LNP Leader Deb Frecklington will today unveil her plan to drive the development of the Galilee Basin and create thousands of new jobs across the Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton regions.
Ms Frecklington will use her Budget Reply speech to announce a 10-year freeze on mining royalties to boost long-term investment in the resources industry.
The LNP will also overhaul Labor’s politicised approvals process and back a new drive to attract international resources investment in Queensland.
And Ms Frecklington will also guarantee that every dollar of the royalties collected from the Galilee Basin will go into a new Queensland Infrastructure Fund to build hospitals, schools and roads across the state.
“Labor has fought the opening of the Galilee Basin for four years,” Ms Frecklington said.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk and her spineless MPs have betrayed mining communities in the regions.
“Labor’s anti-resources, anti-regions and anti-jobs agenda is hurting Queensland like never before.
“The LNP backs the Galilee Basin and we are going to bring jobs back to the communities that Annastacia Palaszczuk has forgotten.
“We will create good jobs and we’ll guarantee that every Queenslander gains from the Galilee Basin through new schools, hospitals and roads.”
Ms Frecklington said around $50 billion worth of Galilee Basin projects – which will create 15,000 new jobs – have stalled because of Labor’s pro-Greens, anti-mining agenda.
“I am going to stop Labor’s politicisation of the approvals process for new mining projects,” Ms Frecklington said.
“We all know how Annastacia Palaszczuk kept shifting the goalposts and stacked the process against the Adani project.
“If we are to create more jobs, we must restore confidence in the system.
“A future LNP Government will restore fair and transparent key performance indicators for environmental approvals. These will be published, tracked and reported.
“The framework will respect our environment, but it will also respect the needs of industry.
“Resources projects need certainty to get off the ground and the LNP will provide it.”
The LNP’s ‘Boost the Basin’ jobs plan for Queensland, to be unveiled in today’s Budget Reply speech, includes:
“Labor are anti-resources, anti-regions and anti-jobs,” Ms Frecklington said.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government tried to bury the Carmichael mine, told miners to ‘re-skill’ and held the resources industry to ransom two weeks before the Budget.
“Labor has blocked the resources industry, but I will back it.”
LNP Shadow Minister for Mines and North Queensland Dale Last said only an LNP Government would boost the Galilee Basin and generate new jobs across Central and North Queensland.
“Thanks to Annastacia Palaszczuk, the resources industry’s confidence in Queensland is at rock bottom,” Mr Last said.
“You can’t blame the industry – Labor is out to destroy their business model.
“Only the LNP will restore confidence and bring back the investment and jobs that the regions are crying out for.”
