Mount Isa councillor Dan Ballard has rated the Crisafulli Government six out of 10, saying it had failed to deliver decisive action for North-West Queensland.

iQ Industry Queensland is surveying figures across the state’s mining sector on the government’s performance.

Cr Ballard said his approval had fallen since the LNP took power more than 18 months ago.

Main image: Mount Isa Mines copper smelter

CopperString remained central to hopes for the North West, but Cr Ballard said the project had largely failed to materialise.

He said the sequence of vague promises and half-baked commitments evident under the former Labor government had continued under the LNP.

“Well, not to be too critical or anything, but I don’t think that they’ve broken any records from my perspective,” Cr Ballard said.

“There hasn’t been any decisive or strong decision-making that’s going to move the needle for us in the North West. We don’t know when CopperString will be delivered. We haven’t seen any activity in the uranium space.

“There’s a lot of talk around rare earths and critical minerals and the need for our resources to help with what they were talking about, the energy transition, but now a lot of the discussions are around data centres and that sort of thing. But the follow-through just hasn’t really been there.

“Without any real work being done to develop those supply chains and the logistics required to support the operations, the business environment that’s conducive to attracting investment, it’s difficult to say that they’re putting their money where their mouth is at this stage.”

CopperString progress falls short

On June 10, the Queensland Government said ground had been broken at the Flinders Substation near Hughenden and its 2026–27 Budget would allocate $420 million towards a total $3.2 billion commitment to CopperString.

Cr Ballard said the lack of a CopperString connection to the National Electricity Market affected major issues, including the future of Mount Isa’s copper smelter, despite an up to $600 million joint government support package announced in October 2025.

“Because we’re not connected to the national energy market, our electricity price is intrinsically linked to gas prices. There’s nothing in the way of a gas reservation policy that aligns with Western Australia.

“They’re not looking at the issues that mean that it’s not a viable entity in and of itself and they’re not doing anything to prevent Glencore or whoever might own it in years to come from coming back to the taxpayer periodically.

“There’re some very real factors affecting that operation. And government has a role to play there. I don’t think they should be handing out money hand over fist, but the business environment that’s set up at the minute means they’re just internationally not competitive.”

Cr Ballard rated the performance of Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last four out of 10.

On top of his local government commitments Cr Ballard is also Mount Isa branch manager for Remote Control Technologies.