Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, is calling on Labor to urgently invest funding into the Bruce Highway before more lives are lost on the treacherous stretch of road.
Ms Landry said Labor’s despicable decision to slash funding from the Bruce Highway in the electorate of Capricornia will ultimately lead to more lives lost unless something drastic changes.
“In my electorate of Capricornia, of the top 15 most deadly areas of the Bruce Highway as reported by the Department of Transport and Main Roads, four are located in our region.
“Despite this, in State Labor’s most recent Budget, not a single cent will go to upgrading some of the most dangerous stretches of road between Rockhampton and Sarina. While Federal Labor are sinking their road funding into south-east Queensland.
“This is a stark contrast to the $10 billion of Federal funding I delivered for upgrades to the Bruce Highway during the Coalition Government’s time in office,” Ms Landry said.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads data of the 15 deadliest lengths of road between 2015 to 2024 has St Lawrence in the thirteenth spot, followed by Marlborough in eleventh, Carmila in twelfth and Koumala being the second deadliest area on the Bruce Highway.
Concerning data from the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) showed almost 50 per cent of the Bruce Highway only ranked two stars out of five. In contrast, no electorate in the southeast of Queensland had sections rated below three stars.
“I ask the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, why is this Labor Government pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into roads with three plus stars, while regional Queenslanders are taking their lives in their hands driving on sections of road that are some of the worst in Australia?”
“Over the weekend, another horrific accident occurred on the Bruce Highway. While Labor continues to cut funding out of the regions and change contribution from an 80:20 model to 50:50, they are playing with the lives of each and every traveller on the Bruce,” Ms Landry said.