3 May 2016
Phoebe Wearne
The West Australian
The Federal Government has capitulated to a campaign to include key WA towns in its definition of northern Australia.
Gascoyne councils and the Gascoyne Development Commission wrote to Federal MPs to protest against their region’s exclusion from the definition, which favoured the Northern Territory and Queensland.
The gas-rich city of Gladstone in Queensland and the entire NT were included, despite being below the Tropic of Capricorn, while the WA towns of Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Denham and surrounding areas were not. Being included in the legislative definition is a precondition for being considered for a $5 billion loan scheme for infrastructure.
The Government’s amendment to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Bill includes all areas above the Tropic of Capricorn in WA, as well as Carnarvon, Meekatharra and Wiluna.
Courtesy of the West Australian
