Roads

Member for Groom Garth Hamilton has taken aim at the Federal Labor Government over the budget allocation for the Warrego Highway between Toowoomba and Ipswich ... "All of this $177 million commitment has been allocated to the 35 kilometre section in the government-held electoral division of Blair (which is in Ipswich). This has shamefully ignored that the Warrego Highway is a critical freight route in Southern Queensland that moves product from paddock to port."

When Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the Albanese government’s 2024 budget last week it was touted as a ‘cost-of-living budget’, aimed at relieving the pressure of everyday costs. Member for Farrer and Opposition Party Deputy Leader, Sussan Ley is concerned at the lack of money for the bush. “My key concern is the $315 billion in new spending by Labor risks adding further to inflation and keeping interest rates higher for longer,” Ms Ley told The Riverine Grazier.  

Almost half a million dollars has been wasted on traffic lights rather than road fixes, according to the Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley ... "This is the real cost of a cash strapped state that can’t pay for what should be urgent repairs. $474,000 has been wasted while these roads were reduced to one lane."

Improvements are on the way for the main street of Hay. Work is set to start next week on improvements to the main street to provide a stronger road and a smoother and safer journey for up to 5000 vehicles that drive through the town each day. Hay Shire Council General Manager, David Webb welcomed the announcement made on Monday afternoon.

Farmers are urging federal and state governments to drastically increase funding for rural road infrastructure as vital roads remain damaged, restricted or even closed three years on from the first major flooding events in the Northern Rivers. NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said federal and state roads and bridges were crumbling across NSW, and locals no longer believed repair was on the horizon.

Independent Member for Indi, Helen Haines, has made the case for significant investment in projects that benefit communities in the electorate in her submission to the federal government ahead of the May budget. The key themes of Dr Haines’ Indi Budget Submission reflect the widespread concerns of the electorate right now including increasing regional housing supply, providing cost-of-living relief and improving health outcomes.

Patricia Gill. A Shire of Denmark-commissioned traffic and evacuation management study used flawed data to determine that a second bridge was not necessary to evacuate the town in an emergency. The Shire’s 2011 Local Planning Strategy had demonstrated the need for the second bridge but the matter was dropped in 2018 after the Shire commissioned consultants GHD to report on the matter. In 2019 the Shire gave away $4.291 million in Royalties for Regions to build a second bridge and got back $2.5 million to upgrade Greens Pool.