Deb Frecklington
July 27, 2016
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington has blasted the State Government for spending less than 1 per cent of $70 million it promised for job creation projects in regional Queensland last year.
Speaking after a Budget estimates hearing, Mrs Frecklington said Labor’s “Building Our Regions” program had a $70 million Budget allocation in 2015-16 but only $406,000 was actually used.
“When I asked why more than $69 million of funding for the program had been held back from regional Queenslanders, Dr Lynham pointed the blame at local councils for slow application times,” Ms Frecklington said.
“The State Development Minister had the hide to blame the Building Our Regions delays on local councils not submitting their expressions of interest on time.
“In true Labor form, Dr Anthony Lynham is blaming everyone but himself for this disastrous program.
“The Minister needs to step up and take responsibility for short-changing Queensland’s regions.”
Ms Frecklington said Dr Lynham had sat in Budget estimates last year and declared that funding for the Building Our Regions program would be brought forward a year.
“He now needs to explain his failure to deliver job creating projects for regional Queensland,” she said.
“Despite the 99 per cent underspend, the Minister not only argued the program was going according to plan, but he said it was actually progressing better than he had initially anticipated.
“The reality is the LNP’s Royalties for Regions program – which Labor scrapped – delivered more last year than Labor’s own Building our Regions program.
“The LNP isn’t even in government and our programs are delivering more for regional Queensland.
“Imagine the jobs that could be created if this do-nothing Labor government stopped sitting on his hands and started investing in regional projects.”
