THERE ARE POTHOLES IN YOUR PROMISE, PRIME MINISTER
The announcement made by the Albanese Labor Government today for an extra $467m worth of funding to upgrade the Bruce Highway is a slap in the face for the people of Dawson.
Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox said the announcement made by the Prime Minister and his Treasurer is nothing more than a smokescreen, and that he is “insulted and infuriated” on behalf of everyone living and working in Dawson who have once again missed out.
“The section of the Bruce Highway that runs through the electorate of Dawson has been rated the most dangerous section, and this announcement by the Albanese Labor Government sees funding provisions for everywhere but the area that needs it the most,” Mr Willcox said.
“The Prime Minister is on record this week confirming that the Bruce Highway “should be” as good as the M1 between Brisbane and Sydney, so why isn’t he actually doing something about it instead of yet again, hiding behind promises that are entirely political and full of potholes.
“This comes after the Prime Minister cut more than $200m worth of road projects in Queensland following his infrastructure review, as well as lowering the funding contribution provided by the Federal Government to help complete these projects.
“The previous Coalition Government used an 80:20 contribution split, where we provided 80 per cent of the project funding, and the state only had to contribute 20 per cent of the project funding.
“Now, the Albanese Labor Government has decided to run that idea over and is only going to contribute 50 per cent of the funding, forcing the states to find the rest.
“I find it insulting that Treasurer Jim Chalmers has come out gloating about how this is the “budget for the Bruce” and that “as a Queenslander he needs absolutely no convincing that this is the right road to support” when he and the Prime Minister continually ignore rural and regional Queensland, risking the lives of those who live and work in our part of the country.
“Dawson deserves better. The people living and working in Dawson deserve a safe road to drive on. They deserve to get to work safely and return home safely to their loved ones.
“The roads in Dawson are a necessity; they are how we get our product to market and receive our supplies from the city.
“Rural and regional areas such as Dawson are the heart of our country, where all our food and fibre is produced.
“Without rural and regional areas, this country wouldn’t be what it is today. This current government needs to stop ignoring that reality and start investing in the future of these areas before it is too late.”