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Just prior to making headlines around Australia, Senator Bill Heffernan was in Kununurra talking about development in northern Australia.
He met with Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley councillors and officers, representatives of the Kununurra Chamber of Commerce and Industry and horticulturalists.
Senator Heffernan is chairman of the Federal Government's Northern Development Task Force.
He said the task force would come out with preliminary findings later this year but its final report was a long way off.
The Federal Government could act on the preliminary findings if they contained references to Ord Stage II and thus involve it in the development, a move that State Treasurer Eric Ripper has gone on record as saying he would support.
The State Government has been very coy about what level of infrastructure it is willing to finance in an attempt to get would-be developers to make higher offers to do with providing infrastructure.
This has angered some, who see it as the State Government's role to provide a good quality of infrastructure.
Senator Heffernan warned the State Government against selecting what he described as 'carpetbaggers' developers for the project.
An announcement is expected soon from the State Government on who its three favoured proponents for the project will be.
This announcement follows an 'expressions of interest' process.
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