Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Very rarely do I use these speeches to vent my spleen, but I need to set the record straight and start calling out the Queensland state Labor government. Cairns port and the Cairns shipping development project has been a hot topic now for many, many years. Sadly, there are those in my community that have drunk the Kool Aid dished out to them by others whose only interest is throwing mud. However, I am one that likes to deal with real facts.

The Queensland Labor government has made a big song and dance about the fact that they own the Cairns port. Given this, it's high time that they were held accountable. Cairns Port and associated dredging is wholly and solely the responsibility of the Queensland Labor government. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk held a press conference on 5 November 2015 where she announced Queensland's four strategic ports, and her announcement ultimately consigned the Cairns port to boutique status. She said at the time that the four Labor members in my seat were all consulted and totally supported this decision. It was then announced on 12 December 2015 that the Sustainable Ports Development Bill had been passed by the Queensland Labor parliament. I note Katter's Australian Party state MPs, who held the balance of power at the time, did absolutely nothing to stop the Cairns port being delegated to boutique status. I might also add that the Queensland government can change Cairns port's status at any time it wants.

Fortunately, the Queensland laws did not capture the Cairns shipping development project and the associated environmental impact statement as it was underway before the legislation was introduced. Fast forward three years and the likes of Curtis Pitt and Michael Healy made all sorts of promises during the 2017 state election about dredging funds for the Cairns shipping development project. However, six months later, the Queensland government did not allocate a single cent towards the dredging project in their 2018 state budget despite all of those promises. However, they did give the Townsville port $75 million for dredging and expansion.

Why is it that the Queensland government is doing everything in its power to stifle millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of investment in Cairns? Why does the Queensland government continually neglect Cairns in favour of Townsville? The answer is quite simple: they're doing Bill Shorten's bidding for him. The Queensland Labor government is making a conscious decision to withdraw funding and support not just on this project but on others—strategic roads and water security projects—in my electorate. If Bill Shorten can fly in and make a grandiose announcement in a bid to embarrass the federal government, I fully intend to start calling out this morally corrupt and abhorrent behaviour on the part of the Queensland Labor government for what it is. It's about time the Queensland Labor government started putting the interests of Cairns and Far North Queensland ahead of its mates in Canberra. (Time expired)

See this speech in context