utilised.”

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