BY IAN CROUCH
It's been revealed the former Morrison government was planning to unveil a $250 million commitment to help establish a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle, but it was shelved at the last minute.
Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce has told Fairfax they dumped the announcement fearing it would be seen as giving money to the Port's Chinese owners.
It's understood the money was already allocated to the Port to construct stage one of the terminal.
Port of Newcastle CEO Craig Carmody has been pushing the container terminal idea for some time, arguing it would contribute $2.5 billion to the national economy and create 15,000 local jobs.
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| A Coalition announcement to fund Stage One of a container terminal in Newcastle was shelved at the last minute |
