
'Regions deserve better'
WHILE Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reaffirmed her government's commitment to regional infrastructure, Member for Warrego Ann Leahy said her party had a better plan.
During her visit to Roma on Tuesday this week, the Premier said the State Government had brought forward stage three of the Building our Regions funding, in order to generate more jobs and provide a boost to local economies.
"I want to see councils across the state looking at their shovel-ready infrastructure projects and putting in their application for a share of this $70million,” Premier Palaszczuk said.
The Premier was speaking less than a week before the first stage of demolition was due to commence at the Roma Hospital site, to prepare for the much-anticipated hospital redevelopment.
However, Ms Leahy spoke out against the Government's infrastructure plan, saying it did not compare to what the LNP had offered while in government.
"Their Building our Regions is pittance compared to our Royalties for the Regions,” Ms Leahy said.
Ms Leahy said under the LNP's Royalties for the Regions funding, more than $100million had been injected into the Warrego region alone.
She said the Labor Government's $225million, rolled out to all of Queensland over a period of three financial years, simply did not measure up.
"There's a lot more the State Government could be doing to foster regional infrastructure,” Ms Leahy said.
LNP Shadow Northern Development Minister Andrew Cripps agreed, speaking in no uncertain terms about the State Government's infrastructure plans.
"The Palaszczuk Government's program is a pale, cheap and nasty replacement for the LNP's hugely successful Royalties for the Regions program and it's failed dismally to deliver much-needed infrastructure projects and jobs in the bush,” Mr Cripps said.
