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Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

The Albanese and Allan Labor Governments are fixing roads across Victoria, improving safety and better connecting Melbourne’s suburbs, Victoria’s regions, and surrounds.

As part of our governments’ road blitz, we’re delivering two new projects in a big win for the west, including:

• $55 million to duplicate and upgrade Central Avenue between Lunn Court and Skehan Boulevarde in Altona Meadows;
• $3.5 million for a business case to upgrade Point Cook Road between Jamieson Way and Dunnings Road, building on previous work to develop the project scope. 

As critical connecting roads to the Princes Freeway, these will be transformative projects for Melbourne’s west, reducing travel times and improving safety for the residents of Point Cook and surrounding growing suburbs. 

The Princes Freeway is the main access road connecting the western suburbs to the city.

It carries approximately 40,000 vehicles per day from Geelong, increasing to 90,000 vehicles per day at the Western Ring Road. 

The Central Avenue and Point Cook intersection is used by nearly 28,000 vehicles a day.

With congestion set to grow, travel times are expected to significantly increase. 

These projects are part of the Albanese Labor Government’s $1 billion Road Blitz, matching the existing near billion-dollar road blitz campaign by the Allan Labor Government, who have since added an additional $200 million.

This follows funding already allocated to five projects under the Road Blitz.

Delivery timeframes for the projects will be determined in consultation with the Victorian Government.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King:

“We’re giving Victorians the infrastructure they deserve after being short-changed by the former coalition government. 

“This will be transformative project for Melbourne’s west, better connecting these growing suburbs with the city and the region.

“The road blitz will fund projects to improve network efficiency, travel times and road safety in key areas of Melbourne and its surrounds.”

Quotes attributable to Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams:

“After ten years of neglect from the federal Liberal National Party, it’s fantastic to have a partner in Canberra that can find Victoria on a map and deliver critical investments to keep our state moving.”

“Our growing communities deserve the very best road connections, which is why we are investing more to improve traffic flow and boost safety across Melbourne’s west.”

“We are getting on delivering these critical road projects that Victorians use and depend on every day – boosting safety and cutting congestion.” 

Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Gellibrand Tim Watts:

“Growing suburbs in Melbourne’s west need growing infrastructure investments to match. 

“My constituents have been stuck in traffic for too long. ​

“After a decade of neglect under the coalition, the federal Albanese government is acting, delivering the funding needed for building Australia’s future.

“Residents in Point Cook have long been waiting for a fix for Point Cook Road.

“This business case will provide the state government with a plan for the solution.”

Quotes attributable to State Member for Point Cook Mathew Hilakari:

“This expanded project and financial contribution means that we will be doing this road once and doing it properly, and I thank the federal government for its contribution.”

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

TIM WATTS [FEDERAL MEMBER FOR GELLIBRAND]: Well, good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here in Altona Meadows, where I’m joined by the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Catherine King, my colleague, the State Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Gabrielle Williams, and the State Member for Point Cook, Matt Hilakari.

My constituents have been stuck in traffic for too long. The growing suburbs of Melbourne’s west need growing infrastructure investments to match. But after a decade of neglect by the former coalition governments, we’ve been waiting for action. The Albanese Government is acting. Just in the last month, you’ve seen $2 billion investment in the Sunshine train station. You’ve seen a billion-dollar investment in the Western Highway, and we’ve seen another billion-dollar Suburban Roads Blitz. And that’s why we’re here today, announcing duplication funding for Central Avenue and a business case for duplication works on Point Cook Road.

I’m very happy to hand over to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Catherine King, to talk a little bit about this very important transport infrastructure investment for Melbourne’s west.

CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Thanks very much, Tim, and it’s great to be here at Altona Meadows alongside Gab Williams, the State Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, and of course Matt Hilakari. And we’re here in Tim’s magnificent electorate.

A billion dollars is being directed to [the] Suburban Road Blitz. We know that, particularly in our growing suburbs where we’ve seen hundreds of houses develop, that there are significant choke points occurring in our network, particularly getting people to work, getting people home from work, and getting on to our major highways. And the focus of the Suburban Roads Blitz is really about trying to unlock some of those choke points so that people can move about our suburbs more freely, and also give people back the opportunity to get home from work safely and quickly.

