General News
19 March, 2025
EDITORIAL: Immediate fix needed on Mount Isa rail line
The state government can't afford to sit on their hands and ignore the issue, writes editor Matt Nicholls.
We don’t ask for much in the North West – and we certainly don’t get much – but there are some fundamentals needed to let us get on with our lives.
Socially, we need hospitals and schools and those essential government services.
In the business world, we need three things: faster approvals, cheap electricity, and affordable transport to the export market.
We have none of those in the North West.
Yet they are all achievable.
CopperString is certainly a major stepping stone to bringing affordable power to the region, while a Special Economic Zone would allow new projects to be fast-tracked.
As for cheaper transport, all the pieces of the puzzle are there.
It just needs David Crisafulli to show some leadership and demand Treasury to fix what is an outrageous deal on the Mount Isa-Townsville rail line.
While passengers in south-east Queensland are enjoying 50 cent fares on trains and buses, the North West is paying more for rail freight than any other region in the state.
It’s great that Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese fly in and talk about the potential of the North West Minerals Province, but without affordable freight, the potential of this region will never be fully realised.
It won’t be long until plans for the Brisbane Olympic venues are announced. What better way to pay for them than through the royalties from the Queensland mining industry?
To do so, the government will need to spend some money – or sacrifice some – to allow more projects to contribute back to the state’s coffers.
The North West wants to be put to work, but we just need the hand brake to be released.