Road and rail cuts risk ‘international embarrassment’ for Olympics: Liberal National MPs

Cuts and delays to Queensland’s road and rail projects risk setting up the state for “international embarrassment” when the Olympics arrive, MPs are warning.

Cuts and delays to Queensland’s road and rail projects risk setting up the state for “international embarrassment” when the Olympics arrive, Sunshine Coast Liberal National MPs are warning ahead of the Albanese government releasing its infrastructure audit.

The runway to prepare for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games is getting shorter, and time to start vital road and rail projects in time for the event is shrinking, they warn.

But federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said another $33 billion would needed to be found in the budget to fund all the projects in the pipeline, accusing the former Coalition government of announcing projects that were “simply undeliverable”.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King

Member for Fairfax and former special envoy on the Olympics under the Morrison government Ted O’Brien said the region’s population was set to boom but risked not having the needed infrastructure to deal with it.

“This risks setting the state up for international embarrassment by the time of the Games,” he said.

“We had such a long runway, and it’s getting shorter by the day.”

Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace said there was only nine years until the Olympic Games and the window of opportunity to start major projects was closing.

“It’s absolutely critical that we have it for Sunshine Coast locals, but it’s also critical we have it before 2032,” he said.

“Are they seriously going to put people on the Bruce Highway in cars and buses? There’s still sections of the Bruce Highway that are two lanes.”

Ms King said the infrastructure pipeline had included projects announced by the former government that were not properly costed or were “simply undeliverable”, including many that were announced just prior to the 2016 and 2019 elections.

“If we’re going to build all of them we would have to find an additional $33 billion,” she said.

“We know, that in terms of inflation and where we are at them moment, that would not be something that would be sustainable.”

Member for Fairfax Ted O'Brien

She said the review was lengthy and complex, and was about ensuring the projects that did go ahead had appropriate planning work and were properly costed.

Meanwhile, Local Government Association of Queensland president and Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said councils feared as many as 131 critical projects across the state were under threat.

“There are better ways to manage infrastructure cost pressures than simply cutting projects – critical projects that are needed to maintain or enhance the liveability of local communities in a growing state like Queensland,” Mayor Jamieson said.

Acting Premier and Infrastructure Minister Steven Miles said on Tuesday he had been in constant contact with the federal government on the review, raising concerns with them.

“We have consistently said, publicly and privately, that we will not stand for infrastructure cuts in Queensland,” he said.

“You’ve seen that in recent days and you should expect that to continue.”