Bush Summit 2024: Regional Qld waiting on billions in infrastructure

Project delays and red tape are significantly burdening regional and rural areas, local councils say, as neglected infrastructure projects continue to pile up. SEE THE LIST

Project delays and red tape are significantly burdening regional and rural areas, local councils say, as neglected infrastructure projects continue to pile up.

Regional Queensland is grappling with a series of critical infrastructure challenges, with urgent action on projects ranging from hospital upgrades in Charters Towers and the Kuranda Range Rd repairs to the contentious Bruce Highway funding split expected to be a key focus of this year’s Bush Summit.

This story is part of News Corp Australia’s Bush Summit series celebrating rural and regional Australia and championing the issues that matter most to those living in the bush. You can read all our coverage here

As communities like Charters Towers advocate for the revitalisation of their ageing hospital, other regions are similarly fighting for essential projects, such as the delayed Burdekin Dam upgrade and the sealing of key roads across The Gulf.

Home to the state’s oldest hospital, Charters Towers Regional Council has been advocating for health upgrades for years, and have made it a top priority for the upcoming election.

The deteriorating condition of the hospital has led to a shortage of health services as they struggle to attract staff.

Deputy Mayor Kate Hastie said the hospital is no longer fit for purpose, and with Charters Towers the gateway to the west, the lack of health services available had become dangerous.

Despite being next in line for a new hospital according to government reports, no funding has been allocated after years of requests.

An artist’s impression of the Sunshine Motorway Mooloolah River Interchange upgrade on the Sunshine Coast

Further south, hundreds of Sunshine Coast residents remain in limbo after more than 100 homes were resumed to make way for upgrades to the Mooloolah interchange that connects the Sunshine Motorway, Brisbane Road and Nicklin Way.

The painful project was first pitched in 2002, with costs more than doubling from $320m to $744m before it was abruptly axed when the federal government withdrew $160m funding for stage one as part of its independent infrastructure review measures.

It was a devastating development for locals, who for two decades rode an emotional rollercoaster of not knowing whether their property lay in the path of works, and the 135 residents who watched their homes bulldozed.

Project details and time frames are subject to further planning and negotiation with funding partners, according to the state government.

The $2.9bn Urannah Dam project also remains uncertain after the federal government cut its funding in 2022.

The project, which includes a 940-gigalitre dam on the Broken River, an irrigation precinct near Collinsville and a pumped-hydro scheme, was originally funded by the Coalition and promised to create 2500 construction jobs and 5000 indirect jobs in Mackay, Isaac and the Whitsundays.

Work was set to start in 2025 but the federal Labor government withdrew $430 million in funding, causing outrage among federal and state LNP members.

The proposed Urannah Dam site west of Mackay

While it was argued the project would be environmentally harmful, the LNP said the government had turned its back on regional Queensland.

There are similar doubts over whether the stalled federal $31bn Inland Rail project will make it to Queensland in what would be a huge blow to regional investors.

The project to connect freight routes between the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane bypassing Sydney, was pitched as an economic godsend, particularly for the Toowoomba region, but has been plagued with delays and cost blowouts since construction began in 2018.

Concerns have been raised over its financial viability, with doubts the federal government will front the cost for the expensive tunnelling required through the Great Dividing Range, or even extend the line to Queensland.

Currently only disjointed sections near the Queensland border are completed with no clear timeline for when construction might restart, leaving local councils in the lurch.

Another project set out in 2018 was the Burdekin Dam wall raising to boost the regions agricultural productivity.

The plan was to increase the wall by up to 6m at an original cost of $358 million to $665 million, but additional safety requirements have pushed the cost towards $1bn.

A decision was made to raise the wall by only 2m, adding 150,000 megalitres of capacity annually, creating 350 local jobs.

But six years on, the project remains in a planning stage until at least 2025.

On the Far North coast, Hinchinbrook Shire Mayor Ramon Jayo is pining for an overdue redevelopment of Dungeness, including putting a spit at Lucinda Point East to allow for 24/7 tidal access.

Sediment build-up at Dungeness in the Hinchinbrook region

Mr Jayo said the community had been fighting for around-the-clock marine access for decades, to allow the regional town to capitalise on tourism opportunities. But their pleas to the government had fallen on deaf ears.

“That spit is our essential infrastructure,” he said.

“The government just keeps asking us for study after study, well we’ve spent $700,000 on studies already and our consultants say we’re wasting money now.

“We just need that seawall put back, they do it on the Gold Coast without worry, why can’t we have the same treatment.

