Infrastructure Australia removes major North Queensland inland roads from priority list

North Queensland roads carrying “billions of dollars” of goods are no longer deemed a federal priority, sparking calls for a rethink on how projects are weighted.

Cattle trucks slowed to pass through the mob of 1500 steers on the Gregory Developmental Road. The road is no longer on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list. Picture: Trudy Brown

North Queensland roads carrying an estimated “billions of dollars” of goods are no longer deemed a federal priority, sparking calls for a rethink on how projects are weighted.

The Queensland inland freight route and the Queensland inland road network upgrade are no longer on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list.

The inland freight route dubbed as the “inland Bruce Hwy” provides for an alternative channel to transport produce and goods between north and south Queensland, particularly during extreme weather events.

The inland road network upgrade’s list for the Far North included the Gulf Developmental Rd, the Kennedy Hwy and Developmental Rd and the Gregory Development Rd – which connects the region to the inland freight route through Charters Towers.

Funding for the Kennedy Hwy and Barron River Bridge is less likely to be prioritised after the route was removed from Infrastructure Australia’s list. Picture: Brendan Radke

And in proximity to Cairns, the advisory body’s decision to remove Kennedy Hwy could impact funding for the troubled Barron River Bridge.

While the major roads were recognised by Infrastructure Australia as containing “constraints” and “deteriorating” in condition, Regional Development Australia Tropical North chair Professor Hurriyet Bubacan believed the projects would always struggle to stack up as they serviced local population centres.

“We welcome the Bruce Hwy upgrades, but these inland or smaller roads that connect community to the main roads and bridges like Barron River Bridge are absolutely vital,” she said.

“While they may not look like a priority in the scheme of things, what I’ve been vocal about is how do we assess what’s priority infrastructure.

Inland North Queensland roads are in need of upgrades, particularly following extreme weather. The bridge over the Etheridge River on the Gulf Developmental Rd outside Georgetown was washed away by floodwater. Picture: Renee Matthew

“Infrastructure Australia about five years ago heard us and was working with RDA to look at alternative measures. They did start embarking on this journey of how do we do more holistic assessments, but since the change of the structure of Infrastructure Australia we seem to have lost that.”

Ms Babacan said recent RDA analysis found northern Australian was contributing 11 per cent of the national GDP.

“There are other interests here than a narrow look at population needs – our contribution to GDP, defence interests, we’ve got tourism,” she said.

“There are strategic goals of our nation that play itself out on our domain and roads are fundamental to those strategic interests.”

Cook MP David Kempton estimated the roads taken off Infrastructure Australia’s priority list transported “billions of dollars” of agriculture and mining goods from the north, sharing a similar to mindset to Ms Babacan on how projects ought to be assessed.

Former RDA Tropical North chair and now Cook MP David Kempton believes organisations like Infrastructure Australia centralise their thinking to where populations are. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

“Too often organisations like Infrastructure Australia, they just tend to centralise their thinking to where the populations are,” he said.

“Now as the Member for Cook I’m on the (state) Infrastructure Committee and I’m going to lobby for the importance of getting these networks open.

“We’ve got massive mining, agriculture, horticulture interests and we just do not have an adequate logistic network to get those products in and out of markets. And then we’ve got our whole national interests in moving the military around in the event that should be required.”

While Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the priority list did not dictate the government’s funding decisions, in her May 2024 statement of expectations, the minister told the organisation she expected it to align its work program around the government’s priorities.

Originally published as Infrastructure Australia removes major North Queensland inland roads from priority list