View the recording of this speech here.
Record of Proceedings, 30 April 2024
Adjournment: Mount Lindesay Highway
We have heard a lot about budget blowouts overseen by the former minister for main roads, Mark Bailey: $600 million on the Coomera Connecter, $3.15 billion on the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail and there are others, too. Scenic Rim is suffering from another blowout and this time it is on the Mount Lindesay Highway, which is the main artery into Cedar Grove, Cedar Vale, Woodhill, Beaudesert and beyond.
The project to duplicate this highway between South Street and Johanna Street at Jimboomba has blown out in cost from $57.4 million when first funded—80 per cent funded by the LNP federal government I should say—to a new cost estimate of $75 million. That is a near $18 million blowout, or 30 per cent, to duplicate 1.5 kilometres. That is right, a 30 per cent blowout in cost, another blowout presided over by this Labor government that has failed this highway over so many years considering they have been in office for so many of the last 34 years. I table material from TMR’s website confirming this cost blowout.
Tabled paper: Document, undated, titled ‘Mount Lindesay Highway (Brisbane-Beaudesert), Johana Street to South Street (Jimboomba), duplication’ 717.
I also table a project newsletter from May 2021 indicating, somewhat heroically in hindsight, that construction on this project would commence in early 2022.
Tabled paper: Document, undated, titled ‘Mount Lindesay Highway upgrade program—Johanna Street to South Street, Jimboomba’ 718.
That date passed, and I recall being told by TMR that construction would then start in early 2023. That time came and went as well. While the government did put up some advertising banners to say that the project was coming soon, we are now in April 2024 and still there is no construction activity. TMR’s website says it will start in this second quarter of 2024, but who knows?
The Albanese government’s go-slow on infrastructure, including their 90-day review of infrastructure projects which took about 200 days to complete, has also had a devastating impact because all the costs have gone up during that time when they were delaying the project. No doubt the CFMEU got into the new government’s ear once Premier Miles became Premier late in 2023 and demanded more for less and that has sent the costs up as well. The people of the Scenic Rim electorate suffer because of those decisions. I table an extract from the main roads infrastructure program from last year’s budget, which puts this project even more into doubt.
Tabled paper: Extract, undated, from the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program 2023-24 to 2026-27 719.
It shows there is only funding for $57.4 million. That is not enough after this latest budget blowout by this Labor government. This government needs to get funding in this coming budget in June. They should also be lobbying their Labor mates in Canberra for more federal cash, just like Scotty Buchholz delivered when the LNP was in government in Canberra. They need to make sure this project is fully funded and gets underway without further delays.
It is clear that, under Labor governments at state and federal level, the Mount Lindesay Highway improvements are in the slow lane; they are on the backburner. The former federal government with Scott Buchholz as the local member provided about $100 million to the highway and ensured that these upgrades were on the agenda. The member for Logan, who has had the good fortune in past years of having federal LNP governments, needs to get on the case and make sure this project gets going ASAP.