Drivers, farmers, councils, doctors and the tourism sector have all welcome bipartisan commitments to upgrading the Bruce Highway, Today newspapers have been told.
RACQ CEO David Carter described announcements by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton as “a much needed win for the people of Queensland.”
Mr Carter said the auto club’s campaign to “Fix the Bruce” had involved a range of leading organisations, including the Queensland Farmers Federation, the Queensland Trucking Association, the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Royal Australian College of Surgeons Queensland branch and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.
The Caravan Industry Association of Australia also welcomed the announcement and promised further lobbying for government and other organisations to work together to maximise the benefits to all road users and their customers.
CEO Stuart Lamont said action was needed to address increasing numbers of road fatalities and serious accidents in recent years.
“A safer highway not only protects lives but also encourages more Australians and international visitors to explore Queensland’s diverse attractions, thereby stimulating local economies,” he said.
Mr Carter said the Bruce Highway’s 1673km made up less than one per cent of Queensland’s road network, but accounted for more than 10 per cent of the road toll.
He said the club also acknowledged “the former and current state Governments’ commitments and efforts to fight for increased funding for the Bruce and detailed project planning done to date.”
“With Queensland’s projected population growth, getting the Bruce up to scratch is no quick fix,” he said.
“There will be ongoing upgrades required over many years.
“What we need now is to see these promises delivered and bipartisan support to do the work that’s required – a commitment beyond political cycles.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has matched the $7.2 billion funding pledge announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Gympie last Monday, with a condition that controversial union, the CFMEU would be banned from any upgrade work.
Mr Albanese paid tribute to the Gympie ambulance chief Wayne Sachs, crediting him with convincing the Rudd Government to get started on upgrades to regional sections of the highway, starting with the recently completed Cooroy to Curra upgrade.
He said Mr Sachs was the person who convinced him in 2009 to get that project moving, when Mr Albanese was Transport Minister.
Mr Sachs had told him of his personal experience of the huge number of crashes, many of them fatal, on the highway as it used to be to Gympie’s south.
Gympie’s Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien also welcomed the news, after his repeated calls for work to start on the highway to Gympie’s north.
He called for Mr Albanese to match Mr Dutton’s pledge to restore 80-20 funding not only for works announced last week, but for all work on the Bruce Highway.
Gympie state MP Tony Perrett also welcomed the announcement of federal funding under a restored 80-20 funding deal with the state government, as did Premier David Crisafulli.
Both described the 80-20 funding deal as “a massive win for Queensland.”
