If government stakeholders at the 2025 Western Cape Futures Symposium are serious about talking economic and social prosperity for the region, the seemingly taboo topic of the Myall Creek bridge absolutely has to be on the agenda, says editor Lyndon Keane. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Whether you agree with his politics or not, it’s tough to argue the presence of former prime minister Scott Morrison won’t lift the profile of the 2025 Western Cape Futures Symposium when delegates sit around the table in May.
Having our 30th PM in Weipa for the two-day event is an early win for the organisers working tirelessly behind the scenes to get as much government clout to the region as possible as community leaders, business operators and other key stakeholders attempt to plot a path to long-term prosperity for western Cape York.
While it’s easy for those down south to write Weipa off as a mining town that brings nothing to the table other than bauxite-rich earth, the reality is western Cape York is on the fringe of becoming a diverse economic powerhouse for reasons that have zero to do with resources.
The catch-22 is that because so many of our political leaders in Canberra and Brisbane view western Cape York as little more than a royalty gravy train, there’s a real risk the main hurdles preventing us from unlocking that economic potential could be ignored by policymakers unless delegates ensure they are subject to frank and fearless discussion at the symposium.
Depending on the season, the first hurdle is either dusty, corrugated, a bog hole or under a couple of metres of water. I’m talking, of course, about our road infrastructure, including the embarrassment that is the Myall Creek bridge. The symposium will be a perfect opportunity to load government representatives into a convoy of vehicles and take them to the bridge to provide them with a first-hand look at why we keep crying out for it to be replaced.
Hurdle number two is the perennial elephant in the room everyone acknowledges is there, but refuses to make direct eye contact with – normalisation. Despite what the State Government and Rio Tinto may say publicly, the truth is both parties are pretty content to maintain the status quo at the moment, a situation unlikely to shift in the short term unless pressure is applied. The mining giant is currently free to run its own race, and Brisbane cringes at the idea of having to take on the responsibility and costs associated with what would officially be Queensland’s 78th council.
It’s no secret western Cape York is an incredible place to work and play. The lifestyle and landscape are what attract so many people to call it home, but the third hurdle is the most critical to the long-term social and economic sustainability of the region – how do you keep a community together when the mining money is gone? It’s not a pessimistic assessment. While people may assert Weipa will be their forever home, what happens when the resources and six-figure incomes dry up? Will those who have only ever known bumper monthly paycheques hang around for the lifestyle and landscape if they have to find another job that pays half – or less – of their previous hi-vis existence? History would say no, which is why economic diversification and exploiting every opportunity involving new industry must be the mantra for everyone who walks through the doors of the symposium in three months.
As I said about five paragraphs ago, the Weipa region is on the doorstep of unlocking some tremendous economic opportunities to complement those already in play. We’ve got two companies vying to make our backyard a leader in the race to send things into space, stakeholders mooting a freight hub with the potential to service Cape York and the Torres Strait, and RAAF Base Scherger, which looks like it’s set to receive an injection of federal defence money over the next few years. Throw in our existing industrial, retail, service and tourism business operators, and it’s evident there’s capacity to transform the western Cape into a thriving region not reliant on resources.
We definitely have a bright future ahead of us, but for it to become a reality, we can’t allow the spotlight not to shine on the taboo topics and pachyderms hiding awkwardly in the corner when our elected, business and community leaders don their symposium lanyards later this year.
