Mayoral Minute - May 2025

Published on 29 May 2025

Last week I ended up going to Brisbane to meet with the other two levels of government that operate in our area – with both of the Katters, along with industry representatives – to try and come up with a solution of what could be done for the economy on the whole to help with the smelter operating conditions, but also help other smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 mines in the area.

We came up with a bit of a plan, and then we were lucky enough to get a meeting with the Premier David Crisafulli pretty much straight away.

Last Thursday night at 8.30 we had a meeting with the Premier which I think was really fruitful. I think he listened to the advice, and he did give a commitment that he was really keen to get this situation sorted. Obviously, it’s going to involve help from the Federal Government as well.

So we’re getting a plan together about what’s required from each level of government and seeing what they’re willing to do to help us out, because if the smelter ends up closing, it’s not going to be great for anyone here.

At the Critical Minerals conference in Townsville this week, it was highlighted that everyone in Townsville is taking this issue very seriously.

I think having us in Townsville lobbying together has really got us some great attention on that.

The issue was on the front page of The Townsville Bulletin yesterday (May 27), and we’re in The Bulletin again today (May 28), because Townsville understands that if the smelter and the refinery both close, that’s going to cost about 17,000 jobs between both sites, which is pretty bad for the whole of the North Queensland economy.

While we’re trying to remain positive and keep positivity within our community – because, as I keep saying, we have the $680 billion worth of critical minerals in the ground – we need to come up with a plan that can fix the operating environment for all parties and also help us retain some of the wealth in our communities, so we can make our towns great places to live, work and invest. So that’s been a lot of the push that has been happening over the last couple of weeks.

On the social front, I just want to remind everyone that the Camooweal Campdraft and Rodeo is coming up this weekend (May 30 to June 1), and there’s races on next weekend (the Mount Isa Cup, June 7).

I know the Rodeo Queen Quest entrants are doing some fundraising events this weekend and I’m looking forward to heading to one of those on Saturday night.