The Federal Budget was announced on Tuesday evening with an impressive $37.9 billion allocated for regional Australia, $1.7 billion of which is due to be spent directly on Central and North Queensland.
Some key highlights include $1 billion for the Great Barrier Reef to help protect its health and resilience - this is in addition to the $3 billion Reef 2050 plan.
A Gas Wells Trials initiative was also allocated $15.6 million in the North Bowen and Galilee basins, its aim is to improve gas recovery and lower production costs by trialling innovative gas drilling and well completion techniques.
In addition, the hospitality, agricultural, and tourism sectors will be able to secure more casual workers thanks to an extra 11,000 working holiday-maker visas available for prospective backpackers.
Infrastructure also saw substantial investment with significant improvements to the Bruce Highway, a $11.6 million spend over five years to Bowen-based North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority, $80 million to the future construction of the Bowen Pipeline, and of course $483 million towards the construction of the Urannah Dam.
LNP candidate for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, said that everyone from Mackay through to Townsville will reap the rewards when the much-anticipated Urannah Dam goes ahead.
“We’ve got the good news on funding for some terrific projects and the biggest of these for me is almost half a billion dollars to build Urannah Dam,” he said.
“I’ll keep shouting this news from the rooftops because it is a game-changer for our region through the creation of about 1800 jobs, the opening up of 20,000 hectares of irrigated land for high value crops, the provision of water for our towns and for our mines and the potential to create hydro power.
“It’s a project that will transform our region and will reap benefits for future generations.”
Meanwhile, Labor candidate for Dawson Shane Hamilton said he is concerned that the vast majority of working families in this region won't get any relief from this budget.
“I'm very sceptical that the Urannah Dam project will even get the funding - we have seen many times the LNP announce the shiny brochure but never deliver on their promises,” he said.
“It would have been good to see more on housing pressure relief - people can't find houses to live in at the moment, the cost of rent or purchasing a house is quickly getting away from people with many at risk of becoming homeless.
“There is also no long-term vision on extreme weather proofing our region from cyclones or floods which would help lower insurance premiums and our service sectors have missed out with no additional public hospital funding keeping people on waiting lists for longer.”
Dissenting voices from Labour and other political commentators have noted that the budget can be viewed as a "short term cash splash" aimed at pleasing voters ahead of a Federal election.
The overall consensus, however, is that the budget is positive, reserved and realistic – in many ways Australia being the envy of nations around the world for how our unemployment rates are decreasing and our general standard of living improving as we emerge from COVID.
In Your Pocket
• A saving of 22 cents at the fuel pump for six months
• $420 cost of living tax offset for low-to-middle income earners
• $250 cost of living supplement for six million Australians
• Small businesses tax deduction boost of 20 per cent
• Incentives for small business to train staff and employ apprentices
• 20 weeks of paid parental leave (single parents included)
• Cheaper medicines and more regional medical centres
• More mental health and social services, aged care and NDIS funding
