By Cassandra Pulver

While MPs Rob Katter, Billy Gordon and Shane Knuth band together to move to amend the Sustainable Ports Development Bill to include Cairns as a “priority port”, Treasurer Curtis Pitt claims the Bill is to protect the Great Barrier Reef for future generations.

The Bill states that the key policy objective is to provide for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) through managing port-related development in and adjacent to the area in accordance with the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (LTSP). The Bill will give effect to the government’s commitments made in the LTSP to better manager the impacts of port development on the environment, particularly on the GBRWHA, while allowing Queensland’s economy, jobs and regions to grow.

The Bill has the Cairns Regional Council and business leaders up in arms claiming the legislation would impact growth of the region by not allowing dredging at ports outside the “priority ports” of Gladestone, Mackay, Abbot Point and Townsville.
The Treasurer stated that the Port of Cairns is not a major bulk commodity port and differs in terms of nature and scale compared to the industrialized ports of Gladestone, Mackay, Abbott Point and Townsville and as such is not designated as a “priority port” in the Bill.

Independent Member for Cook Billy Gordon and Katter’s Australian Party MP’s Shane Knuth and Rob Katter are using their powerful position in State Parliament to push through amendments to the Bill proposing Cairns and Mourilyan be designated as “priority ports”.

The Developing Northern Australia conference held in Townsville on 21st July, aimed to address topics relevant to northern Australia and how North Queensland fits into the bigger picture of developing northern Australia, including the Federal Government White Paper released in June.
“North Queensland makes up 75 per cent of the northern Australia region, so we have a very important part to play in growing our region,” said The Honorable Coralee O’Rourke, Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland.
Minister O’Rourke said the Palaszczuk Government was committed to working with stakeholders and across all levels of government to achieve the best outcomes for North Queensland.

However Advance Cairns chairman Trent Twomey feels the proposed Bill does not meet the Federal Government’s nor the Oppositions’s commitment to the north.  In a recent article by Jim Campbell,  Twomey asks “how can a government in one breath say they support the development of Northern Australia, say they support tackling youth unemployment in Cairns and then, in the same breath, put red and green tape on further expansion and development of our two key ports.”

Mayor of Cairns Bob Manning stated that this was one of the biggest issues “if not the biggest” Cairns has faced in his lifetime and the development of the port was imperative to the regions’s growth.

MP Billy Gordon claims that should the Bill be passed as it now stands, the flow on effect would impact future development for not only the Cairns region but also Douglas Shire, Torres Strait, Cape York and farmers on the Tableland.

Australian Marine Conversation Society’s (AMCS) Gemma Plesman has stated that should the amendment to the Bill go through and Cairns is designated a “priority port” the future environmental and economic impact will be detrimental for the tourism industry.

While the hearing held in Cairns last week heard arguments against the Bill from united Cairns representatives, The Chairman of the State Government’s Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee, Jim Pearce, who heard the submissions said it was the committees job to ask the questions and get answers.  The committee will decide if Cairns is being disadvantaged by not being designated a “priority port”.  The committee will draft recommendations for the minister by September 1.

MP Billy Gordon was contacted for further comment on the impact and flow on effect to the Douglas Shire.