Prime Minister accused of another broken promise

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s claims that his new disaster funding arrangements will cut bureaucracy ring hollow while Cloncurry is still waiting to get on with critical airport works he announced funding for more than seven months ago.

Shadow Minister for Resources and for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald said Cloncurry Airport was a glaring example of the delays regional communities could face when Canberra bureaucrats stood between disaster-hit councils and desperately needed recovery works.

On January 6, Mr Albanese stood at the flood-damaged Cloncurry Airport alongside Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and announced $11.5 million for critical repairs and improved flood resilience.

More than seven months later, Cloncurry Shire Council is still dealing with the Commonwealth funding process while another North Queensland wet season draws closer.

“The Prime Minister now wants Queenslanders to believe his changes will get disaster money out the door faster because there will be less bureaucracy. Well, he should explain that to the people of Cloncurry,” Senator McDonald said.

“He stood on their damaged airstrip in January and announced $11.5 million to repair it and make it more resilient, yet here we are more than seven months later and the Council still can’t get on with the job.

“Cloncurry is the perfect example of the very disaster-recovery bureaucracy the Prime Minister now claims he wants to eliminate.

“Cloncurry Airport is a critical gateway for North-West Queensland’s mining industry, medical care, local businesses and tourism, and its importance will only grow with major projects such as CopperString and new mining developments.  

“Cloncurry airport is the FIFO point that supports the Eva Harmony, MMG and Ernest Henry mines that produce the ore that will underpin the viability of the Mt Isa Copper Smelter that the Queensland and Federal Government have rightly financially supported,  

“The risk to the Cloncurry airport being weight restricted over the next significant wet or floods could mean those mining operations will not be able to produce the necessary project development or ore to support the smelter.

“The Prime Minister and Minister McBain will have to take responsibility for the lost jobs in North West Queensland should that happen.

“Council has done the work and is ready to proceed, but Canberra keeps putting obstacles in its way.

“And now Labor wants Queensland councils to believe that changing the disaster funding formula and shifting more of the financial burden onto the State will somehow make their lives easier.

“Queensland is Australia’s most disaster-prone state and yet our regional councils will receive less Commonwealth support.

“Minister McBain needs to get out from behind her desk, go to the Prime Minister, and demand that this mess be sorted out.

“The Prime Minister stood in Cloncurry, he saw the damage and told the community, ‘we have your back’.

“It’s time he proved it.

“Get the bureaucracy out of the way, honour the commitment and let Cloncurry get on with rebuilding its airport before the next wet season arrives.”