Bruce Hwy horror: 41 killed as federal government ‘ignores’ pleas for critical funding

Queensland MPs have ramped up funding calls for the Bruce Highway ahead of the federal election following a horror year in which 41 people were killed on the road.

Queensland MPs have ramped up funding calls for the Bruce Highway ahead of the federal election following a horror year in which 41 people were killed on the road.

The Courier-Mail this year launched a Help Our Highway campaign, in partnership with NRMA insurance, urging both state and federal levels of government to commit long-term funding to bring the 1673km stretch up to modern safety standards and finally finish decades worth of road works.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg echoed those calls, adding requests for an 80/20 funding split had been ignored by the Albanese government, who had put New South Wales before Queensland “for too long”.

“The federal government is still not doing enough,” he said.

“Too many Queenslanders continue to lose their lives on the Bruce, and just as we have seen in the last week, communities up and down the Queensland coast continue to be isolated because the Bruce regularly gets cut off when we receive heavy rain.

An aerial view of the site of the triple fatal on the Bruce Highway at Maryborough.

“I won’t accept Queenslanders being treated as second-class citizens by a federal government that continues to ignore our calls to work together to make the Bruce Highway safe and reliable.”

Mr Mickelberg’s comments come after a $260m federal funding up tick for critical Bruce Highway upgrades and flood mitigation. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the estimated $9bn needed to achieve the modern safety standards called for in The Courier-Mail’s Help Our Highway campaign.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has vowed to reinstate the 80/20 funding split between the Commonwealth and state for Bruce Highway works if elected Prime Minister next year, after the Albanese government pulled funding back to 50/50.

Acting Premier Jarrod Bleijie said: “Our message to Canberra is clear: stump up the 80/20 we deserve. The Albanese government should be very careful ahead of the federal election because Queenslanders will see straight through anything that isn’t the 80/20 funding we deserve.” Six everyday Queenslanders were last week appointed to the reinstated Bruce Highway Advisory Council, chaired by Mr Mickelberg.

Bruce Highway truck rollover. Photo: Contributed

The council will be tasked with forming an investment and upgrade plan that will see the entire highway finished, with the newly minted LNP government to advocate for the return of the 80/20 funding arrangement regardless of the 2025 election outcome.

Of the $260m federal funding, $200m has been dedicated to floodproofing the highway at Goorganga Plains between Mackay and Proserpine.

Another $30m will be used to add overtaking lanes along the Bruce Highway between Mackay and Proserpine. That work is due to be completed in late 2026.

Other Bruce Highway projects to receive a federal cash injection include an extra $8m for the Jumper Creed upgrade north of Mackay, $12m for the Goorganga overtaking lanes and another $25.8m on the Caloundra Rd to Sunshine Motorway upgrade.

MEET THE BRUCE HIGHWAY ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS

1. Luke Bird from Far North Queensland, Owner of HEH Civil – actively working on behalf of TMR on the Bruce Highway for almost 15 years with insights into its complexities.
2. Kent Battle from North Queensland, Third generation owner of Notrans – a heavy freight services provider that has travelled tens of millions of kilometres on the Bruce Highway.
3. Carol Single from Mackay/Whitsunday, Foundation & Life Member of Mackay Road Accident Action Group (RAAG) since 2002 and former owner of a crane-truck business
4. Eleanor Butler from Central Queensland, Has driven the Bruce Highway extensively for 40 years. Eleanor’s mother was seriously injured in a crash on the Bruce between Rockhampton and Mackay in 2020.
5. Ken Wilson from Wide Bay Burnett, Road safety author and the researcher & manager of the national Truck Friendly – Caravan Road Safety Program.
6. Neill Graham from Sunshine Coast, Truck driver of 25 years – 22 years spent driving semis and B-doubles between Brisbane and Cairns.

Originally published as Bruce Hwy horror: 41 killed as federal government ‘ignores’ pleas for critical funding