Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Townsville was founded just on 150 years ago as a port town. Today we are a port city. We are the most significant city north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the entire country. We are now developing our port into a major container and logistics hub, a transport hub for northern Australia. We have direct shipping from Townsville to China in eight days, the shortest trip from anywhere in Australia. What we must be doing is ensuring that we are growing our port, because that is what is important to all of north Queensland. A growing port, a busy port, means a busy Townsville and jobs for all. The key to a busy port is making sure it is an efficient port. The Townsville eastern access rail corridor has been mentioned among the top 10 projects for Australia by Infrastructure Australia. The ability to bring in trains of 1.4 kilometres in length from the north-west minerals province, with all the agriculture that will come from the development of northern Australia through our port without disrupting our city, to allow our city to develop properly and renew in the corridors along Railway Avenue near the Ross Island Hotel, right next door to the Townsville 400 and into the CBD by getting rid of those train tracks and those trains which disrupt everyone. The efficient use of our port means a busier port with high-value, good products going through with a real vision for the future. That is what this government will bring as a vision to the election coming up.