So, today, we’re announcing over $58.5 million here in this part of the world. It is- already the Victorian Government has committed over $70 million to fix and sort the intersection out here. The money that the federal government is putting in will duplicate Central Avenue, bringing that part of the road in, and then do some planning work for the Point Cook Road for the next part of this, really unlocking this intersection. As you can see behind us, there’s multiple roads all coming into the roundabout, coming off the freeway in the way in which it is. And when we’re in peak hour, the traffic is backed up along Central Avenue and along Point Cook Road for quite some time. Thousands of residents live in both Point Cook and in Altona Meadows, and this really is the area that they come into. So, it’s a delight to work with the Victorian Government to really understand where these choke points in our road network are, and to work together to actually unlock and build on the road network that already the Victorian Government is substantially investing in.

I’ll hand over to Gab. I think Matt’s got a few words to say and then we’ll take some questions.

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS [VIC MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE]: Thank you, Minister King. And we have wonderful advocacy out here in Melbourne’s west who are talking to us every day about the congestion issues, the huge population growth, and the demand for road projects and a range of public transport projects as well to make sure that we are adequately meeting that demand and also giving Victorians a good quality of life. People love Melbourne’s west. They want to live in Melbourne’s west, and we want to make it easy to live in Melbourne’s west. As Catherine has already outlined, the state government has already invested $79 million into the upgrade of the intersection behind us here, transforming that roundabout into a signalised intersection, and also delivering, as a part of that, an extra outbound lane that connects to that intersection, as well as some pedestrian crossings and safety treatments that make that intersection safer but also make it flow better.

This announcement today is a great compliment to that work that will soon begin because it, of course, is about duplicating this section of road that we’re on right now, Central Avenue, and also planning for the next stage of work, stage three, if you like, of Point Cook Road, that section between Jamieson Way and Dunnings Road. This is a three-part package that is about improving traffic flows, reducing travel times, and giving more options for people in Melbourne’s west to get to where they need to go and to get there more quickly. This is, of course, a part of the $1.2 billion suburban road splits that the federal government have been a partner with the state government in delivering, with a focus on meeting the needs of our growing communities and making sure that we are keeping pace with that growth, not only for the here and now, but for generations to come.

It is great to have a partner in Canberra, can I say. For the best part of a decade, Victoria has been short-changed by successive Liberal-National coalition governments, who have short-changed Victoria to the tune of billions and, quite frankly, left the state government carrying the can to deliver the projects that we know Victorians need. So I can’t tell you how great it is to finally have a partner in Canberra who not only knows where Victoria is on the map, but also knows who we are and what we need and is prepared to partner with us to deliver upon that. So thank you to Minister King and the federal government for partnering with us on this particular project. Thank you for our western MPs, state and federal, who bang on our doors every day to bring these challenges to us and help us find the solutions in partnership with their communities. Matt? Thank you.

MATHEW HILAKARI [STATE MEMBER FOR POINT COOK]: Rain or shine, federally Labor and Vic Labor turn up for the western suburbs in a way that the coalition government for ten years ignored us. They don’t even know where we are on the map. And I should say, and I thank Tim Watts, because for the residents of Point Cook, Altona Meadows and Seabrook, you have a determined advocate in Canberra, somebody who delivers in Melbourne on this project that delivers to Point Cook Road, that talks about the next steps for Point Cook Road and delivers on Central Avenue. So thank you to the advocacy. Thank you for now, the delivery of the federal government on this great partnership in Melbourne’s west.

JOURNALIST: Maybe one for Minister King or [indistinct]. Do you have an understanding of how many minutes these works will shave off?

CATHERINE KING: I reckon Matt- Matt probably has studied this more than- Matt and Tim as locals.

MATHEW HILAKARI: When we met with the engineers initially, I was extremely comforted because one of them lived in Point Cook, so he knew exactly the challenges of this area and we said we want to do it once and we want to do it properly. My understanding is we’ll be shaving off five minutes for people heading out of Point Cook and onto the freeway, and that is for 28,000 traffic movements every day.

JOURNALIST: You’ve spoken a bit about population growth in this part of Melbourne. How will this infrastructure hold up with that population?

CATHERINE KING: Well, you were just talking about this before, Tim.

TIM WATTS: Look, just to give you a scale- indication of the scale of the population growth we’ve seen out here in Melbourne’s west, go back to the turn of the century. Less than 2,000 people lived in Point Cook. Today it’s around 70,000 people live there and forecast to grow to 85,000 in the coming decade. Now, what that means is that governments need to match population growth with infrastructure investment. And that’s exactly what we’re doing here jointly with the federal and state governments, making the infrastructure investments we needed now for this infrastructure at this intersection, but also undertaking the business case and the planning works for further infrastructure investments needed for Point Cook Road in the future.

JOURNALIST: And just briefly with Minister Williams on another matter. West Gate Tunnel, are you seeking additional funds to get the project completed on time?

