Ongoing sea freight concerns were the priority item on the agenda when members of the Western Cape Chamber of Commerce met with Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch and Liberal National Party candidate Jeremy Neal in Weipa on 13 March. Photo: Instagram (Sea Swift).
Candidates battling for Leichhardt need to be spending more time “on the ground” on western Cape York to fully grasp the challenges facing residents and businesses, according to the region’s chamber of commerce.
As new runners continue to announce their candidacy ahead of the federal election, members of the Western Cape Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) met with outgoing MP Warren Entsch and Liberal National Party candidate Jeremy Neal in Weipa on 13 March to discuss the group’s priority issues and concerns.
WCCC president Jai Christie said freight – specifically wet season sea freight – had been number one on the agenda for the meeting.
The State Government-owned Sea Swift, which is the sole sea freight operator servicing the region, has come under fire in recent months over concerns about skyrocketing costs and unexplained delivery delays.
“Freight was the biggest talking point, and also what Weipa and western Cape looks like in the future,” Mr Christie said.
“The main one was freight; because it’s a state-owned entity, the federal members don’t really have much of a say on how that’s run, but he’s (Warren Entsch) really pushing for the chamber to make a bit of a stance on it.”
Mr Neal described the meeting as productive and said the freight issue had become a constant theme across Cape York and the Torres Strait during his campaign.
“Their number one concern is Sea Swift and the disaster that’s become,” he said.
“Warren did his piece last week about how he believes the government should hand Sea Swift back, which I’m a supporter of; it seemed to work better when it was in private hands, when they had a bit more passion for it.”
The LNP candidate said he was meeting with Sea Swift on 24 March to discuss the situation but said he believed it highlighted the criticality of completing the Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) upgrade.
The $300 million third stage of the Cape York Region Package is waiting on $240m in funding support from the Federal Government to progress.
“Obviously, the long-term goal is the PDR,” Mr Neal said.
“I’m very supportive that is has to include a solution for Myall Creek and a second Laura River crossing – that has to be included in stage three.”
Mr Christie said it had been helpful to have one of the candidates vying for Leichhardt in Weipa to get a first-hand understanding of what the community needed to prosper, and what hurdles needed to be overcome.
“It makes it easier having the pollies here, and to talk to them face to face, they know the issues, and to really get them involved is good for the chamber and the whole community really,” he said.
“It’s a bit hard before the election, too, to get them all too involved in it when they haven’t been elected, but it was good to see Jeremy here on the ground with Warren.
“We (WCCC) haven’t seen any of the other candidates yet.”
