RACQ to fight for fuel price caps, as Queenslanders reveal Bruce Highway is their biggest bugbear

Queensland motorists have voted on what they believe is the No.1 problem affecting the state, putting it above population growth and the soaring cost of fuel, according to an RACQ survey.

Queenslanders care more about fixing the deadly Bruce Highway than petrol prices and population growth, new survey data has revealed.

The Royal Automobile Club Queensland has released its priorities survey ahead of the October state election to gauge what Queenslanders want prioritised for their roads.

Respondents are asked to order a list of ten priorities covering cost of living, road safety, public transport, home and energy resilience and planning for growth, with results so far showing the Bruce Highway as Queenslanders’ number one concern.

It comes after the Courier-Mail launched a Help Our Highway campaign, in partnership with NRMA insurance, urging both state and federal levels of government to commit long-term funding to bring the 1673km stretch up to modern safety standards and finally finish decades worth of road works.

The traffic lined up on the Bruce Highway after a crash on Friday involving seven cars and two trucks.

The federal government subsequently announced a $467m cash injection as part of its 2024-25 budget, while the Queensland government pledged to increase its annual Bruce Highway funding commitment by $250m each year starting from 2027-28.

RACQ will use the survey results as part of its pre-election advocacy campaign, with the poll open to the public until July 5.

General manager of advocacy Joshua Cooney said two weeks into the poll, “fix the Bruce” was already ranked number one with 21.3 per cent of respondents listing it as their top priority.

“While we have seen recent additional funding announced for the Bruce, we need a long-term plan and funding commitment to bring it up to scratch with other national highways like the Hume and Pacific,” he said.

“Around 750km of this national highway is rated as poor and on average 29 people lose their life on the Bruce each year and more than 360 suffer serious injuries from crashes.”

RACQ general manage of advocacy Joshua Cooney. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Planning and building for growth has been ranked second at 18.9 per cent, followed by getting a fair go on fuel, which was favoured by 17.4 per cent of respondents.

“We know the lack of long-term strategic planning over decades has led to terrible bottlenecks and congestion issues, particularly in the south east, and Queenslanders are so far prioritising our vision for better transport planning to meet a booming population,” Mr Cooney said.

“RACQ believes we need to fix, finish and extend Brisbane’s outer ring of motorways to take traffic off our local roads and corridors.

“In the wake of eye-watering petrol prices in the past few years, we’ve also called for the next state government to set a cap on daily fuel margin increases to help motorists better manage their fuel costs.”

To take the RACQ survey, click here.

Originally published as RACQ to fight for fuel price caps, as Queenslanders reveal Bruce Highway is their biggest bugbear