Transurban executive Sue Johnson returns to Brisbane; Mick de Brenni; Steve Baxter; Rowan Hodge

A BIG welcome back to Brisvegas to Sue Johnson, who now heads Transurban’s toll road operations in Queensland. Johnson says the toll roads of the future are likely to feature autonomous vehicles.

Transurban executive Sue Johnson has returned to Brisbane.

ROAD HOME

A BIG welcome back to Brisvegas to Sue Johnson, who now heads Transurban’s toll road operations in Queensland. Johnson took up the role of Transurban group executive for Queensland last month, overseeing the Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway and Legacy Way among other assets. Johnson, who spent her childhood in Albany Creek and Townsville has been with Transurban for 17 years, mainly in human resource roles.

Illustration of Sue Johnson by Brett Lethbridge.

She has been overseeing the integration of the Queensland toll road operations into Transurban’s national network and is now based permanently in Brisbane. A Transurban led consortium purchased toll road operator Queensland Motorways in 2014 for $7 billion.

Johnson tells your diarist she is looking into recent complaints about Transurban’s new govia “road pass” payment system with a view to making it easier for customers to sign up and navigate the website.

Johnson says she is looking ahead to a time when autonomous cars are common place on our roads, probably around 2030 according to some experts.

Transurban is laying plenty of fibre cables along its various roads in preparation for a time when cars will be controlled autonomously. A driverless car future can’t come soon enough if you look at some of the bad driving on our roads by humans. Johnson says driving while texting and driving the wrong way along a tunnel are just some examples.

NAILED TO THE CROSS

HAVE Master Builders Queensland and Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni kissed and made up?

De Brenni will be guest speaker at the peak body’s industry leaders lunch on Wednesday where he will explain the controversial project bank account legislation.

You might recall Master Builders and De Brenni were at loggerheads last year over the Labor minister’s move to require builders to put funds into trust accounts designed to protect subcontractors when building companies collapsed.

Master Builders even put up billboards attacking De Brenni in his own electorate during last year’s state election campaign. The builders also flirted with anti-Labor figure Pauline Hanson, inviting her to be guest speaker at the Master Builders annual awards night in an apparent attempt to build some sort of alliance with the controversial senator. We hear that little stunt did not go down too well with some of the rank and file, who thought Hanson’s appearance on then night was inappropriate.

ONE YEAR OLDER

MANY happy returns to Queensland’s chief entrepreneur, Shark Tank judge and River City Labs founder Steve Baxter who celebrated his 47th birthday on Monday.

We hear the folk at the River City Labs start-up precinct put on a morning tea for the tech guru.

Baxter, who has just returned from a regional tour of Queensland including Yeppoon, Mackay and Rockhampton, is now off to Sydney for the filming of the Shark Tank television series.

CHARGING UP

THE mob from Battery World travel to the Sunshine Coast on Thursday for the company’s annual conference. Among the 200 plus business owners, suppliers and support staff gathering at the Novotel Twin Waters will be general manager Rowan Hodge and other senior executives of the franchise retail chain.

All eyes will be on whether Battery World Townsville franchisee Greg Leslie will be best store manager for 11 years running and if he can win Franchisee of the Year for the third time

. City Beat reported last year that the Townsville businessman picked up a $6 million contract after helping someone stranded on the road.