Bruce Hwy: Anthony Albanese admits it should be in better shape

While in Queensland Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made a major concession on the state’s longest and deadliest highway.

• Editor’s view: Albo raises hopes

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared the Bruce Highway should be just as good as the dual-carriageway M1 between Brisbane and Sydney.

In a promising sign the Bruce Highway could become a key part of his plan to win back Queensland, Mr Albanese hit out at the former government for committing to upgrading the road without apportioning the appropriate funds.

Speaking from Rockhampton on Tuesday, Mr Albanese defended federal Labor’s record – including his as a former transport minister – for doing the heavy lifting on big-ticket projects.

Asked whether the Bruce Highway would ever be as good as the M1 between Brisbane and Sydney, Mr Albanese responded twice: “It should be.”

He did not commit to providing more funding for the highway.

The Courier-Mail is partnering with NRMA Insurance and regional news mastheads across Queensland this year to drive positive outcomes through the Help Our Highway advocacy campaign.

The Bruce Highway is the biggest carrier of traffic in the state. It is also the longest highway in Australia at about 1700km – equivalent to driving from Paris to Naples.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) with Premier Steven Miles at Beef Week in Rockhampton. Picture: Annette Dew

Mr Albanese and his government are conscious Queensland will be a battleground at the next federal election, with Labor holding just six of 30 seats – none of them outside the southeast.

Already his visit at Beef2024 marks his 7th trip to Queensland in six consecutive weeks.

Mr Albanese also took aim at the Coalition for not apportioning the appropriate funds to projects.

“You can’t actually sign a contract and build a road with half the money,” Mr Albanese said. “If you go into one of the hat stalls over there, and a hat costs $100, you can’t say I’ll give you $40 and walk away with the hat.

“Nothing happens, you don’t get it done.”

The federal government’s infrastructure review led to eight Queensland projects worth more than $200m being axed, with uncertainty on how and when nearly $9bn in Bruce Highway spending will be rolled out. It also marked the end of the funding convention for new projects, with the federal government to go halves with the states as the default rather than the previous 80:20 split used by the Coalition.

A poll of more than 1000 Queenslanders, conducted by NRMA Insurance for The Courier-Mail, previously revealed drivers were avoiding the Bruce Highway including over safety concerns. It sparked calls from regional mayors for more funding to upgrade the highway from state and federal governments, with concerns sections will get worse amid population surges.

The NRMA Insurance survey revealed four out of 10 Queenslanders believed the Bruce Highway was an unsafe road to travel on, with 58 per cent of motorists saying they had been negatively affected by an experience on the route.

It found 52.5 per cent had witnessed an accident on the Bruce Highway, while 5.8 per cent had been involved in one.

Fourteen per cent said their life or that of someone they knew had been affected by a fatal crash on the highway.