Pormpuraaw is one of the few standout Cape York winners from the 2024-25 Queensland budget, with $12 million green lighted for the community’s new primary health care centre. Photo: Supplied.
With the exception of the $200 million Cooktown Hospital funding commitment, Cape York and the Torres Strait have been forgotten in regard to major infrastructure spend in the 2024-25 Queensland budget.
Treasurer Cameron Dick unveiled where the State Government planned to spend its money over the next 12 months on 11 May, with only five local projects beyond the Cooktown Hospital announcement receiving financial attention.
Coen will receive $6.7m in the coming financial year out of a total $8.2m spend for the construction of new art centre, while $4.2m out of a $4.9m total spend will head to the Northern Peninsula Area to continue the delivery of the new fire and emergency services complex at Bamaga.
The Torres Strait will receive $13.8m in the budget, with $8.7m going to Moa Island for the St Pauls Public Health Community Centre, with $5.1m out of a total spend of $10.7m earmarked to upgrade the passenger jetty and wharf on Horn Island.
Pormpuraaw was the only winner on western Cape York, with the community set to receive $12m to construct its new primary health care centre (PHCC).
WIP Construction has been awarded the tender to undertake the project, with construction scheduled to commence in the next few months ahead of completion in late 2026.
The new PHCC will be built on the grounds of the existing health facility, which will continue to operate until the new centre is ready.
Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Service Shannon Fentiman hailed the budget allocation as a win for Pormpuraaw.
“This investment will ensure enhanced healthcare options for residents of Pormpurraaw and the surrounding Cape York region,” she said.
“I am proud that we are able to deliver this significant program of works to improve healthcare for the Cape York region, and look forward to works beginning soon.”
There is no mention of the Peninsula Developmental Road in the budget, which comes on the back of a purported cost blowout of almost $80m on the new Archer River bridge, which Cape York Weekly understands is now expected to cost more than $170m to deliver.
Despite snubbing the northernmost part of the state, the Treasurer stood by the budget and described it as “the budget that helps Queenslanders now, while building a better future of our state”.
There is no mention of the Peninsula Developmental Road or Cape York Region Package in the 2024-25 state budget, a snub that comes on the back of a cost blowout of nearly $80 million on the Archer River bridge project. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
