Albanese government road and rail funding cuts for Qld will mean more deaths

The decision to axe vital road and rail projects for Queensland is not only ludicrous, but dangerous. Make no mistake, people will die because of these decisions.

What planet are our federal politicians living on right now?

The decision to axe vital road and rail projects for Queensland is not only ludicrous, but dangerous. Make no mistake, people will die because of these decisions.

Years ago, the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions had to fight tooth and nail to get the Cooroy to Curra stretch of the Bruce Highway upgraded after a shocking number of deaths. This publication campaigned for years for $700 million to save lives.

Now stretches further north in the Wide Bay area are just death traps for inpatient and frustrated drivers while further north the Bruce Highway is an absolute joke of a goat track.

Anyone who has driven on the Bruce Highway to Brisbane knows that one minor accident can turn that stretch into a carpark, while tourists visiting the Sunshine Coast know that unless you return to Brisbane early on Sunday you can expect huge delays.

Traffic congestion on the Bruce Highway near Roys Road. Photo: John McCutcheon / Sunshine Coast Daily

The Sunshine Coast has been waiting for better rail services for decades, while the overload of traffic along the Nicklin Way at Kawana, together with the stretch from Caloundra to the Bruce Highway is evident for all to see.

Yet two planned infrastructure projects have had their funding completely axed: The Mooloolah River Interchange Upgrade and Nicklin Way-Third Ave Connection at Caloundra.

Our pollies are keen to line up for photos on road projects but they’re not delivering enough. Picture: Bradley Cooper

When you see the extraordinary money being wasted through abuses in the National Disability Scheme, rorting of other government programs, the duplication and red tape between the state and federal governments, I know where I would be swinging the axe.

But this is politics pure and simple. It has nothing to do with ‘productivity, sustainability and liveability’ as Infrastructure Minister Catherine King claims.

Labor has consistently ignored this region largely because it is seen as safe, conservative territory.

The Sunshine Coast is decades overdue for a better rail system. Photo: John McCutcheon / Sunshine Coast Daily.

Decisions are not made on the basis of great need, but who you vote for.

That is not unAustralian but bloody dangerous when you are talking about road infrastructure.

Already more than 130 properties have been resumed for a new road overpass to provide a direct connection from the Nicklin Way to Brisbane Road at Mooloolaba, as well as a new local road connection between Karawatha Drive at Mountain Creek and Brisbane Road at Mooloolaba.

Traffic delays on the Bruce Highway are all too common.

A direct Sunshine Coast rail line, a key part of the infrastructure for the Olympic Games, is not a luxury but a necessity if the Coast is to cope with its surging population.

Some project have been spared from the cuts, including the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade ($390m), Glasshouse Mountain Road (Steve Irwin Way) and Caloundra Street Intersection Upgrade ($3.85m) and Mooloolaba Access Upgrade ($12m) will be built.

However, many Queenslanders will today be rightly questioning the Albanese government’s commitment to road safety given these appalling decisions.

Originally published as Albanese government road and rail funding cuts for Qld will mean more deaths