Kate Peddle, Flinders Shire Mayor – Canberra meetings (1 April)

Rural Queensland today, Ben Doblin with you this morning, it is the 1st of April and a Wednesday morning across Rural Queensland today.

Kate Petal, the Flinders, Shai Mayor joins me this morning and I'm speaking to her from Canberra.

She's trying to get some answers of Chris Bowen and not a lot's going on in that space.

Kate, good morning. Thanks so much for being with us.

Good morning, Shai Mayor. Thanks for having me.

Obviously, there is a group of mayors down in Canberra at the moment looking for answers.

How did that go yesterday?

We have a mighty group of mayors down here and I have to admit it's always slightly depressing coming down here.

Always chasing a patriot and someone who feels so passionately about Australia like we do and you know, depressingly we really struggle to find it.

But we had a few good meetings yesterday. There's a few people. I mean, those individuals.

They're all right, but I think we just speak different languages.

Yeah, and that's the big thing.

Okay, so let's talk about you want to try and catch up with Chris Bowen.

Talk about the energy crisis, fuel first off. We'll get to copper string and we'll get to renewables.

But the fuel issue in your electorate alone is diabolical and it's affecting, I mean, even your own, your husband's business.

I mean, everybody is being affected.

Oh, everyone's hurting and you know, the more it drags on every other sector is in a bad way.

We've got our festival, our annual festival in about a month.

Yeah.

And we're refunding tickets left right in center because people are obviously panicked.

We don't so much have a supply issue in town now. We seem to have rectified that.

But you know, it's the price cares people as it should.

And I think not having a consistent answer from government makes it really challenging.

Because people to, you know, make decisions about their social lives and what they're going to do.

Because we really rely on that tourism throughout the year.

You know, we'll come off the back of flooding. That was hard enough.

I think we feel like we kicked the can down the road.

And we're always complaining and there's always something going on.

But yeah, this one was a mighty kick in the guts for us.

Yeah, and that's the thing that a lot of people don't realize.

I mean, it's one thing to have a boughs around the corner.

People are having to travel literally hundreds of kilometers to get fuel.

The price is going up and up.

And yet you're trying to keep tourism dollar outside money coming in industry.

And everybody's just sitting on their hands at the moment as such.

Yeah. And you know, you can't, you can't blame people for doing it.

There's certainly none of that from us.

But trying to sit down and strategize how we get to the other side is quite difficult.

Regional communities like ours, the events that we have.

Jesus at the last one, not to mention our businesses.

Like we're really supported by the producers in our area.

And you know, roads alone, I spoke about the flooding just before they've had access issues.

And you know, now they're probably trying to conserve what they've got to keep their operations going at home.

So our businesses are suffering as well.

And then buying as much as what they would usually do at the time of the year.

Yeah. And that's the thing that people don't realize that we are in a really precarious situation at the moment.

It has just been diabolical for people watching what they're doing in the bush.

And you know, you have the season start and then the fuel go.

We're going to see interest rates rise in the next couple of months as inflation kicks.

And there's no answers coming out of the federal government.

Have they even given you any sort of, and it feels like with Easter coming up obviously,

to Thursday tomorrow, they all just want to get out of there.

There seems a real distinct lack of, I suppose, energy.

They don't want to get this done.

They're taking all the time in the world.

That's the drama that I have with it all.

Yeah. And I think, you know, for people who probably, and I'll be one of them,

not understanding how many ships actually come into the country.

And I think during this process, we're learning more than what we ever did.

Because in our country, we've never have to worry about it.

You know, if you needed fuel, it was a process of procurement, not supply,

which is really interesting.

But yeah, being down here, they're certainly a vibe of exhaustion.

I think all of them are discussing these issues.

I think there's a lot going on in Parliament House.

But, you know, as a constituent back in Q&A and the Flindershire,

what we're asking for is some certainty from the government.

And I'm not sure that they have that because the certainty,

if you're new here in this for another month, you can make plans.

Issues are the next six months.

And, you know, you're making some pretty valuable decisions about your community

and the businesses and, you know, right down to paying your staff.

You know, how many people are keeping on the books? Can I afford it?

There's some really serious questions to be asked.

And I think we need some certainty from governments to what actually is going on.

Yeah, it feels like we're getting into the sort of COVID sort of rescue package time again.

And this government don't want to know about it.

It's going to be their big test.

And they do not want to know about it.

