Queensland welcomes Federal partnership in road funding

Published Wednesday, 14 May, 2014 at 05:09 AM

JOINT STATEMENT

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning
The Honourable Jeff Seeney

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Scott Emerson

The Queensland Government has welcomed confirmation from the Federal Government that it will meet its responsibility to fund key Queensland transport infrastructure projects.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney, and Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said the Commonwealth funding commitments follow 12 months of intense lobbying from the Queensland Government to make the state’s roads safer.

“Last night’s Federal road funding announcements are the culmination of a long battle waged by Queensland’s LNP going back to our days in Opposition,” Mr Seeney said.

“The proper funding of critical roads like the Bruce Highway, Gateway North, the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, and the Warrego Highway would never have happened if Labor was in government in Queensland.

“We promised to deliver better infrastructure and planning and last night’s federal budget confirms that we are doing just that by effectively advocating for Queenslanders.”

Major projects that had funding confirmed in last night’s Federal budget, included:

  • $6.7 billion for the Bruce Highway
  • $1 billion for the Gateway Upgrade North
  • $1.3 billion for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing
  • $508 million for the Warrego Highway.

Mr Emerson said the funding would deliver more capacity, safety and flood mitigation projects across Queensland.

“This time last year, the then federal Labor Government left Queensland in limbo with several crucial projects at risk because of their move away from the traditional 80-20 funding split,” Mr Emerson said.

“We’ve come a long way since then to secure a good deal for Queensland roads.

“Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and his team have kept their promise to fund their share on national highways and assist us in our efforts to make our roads safer.

“This budget reaffirms that these projects are secure with a proper funding model.”

[ENDS] 14 May 2014

Media Contact:

Deputy Premier – Jane Paterson 0417 281 754

Minister Emerson – Stephanie Shield 0418 186 625