Major Coalition election commitment to finally finish the Bruce Highway, with return to 80:20 funding split

Queensland’s deadliest highway would receive a major funding boost under a reinstated 80:20 split if the Coalition wins the federal election in 2025.

Queensland’s deadliest highway would receive a major funding boost under a reinstated 80:20 split if the Coalition wins the federal election next year, putting plans to finally finish the Bruce back on track.

Coalition Leader Peter Dutton yesterday committed to reinstating the 80:20 funding split for all federal highways across Australia should he form government in 2025.

“That’s what it was when we were in government and that’s what we believe it should be,” he said.

“If Labor’s trying to walk away from that, well, we’ll end up seeing more tragedy on the Bruce Highway and other highways.”

The federal government last year decreased funding for national highways to 50:50 in an effort to curb infrastructure project blowouts.

The Courier-Mail’s Help Our Highway campaign has since been advocating for both sides of government to commit to fixing the entire length of the Bruce at an estimated cost of $9bn, according to the state government.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has also committed to lobbying both sides of government for an 80:20 funding split ahead of the federal election.

The Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton has pledged a return to the 80:20 funding split if the Coalition wins the 2025 election. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“We will make it the defining issue of the next federal election if we are chosen as a government,” he said.

“Whoever is looking to govern, I would suggest to them, if they’re looking to do well in Queensland, they’re looking to give Queenslanders their fair share.”

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has so far shut down hopes of a future return to the 80:20 funding model, stating that building and maintaining roads was not a job for the commonwealth.

“We’re going to make sure that states actually deliver value for money, not do what had occurred for a while, which is state governments having projects which were overblown, and then the commonwealth getting the bill for it,” he said.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.

It comes after Premier Steven Miles submitted a $1.2bn funding proposal, in the form of the old 80:20 split, to Mr Albanese this month aimed at getting priority upgrades off the ground, while also pledging to cover any cost blowouts.

The Labor colleagues visited Cairns yesterday, where the Prime Minister refused to make a public off-the-cuff agreement.

“We don’t agree to a billion dollars on the basis of a question at a press conference,” he said.

“We have some money in the budget that’s available in our last budget, I wrote to Steven about what the priority projects for that should be, on the Bruce Highway, and we will give consideration to any proposals.”

Mr Miles said while the state government would prefer to see its $6bn 15-year plan for the Bruce Highway funded through an 80:20 split, he would not let the dispute get in the way of any federal cash currently on the table.

Discussions over the funding proposal were ongoing.

“We’re going to work together,” Mr Miles said.