“And while I want and need money, I’d just love for those politicians to give us the simple approval we need and stop holding us up.”

The Bruce Highway is the most contentious infrastructure issue for northern Queenslanders with crater potholes that reappear after rain, unsafe bends, narrow single lanes and a devastating death toll.

While the federal government committed $5bn towards roadworks through to 2032, the reliability of future upgrades hangs in the balance after the shock decision by the Albanese Government to withdraw the longstanding 80:20 split on major road and rail projects.

Queenslanders, and the state government, have called to reverse the decision, with all works along the 1679km neglected road to be paid for 50:50.

Latest federal funding includes a further $129.6m to finish Section D of the Cooroy to Curra upgrade, $32m for the Cairns Southern Access Stage 3 project from Edmonton to Gordonvale and $25.5m to complete the Linkfield Road Overpass.

Another hot topic road in North Queensland is the mountainous Kuranda Range Rd that winds through the rainforest inland of Cairns.

Kuranda Range Road

Desperately in need of repair, the Range Rd has $265m of joint state and federal funding in the bank but works have been left in limbo for years.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish in July said the government had requested that Kuranda Range be absorbed under the national highway two years ago to help open up funding options.

“This is a road that is crucial to the entire region,” he said.

“In terms of making this part of the national highway, I think that is a great move and it would unlock further federal money to do what needs to be done.”

The federal government has refused to acknowledge the request. Burke Shire Mayor Ernie Camp said the rural and remote communities in the north were struggling without a basic infrastructure plan that would, at the very least, allow local governments to lobby for priority projects.

“Plans cost very little but it gives you a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

At the top of The Gulf priority list is sealing Developmental Rd between Normanton and Mt Garnet.

Described as the “lifeblood” of The Gulf, the road connects the east and the west. Urgent upgrades are also needed for the Gilbert River Bridge which is constantly subject to flooding, cutting access for months at a time.

Air resupply is the only way most towns receive food and medication during harsh wet seasons.

“A lot of problems could be revolved by just giving us a plan, sealing roads, raising crossings,” Mr Camp said.

The federal government in 2019 recognised the need to seal The Gulf section of Savannah Way and committed $62.5m for road upgrades

A further $12.1m has been committed to the Gulf Developmental Road between Croydon and Georgetown, with no start date for works.

Croydon Shire Mayor Trevor Pickering Croydon at the Gilbert River bridge. Picture: Steve Pohlner

NEGLECTING A BRIDGE TOO FAR

The single-lane Gilbert River Bridge between Croydon and Georgetown is not only a disgrace to Queensland, but emblematic of how our regions are ignored by state governments, according to MP Robbie Katter.

The bridge on the main arterial road in and out of the Gulf is routinely made impassable in the wet season, leaving thousands of people without food, medicine or access to medical treatment.

Croydon Mayor Trevor Pickering, who has spent much of his two decade long local government career lobbying for a high-level bridge, says infrastructure in his region appears to be a low-level priority for state and federal governments.

“People who live here do understand that we have a smaller population so we are not going to get all the services we might like,’’ he says.

“But this is the main bridge in and out of this region – if there was a similar situation in the southeast the problem would have been addressed a long time ago.’’

Mr Katter says the cost of a new bridge would probably be upward of $50 million

“But if this state is serious about developing the potential of the regions, this bridge would have to be a No.1 priority.’’

REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE WISH LIST

Burdekin dam wall raising (540m): Funding commitment stage

Mooloolah interchange ($744m): Scrapped by Federal Government infrastructure review and now hanging in balance

Kuranda Range Rd ($265m): Planning and negotiation stage between state and federal government

Bruce Highway ($8.5bn): Ongoing amid calls to restore the 80/20 funding split between federal and state government

Gilbert River Bridge ($15m): No commitment, but urgent upgrades needed after the community flooded was in for six months. The project would open up The Gulf

Inland Rail ($6bn): Northern NSW and QLD sections in land acquisition stage, inland spur between Toowoomba and Gladstone in business case stage

Urannah Dam project ($2.9bn): Federal government funding withdrawn in 2022.

Gulf Savannah Way sealing ($62.5m): State and federal commitment but no news since 2022

New Charters Towers hospital (cost unknown): Several business cases completed but no government commitment

Dungeness boating precinct redevelopment (cost unknown): Requested by Hinchinbrook Shire Council, several studies undertaken but no government commitment

Originally published as Bush Summit 2024: Regional Qld waiting on billions in infrastructure