Now, listen, copper string in your neck of the woods.

How is that tracking?

Yeah. So, obviously, overarching issue that we have.

The state's been really positive about the fact that it's going to build the line the full way.

It needs to result the full way.

But from what we understand, the West inside from ourselves and the Flinders,

they're out to mountain either as yet to be funded.

So, a lot of the messaging we've had this week in Canberra is,

well, one of the feds going to step into this.

This is a national, you know, it should be a nationally significant project.

The state and national coffers get a lot out of the mineral province.

And we need to make sure that they're energy prices are reasonable.

I mean, we've got mines that are potentially not going to operate,

mines that are potentially shut down.

We've spoken about it before. Flinders is the generator.

I've got a heap of wind farms that are ready to get cracking.

And they just can't because we don't have any time lines.

But again, don't have any certainty of what's going on.

So, I just was really like government, both levels of government start working together.

Even with us on the ground there, we noticed that all of the issues that we represent

were the experts on that.

And you're sort of speaking to people that are, you know,

sort of time's hearing it for the first time, which is a real challenge for us.

I agree that how this is just getting, you know, out of control.

Like, David Janitsky tells me it's going to happen, right?

And we've heard this from the state government.

But we've got to get some time lining on it, haven't we?

I mean, that's the biggest thing.

Without it, you guys will go broke.

Now, industry is getting ready and gearing themselves.

But it's like everything at the moment.

We just feel like, well, we say we're going to do it.

We're just waiting, you know, nothing is starting to move.

And it should have been like, we're years since these announcements.

We need to get something cracking now.

Yeah.

Another fact is investor confidence as well.

Like I said, we don't have the critical minerals in Flinders,

but we certainly have the wind.

We're going to be renewable.

You and I have spoken about that before.

It's not about net zero or any other ideological conversation

that's out there.

We can generate power.

And we can send it down the line to the minds.

And the minds are looking now at, you know, individual solutions.

I think either cost of mine, if you've been talking to Robbie lately,

there's 76,000, 76 million liters of diesel annually used.

I mean, surely our country has a better solution to drive down the cost

of their energy out there.

It's just ludicrous.

Yeah.

You're right.

It is absolutely ludicrous.

What is going on?

Will you get answers while you're there?

Like it is, it is this.

I know it's a fact finding mission, and I know you're trying to get recovery

packages in, you know, and asking for that.

But these other questions have been asked.

Are you taken seriously by the federal?

Because because you're not labor leaning.

Are they open to having a chat to you?

You know, as a group, we're over coffee yesterday.

We're talking about that because in our area, we don't care what color you are.

Blue or red, you know, orange now, that's a fair contender.

We're just looking after our patch.

And we really want to feel like we're being heard.

So one of the things we've been trying to do this week is actually talk about a regional deal.

And ultimately, that's to incentivize people coming out to our area.

But it's just taking the ball by the horn saying, hey, give us a bucket of money.

You know, like I said, we're the experts in the area.

We know our communities.

We know the pinch points.

We know what we need.

We know what the enabling infrastructure is.

So how about you guys give us the bucket of money.

And we'll figure out how it's best spent in our region.

Because the flint is highway.

I mean, if you just look at that in terms of the whole nation,

you can run triples down there.

You've got the mineral province at one end, which, you know,

Albanese is over in America talking to Trump and brokering a deal off the back of it.

But we've got a fight like Tuesday now to fix every pot hole on there.

I keep talking about the windphones.

How are we getting the blades out?

These are all the things that we should be working on now.

How are we landing the planes for the increased activity for the construction of copper string?

Our airports need a lifter.

And now it sounds like I'm always having a winch.

But these are such simple things.

And their investments are going to have a return.

So we see it is really important that the government starts to actually recognize that this is an investment for them.

We're really punching above our way.

I think we're three times the amount average amount of the GDP from our area alone.

And that's with the challenges that we have with just basic infrastructure.

I just think the way that the country prioritises investment needs to stop looking at population in the next election.

And start with what's going to create wealth for our nation.

Yeah, you're so right.

We need more people talking since like yourself.

Kate, have a great Easter with your family.

Hopefully you get home in time and get to have a few days down time.

And we'll swing back into it in the next couple of weeks.

But great to chat.

Appreciate your time.

Thanks, Trevor and you too.

Good on you.

So we're going to take a break.

Come back.

Still plenty more to get through.

This is where we're all queens end of the day.