More federal government funding is needed for the next stage of improvements to the PDR and its access roads. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Federal Leichhardt MP Matt Smith has described the budget as a positive for the Cape, but said it was “always going to be a budget big on national things”.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the budget on 12 May and it does not include any mention of funding for the next stage of the Cape York Region Package (CYRP), or improvements to Peninsula Development Road (PDR) and its access roads.
The Queensland Government has earmarked $60 million and $240m more is needed from the Federal Government for CYRP Stage 3 under an agreement to split costs on an 80 per cent federal, 20 per cent state basis.
Mr Smith said: “The thing about the PDR is that even if we were given four and a half, five billion dollars tomorrow to do it, it will still take five to 10 years to complete.
“You know, it’s a big project, it’s a complex project. As you’d be aware, there’s a lot of washouts. There’d be a lot of bridge work, so even if all the money suddenly arrived, we wouldn’t know where to spend it, how to spend it. So we’ll get this bit done and then we’ll continue to have the battle,” he said.
“The thing about the PDR and the thing that I keep saying down here in Canberra, and it’s getting through, is that all the business cases in the world are fine, but the PDR is a moral responsibility that the Federal Government has to the communities of Cape York.
Leichhardt MP Matt Smith. Photo: Facebook.
“You know, everybody in the Cape deserves to have that road, that level of connectivity, and that’s something we’re going to continue to fight for.”
Mr Smith said Cape York Peninsula Stage 2 work was ongoing.
“So we’re going to do the bit that’s in front of us right now, that we’ve got the money to do. This will take the amount of time that we’ve got, and then, you know, we’ll start continuing those conversations shortly,” he said.
Mr Smith pointed out funding for the Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme, The Clontarf Foundation and for Australian Border Force to combat illegal fishing as wins for the region in the budget.
“Then on top of the Local Infrastructure Fund, we’ve been putting some money out into some of the remote communities,” he said.
Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes said it was “a bit disappointing” to see few mentions of specific Cape funding in the budget, particularly when it came to roads.
She said her council would like to see more consultation about the CYRP.
“Cook Shire hasn’t had input into that [Stage 3 of the CYRP] and that’s what’s disappointing for me because we host the whole of the PDR, the unsealed section of the PDR,” Ms Holmes said.
“They [project representatives] talk about economic opportunities and economic drivers, but if they’re not talking to us, how do they identify those?”
Ms Holmes was pleased Mr Smith was advocating for the region and pushing hard for the funding needed for the third stage of the CYRP.
“I think Matt’s really on board with it. I have some really good conversations with him, so I’m kind of hoping he finds a way,” she said.
Ms Holmes said the council could help outline priorities, cost-saving opportunities and the social importance of the improvements.
Cook Shire Mayor Robyn Holmes says her council wants more consultation on the next stage of Cape York Region Package Works. Photo: Supplied.
“I’ve thrown that suggestion out there that there’s a lot of money to be saved in the works that happen on the PDR,” she said.
Ms Holmes said she understood “these things take time”, but hoped the entire PDR would be sealed sooner rather than later.
“I started [with the council] in 2016 for my first term, so 10 years, and the conversation about the PDR has been around a lot longer than that,” she said.
Ms Holmes echoed the Local Government Association of Queensland and said councils needed more general funding from the Commonwealth.
Money for Coen Water Treatment Plant work “is probably the top of the list”.
“I understand things are a bit tight, but you know, if local government doesn’t work then it’s at a local level that people really get impacted,” Ms Holmes said.
The most recent CYRP community forum was held by Regional Development Australia Tropical North and the Department of Transport and Main Roads in Cairns on 8 May.
Ms Holmes said she suggested the forums could be held further north, perhaps in Cooktown, so they could be attended by more Cape residents, but that was not particularly well received by some in attendance.
“I did question it. I think I got a missile launched at me.”
