Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The future development of northern Australia, from the Tropic of Capricorn upwards, is important to our nation's agriculture and resource future. For the past 18 months I have been fighting hard to ensure that Capricornia and Central Queensland feature on the northern Australian scene. At one point I even declared war on far northern regions like Townsville, Darwin and Cairns, because I believe that, early on, politicians and business leaders in those regions were hijacking the decision-making process.

Today, the federal government released its long-awaited white paper on northern Australia. I was buoyed by comments from the Prime Minister today that he agrees with me that the city of Rockhampton and its surrounding areas need some attention and that he would like to see Rockhampton get some of that attention, particularly around the Tropic of Capricorn. Today's northern Australia white paper release follows the recent announcement in the federal budget that our government is providing a new $5 billion northern Australia infrastructure facility, which is the first major step in developing our North.

During this white paper process, I fought hard for Capricornia to get Central Queensland a recognised representative on the Prime Minister's Northern Australia Taskforce. The representative is CQ University Vice-Chancellor, Scott Bowman. When it comes to northern Australia, in my role representing Capricornia, I will continue to push water infrastructure projects like the Fitzroy agricultural corridor, Urannah Dam and the Connors River Dam. It is my desire that some of these projects will feature in the white paper on dams that is currently in the pipeline.

Capricornia and the city of Rockhampton, Australia's beef capital, are the gateway of northern Australia. Capricornia is a huge chunk of Central Queensland—in fact, if Central Queensland were its own state, it would be one of the richest states in the nation. Central Queensland produces $40 billion of wealth for Australia every year from a population base of just over 400,000—that is an income per person of more than $100,000, which is double that of Tasmania. Minister, considering the budget announcements and the importance of Capricornia and Central Queensland, can you highlight the federal government's plans for northern Australia, especially with regard to road infrastructure, water and dam infrastructure, and the benefits to Capricornia? Also, how will the government's northern Australia plan unlock jobs and opportunities in Capricornia?

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