Dametto calls for end to govt department ‘paternalism’

LOCKED UP: Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto says government needs to be much more proactive when it comes to projects that advance the North.

HINCHINBROOK MP Nick Dametto has demanded the State’s bureaucracy “stop looking for excuses and start being proactive” in advancing key projects that would transform the region.

Echoing Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramon Jayo’s withering attack on ongoing state-government inaction toward all-tidal marine access at Dungeness and Forrest Beach, Mr Dametto said residents had every right to be incensed at the “environmental madness” which was holding up marine infrastructure.

“The environment is used as a common excuse by the State Labor Government and their departments to avoid dredging places like Dungeness and Cardwell’s One Mile Creek. The mentality seems to be to find excuses for why a project can’t be done instead of asking how they can make it happen in a sustainable way,” Mr Dametto said.

“Right now we have a situation where council is not allowed to even trim mangroves that are clogging up several waterways across the Herbert River District like the Mandam sub-basin, yet Transport and Main Roads were doing it during recent roadworks on the way to Lucinda. It seems like one rule for the State Government, another for everybody else.”

Mr Dametto said local councils needed more autonomy to manage the local environment without needing to go through “mountains of paperwork” for permits.

“The fact is that when you have government departments beholden to extremist Green ideology, they are more than happy to lead council up the garden path so a project doesn’t proceed. Giving council the necessary freedom to make decisions that involve the local environment will ensure vital maintenance works are carried out in a timely manner,” he said.

“The KAP recently called for the relocation of about 3,800 public service jobs to North Queensland that would help to counter the “Brisbane-isation” of the state’s workforce. We want public servants living in our communities so they can see first-hand the consequences of their decisions, which we believe would drive a cultural change.”