Katter’s Australian Party leader Robbie Katter and Cook candidate Duane Amos have hinted a plan to transform Weipa into a freight hub could be on the cards if they hold the balance of power in a minority state government in October. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Weipa is perfectly positioned to be transformed into the key link of a network providing economic growth and food security to all of Cape York and the Torres Strait, according to the candidate flying the Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) flag for Cook at the October state election.
Duane Amos was alongside KAP leader Robbie Katter on 18 June for the party’s response to the 2024-25 Queensland budget, and said he believed Weipa’s long-term future involved being developed as a regional freight hub that linked to a completed Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) and the $1.6 billion Lakeland Irrigation Area Scheme.
“You can see the weaknesses there when you only invest in a failing transport infrastructure network from a road perspective,” Mr Amos said.
“We’ve got rail and we’ve also got the ocean, but the road is the only one we’re currently investing in.
“I would be capitalising on the existing assets, so as [Rio Tinto] actually pulls away from its investments in those areas, government needs to now look at the opportunities to capitalise off the existing infrastructure that is there.
“How do we best utilise what’s already there without a major spend and capitalise on that, because we currently don’t have those regional hubs where we can drive cheaper costs for those on the Cape and Torres Strait.”
With the likelihood of a minority government following the 26 October election, Mr Katter said the party would demand priority funding for key Cape York infrastructure projects, including a business case for a Weipa freight hub and sealing the PDR, if it was part of a balance of power scenario.
“It would be very hard for KAP to rerun with a candidate in the [2028] election without having delivered on the PDR,” he said.
“You’d be a fool not to [make it a priority], because it would be associated pretty much with delivering that, and we don’t win votes by fancy policy announcements.
“The only time we can get credibility is by delivering.”
Mr Amos said while the concept of Weipa eventually transitioning from a mining township to the centre of the Cape York and Torres Strait logistics puzzle was in its infancy, he believed it needed to be investigated to investigate whether it could play a pivotal role in the region’s food security.
“We’re actually looking at the sustainability and viability of the entire Cape, and that’s one of the key things,” he said.
