TO. Hon Warren Entsch MP, Member for Leichhardt, Australian Parliament House .

COPY. Hon Campbell Newman MP, , State Parliament House .

COPY. Hon MP, Minister for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander & Multicultural Affairs Queensland State Parliament Brisbane.

Subject: Northern Australian Development Visitations, “North Queensland & Torres Strait”.

Hello Warren (01 May 2014)

Firstly I wish to congratulate you as Chair of the White Paper exercise for Northern Development.

My interests are generally in the regions of FNWQ, FNQ and TSI and emanate back to 1986. Prior to that date, my employment for over 18 years was in TP&NG and after 1975 PNG. I have worked in senior roles in the Sugar Industry, (Babinda), State Government-DCS, DFSAIA and ATSI Policy on the TS Islands, NPA, Doomadgee, Cape York in Infrastructure Development and Maintenance and later as CEO at Bamaga and Pormpuraaw. In 1997, I joined Burke Shire Council and worked as Director of Engineering on various contracts up to 2000 when I was recruited by Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Council as Operations Manager and CEO up to mid-2004. After 2004, I worked on some 12 major subdivisions (residential) with Cardno in Townsville for one year and briefly with Western Cape Aboriginal Corporation at Weipa and Horn Island Aboriginal Corporation as Manager CDEP before commencing with Main Roads based in Cairns in 2006 on road construction at Chillagoe, Lakeland- yes all the roads upgrade with CEC, LDI and McIlwains on the PDR from Lakeland to Laura. During this same period of some 6 years we constructed the new Endeavour River Bridge at Cooktown Airport and the Carrolls Bridge and Ruth Creek Bridge on the Lakeland to Laura South PDR. I was also involved on the Laura South Bridge, piling foundations, roadwork and placing of all Steel girders ending in June 2012. I had an initial role in the Cairns Bruce Highway Upgrade to my retirement in December 2012. This brief resume is simply for credence of my roles, work locations and knowledge of peoples and places for some aggregate 26 years in the Northern Queensland section of Northern Australian Development. Most of the Rain runoff flows out to sea; Jardine, Leichhardt, Gregory etc.

It is my view that there are four major impediments to development in Cape York, especially the NPA and Torres Strait. I list these briefly:

1) Land Title; no one will invest funds without secure title to Land or Sea Enterprise; 2) Insurances; no Insurance Company will insure at a sustainable cost north of Townsville; 3) Logistics of distance; no matter what form of transport is used, the cost is still prohibitive, recently the Chair of TSRA said a good road from Cairns to Cape York would cheapen FUEL by 9 cents a litre and General Goods $ Dollars a Ton? What goods does road transport carry in the return trip, Nothing, the TSI/NPA produces nothing, it is a consumption economy; 4) Amalgamation; the amalgamation of Bamaga & Seisia into the 3 NPA Aboriginal Councils, has created concerns where both the Island Councils on the Mainland were once very viable. Bamaga and Seisia Councils should be amalgamated into Torres Shire Council to get better benefit from Torres Shire Council’s extensive Staffing and continued unqualified Audits.

Yours Faithfully, Harold Krause,