Delivering on the Member for Herbert Phil Thompson's commitment to welcome a North Queensland delegation to Canberra as early as possible in his first term, Townsville Enterprise, our local Mayors and business leaders look forward to travelling to Canberra next week to engage directly with Cabinet to discuss the commitments made to the region and set the scene following the recent Federal Election.
From Monday 29 July to Thursday 1 August, the Mayors from Townsville and Hinchinbrook, Deputy Mayor of the Burdekin, and industry representatives will join Townsville Enterprise to meet with Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet Ministers at Parliament House.
Meetings secured include the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Minister for Northern Australia Matt Canavan, Minister for Trade, Tourism & Investment Simon Birmingham, Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance & Natural Disasters David Littleproud, Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds , as well as Shadow Minister for Defence Richard Marles, to name a few.
Following the Election, we said we would travel to Canberra with our regional councils and industry representatives as soon as the new Cabinet was announced to acknowledge the significant commitments our region received from Member for Herbert Phillip Thompson and Member for Dawson George Christensen during that campaign. Commitments were made towards Stage 2 of the Haughton water pipeline, the Port’s channel widening, Hells Gates, DriveIt and fixing Palm Island’s water supply, to name just some.
Our meetings seek to ensure the commitments made from the returning Coalition Government will be fast-tracked and converted into real projects as soon as possible. We have already seen this with the Deputy Prime Minister recently announcing Townsville City Council to commence Stage 2 of the Haughton Water Pipeline Project which will secure a sustainable water source for Townsville once and for all.
Our Federal advocacy program remains consistent and we will continue to discuss Federal priorities relevant to progressing the North, including water, energy, agriculture, tourism, and policies focused on the City Deal, insurance, and taxation.
While on this delegation in Canberra, along with our local Members for Herbert and Dawson, we will continue to be loud voices for North Queensland, reiterating the importance of our region to the nation, and that 'A Strong North means a Strong Nation'.
