July 8, 2024
Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has questioned the Government’s blinkered upgrades of black-spot roads, and disappointing lack of commitment in parliament to a safer tunnel route that unlocks the economic future of resource-rich North Queensland.
Questioning the Minister for Northern Development, Madeline King, in parliament about building the proposed Bridle Track Tunnel through the Cairns hinterland, Mr Katter asked whether billions of dollars in mineral, food, timber and industrial production were not worth the $1,000 million inland highway down the range dividing the Tablelands from the port.
Asking if more than $20,000 million a year of North Queensland potential and six of Australia’s eight biggest rivers west of Cairns necessitated the tunnel, Mr Katter reminded the Minister responsible for development of our nation’s north that without port access, the birth of industrial-scale mining was choked in the rich mineral province of once-thriving Chillagoe - home to the Labor movement and noted for the world’s most-diverse geology by Professor Ian Plimer.
“Whilst we are disappointed in the Minister’s response during question time, we are determined to ensure the Bridle Track Tunnel is constructed to unlock the riches of the Tablelands and Gulf Country, and provide essential emergency evacuation during natural disasters,” said Mr Katter.
“We are seeking further discussions with Minister King to reject Labor’s current blinkered approach to the Kuranda Range, and commit to immediate construction of the Bridle Track Tunnel.”
Though the Minister acknowledged the importance of Cairns port access and infrastructure needs across the state’s northern regions as vital for the economy, Ms King described the proposed tunnel as a ‘very large undertaking’ of ‘much discussion’ on which she would speak further with the responsible Minister for Transport.
The Minister also referenced the QEM Vanadium mine at Julia Creek in Mr Katter’s electorate of Kennedy as one of the world’s largest deposits of this critical mineral. However, the current condition of roads, rail, and lack of port access meant exporting this critical mineral and many others mined in the Kennedy electorate would be challenging, said Mr Katter.
“Everyone knows that they have no trouble building multi-billion-dollar tunnels in Brisbane,” he said of some 30 kilometres of road tunnels in a council area with a population of 1.3 million.
“North Queensland has almost a million people and no tunnel at all.
“How many more people have to die on the bottleneck Kuranda Range Road that both the state and federal Labor governments are now spending hundreds of millions dollars more towards continuously required repairs and upgrades?”
In response to Mr Katter’s question in parliament, Ms King admitted the ‘difficult and problematic’ Kuranda Range Road was also ‘not the ideal solution for the North West Mineral Province’ to achieve full economic potential.