When Labor starts talking a big game on the Bruce Highway, that’s all it really is to them as history shows.
When he was Transport Minister in 2009, Anthony Albanese only agreed to fund Section B of the Bruce Highway Cooroy to Curra four lane upgrade because the State Labor Government was in a rush to flood eight kilometres of the old route with the ill-fated Traveston Crossing dam.
As a consequence of that decision, that section of the highway now skirts around the non-existent dam, along a route that was longer, more expensive, and more environmentally intrusive than the community’s preferred route.
It is also worth remembering that in 2012 Anthony Albanese subsequently only agreed to fund Section A of the Cooroy to Curra project, which should have been the first stage of the Cooroy to Curra upgrade funded and constructed, because the State LNP Government wanted the project prioritised and fast tracked.
Projects to upgrade the national highway are normally funded on an 80/20 funding split between the Federal and State Governments.
But recognising that Section A, which extended the four lanes from Cooroy to Sankeys Road had to be urgently done, the State LNP Government funded 50 per cent of the construction costs to bring the project forward.
And it was only when the Liberal and National Parties returned to Government at the Federal level that funding was provided for Section C, on the usual 80/20 funding split, which extended the four lanes from Sankeys Road to Woondum.
I note that in today’s media (Friday, 10 May), the Treasurer Jim Chalmers is now spruiking a $129.6 million allocation in Tuesday’s Budget to finish Section D, the Gympie bypass, which is expected to be open later this year.
This lifesaving project can’t come soon enough.
But the Federal commitment of $800 million for Section D was announced in 2018 by then Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Transport Minister Michael McCormack.
This commitment came after a long campaign by Wide Bay Mayors, State and Federal Members, the Wide Bay community, and importantly local media outlets including The Gympie Times and The Fraser Coast Chronicle, all working with me calling for it to be done.
While we need the Gympie bypass done as fast as possible, what would have been a more welcome and worthy announcement today would have been a commitment to fast track and prioritise the four lane Tiaro bypass.
The Federal share of funding for this long overdue project was made available to the Queensland Government in 2021 by the former Coalition Government, but here we are three years on, and we are yet to see major construction start.
In fact, in its last Budget the Albanese Labor Government cast doubt over the four lane Tiaro bypass and threatened its funding by subjecting it to what was supposed to be a 90 day review, which ended up being 200 days, such was Labor’s lack of commitment to the project at the time.
Further, the Albanese Labor Government’s last Budget cut its share of Federal funding for new projects to upgrade the Bruce Highway from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, a 30 per cent cut, now requiring the State Government to provide matching funding, making it much harder for them to afford new projects and safety upgrades to fix the Bruce.
There are over 11,000 vehicle movements daily between Gympie and Maryborough along our stretch of the national highway.
Tragically, since 2023 there have been 11 fatalities along this section of the Bruce Highway, and many more serious crashes causing life changing injuries.
If our section of the national highway was in New South Wales or Victoria the whole corridor between Gympie and Maryborough would already be four lanes, but here in Queensland we have been left behind by the failure of State and Federal Governments to bring forward plans and funding to transform our deadly section of highway into the safest.
So, while I will welcome any new commitment in next week’s Federal Budget to improve safety along the length of the Bruce Highway, the $467 million announced today isn’t going to get us far.
In contrast, when the Liberal and Nationals were in Government, we committed more than $1.3 billion to upgrade the Bruce Highway in Wide Bay alone, including $800 million for the Gympie bypass, $268 million for the Tiaro bypass, $173 million for Cooroy to Curra Section C, $30 million for the Tinana interchange, $20 million for the Tinana overtaking lanes, $26 million to upgrade intersections at Gootchie, $13 million for safety works at Tiaro, and $13 million for the Bruce Highway and Wide Bay Highway intersection at Bells Bridge.
Until we get the full four lane funding commitment for the Bruce Highway from Gympie to Maryborough, and construction is finished, this section will remain a highway of horror for all who travel on it.
– Llew O’Brien
Federal Member for Wide Bay