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: Yeah. Look, it’s worth noting that of course, the West Gate Tunnel project is a public private partnership that was brought to the government via Transurban. So the matters that have been reported are effectively contractual matters between Transurban and its contractors that will need to be resolved through the terms of that contract.

JOURNALIST: Do you foresee any additional budget blow-outs or delays on that project?

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: Look, at this stage, there’s been no claims made for the state. It is a matter that sits between Transurban and its contractors as part of the contractual arrangements struck between those parties. And look, the project itself is on track to open later this year. We are in absolutely no doubt about how important that project is to Victorians. Nine thousand trucks off local roads, reduced commute times for people in Melbourne’s west and offering more ways to get around. And we know how important that is when we’re looking to cater for fast growing communities.

JOURNALIST: Do you have a month that you’re looking to open?

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: We will open later this year and work is very much nearing completion and has been clearly going at pace, particularly in recent months, and we’re very excited to be able to turn on the West Gate Tunnel and deliver its benefits to residents of Melbourne’s west. And keeping in mind it delivers about a 20-minute time saving for somebody living in, say, Werribee. A return trip to the city 20 minutes faster than it was. These are incredibly important future proofing projects for our state to make sure that we can continue to deliver a good quality of life for people who live in Melbourne’s outer areas. And that’s what the West Gate Tunnel represents.

JOURNALIST: Thank you all.

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: Thank you.

JOURNALIST: Appreciate that. Thank you.

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Thanks, everyone. Catherine King, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. It’s terrific to be here at Melbourne Airport with my Victorian state colleague, Gabrielle Williams, and of course, the CEO of Melbourne Airport, Lorie Argus.

Today is a great day for Melbourne Airport Rail. We have signed a memorandum of understanding between the Commonwealth of Australia, the Victorian Government, and Melbourne Airport to decide the process by which we reach an agreement to get Melbourne Airport Rail done. This is an important step in ensuring that we have the right processes in place to work- have officials work together. It gives permission for officials to start the work together to make sure that we get the right outcome, both for the airport but also for the people of Victoria. This is a project that we want to get done, we’re determined to get done. It follows the $2 billion of investment that the Albanese Labor Government has put in to get Sunshine [indistinct] money into that, and of course, it comes alongside the money that is invested and ready for Melbourne Airport Rail. We’ve got a little way to go yet, but this is a significant step in progress to getting Melbourne Airport Rail to the airport.

I’m going to hand over the Gab and then Lorie [indistinct]…

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS [VIC MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE]: Thank you, Minister King, and thank you, Lorie, for hosting us today at the wonderful Melbourne Airport.

And as Minister King has outlined, today’s signing of the MOU marks a very significant step forward in our delivery of airport rail. As we saw a couple of weeks ago with the federal government’s commitment to works at Sunshine, we’re effectively underway in delivering stage one of Melbourne Airport Rail, which of course is the works at the Sunshine station area, to untangle that track, to make space for a dedicated line to the airport, and also to make space for a future electrified Melton line. That project will be complete by 2030, and in the meantime, we’re getting on with recommencing these conversations between the three parties represented here today, to make sure that we’ve got a strong way of working and a statement through this MOU of our shared commitment to delivering this project. Why? Because we know how important it is for all Victorians. We know how much this project is wanted, and we are all very much committed to being able to deliver this in the time ahead and to have a very constructive working relationship in order to be able to do just that.

And with that, I might hand to Lorie.

LORIE ARGUS [CEO, MELBOURNE AIRPORT]: Thank you, Gabby. And thank you to both the ministers who are standing here with me today because we, as you know, have been talking about this project for a very long time, arguably too long. So, what is really exciting about today is this is just another step forward. So in line with our compromise last year to accept the above ground station and to get on with the project, today we’re standing here with the airport, with the state government, and with the federal government to get that done. And we do have that working group stood up. You’ve seen us sign the MOU this week, and we are very excited to keep this project moving and make sure that this project becomes a reality for the Victorians who deserve a train to the airport. And of course, in line with our third runway approval and the work and growth that we plan for Victoria, those transport solutions are very important for our growth, 76 million passengers by 2046. This is a really welcomed announcement, and I’m very excited to see this project come to fruition along with our third runway.

Thank you.

JOURNALIST: What happens if there’s a change of federal government? Will this MOU fall into the water?

LORIE ARGUS: From an airport perspective, we’re talking to all sides of government, and I really don’t think that the- I think the project will go on because regardless of political beliefs or which party you follow, the thing that Victorians are saying is they expect a train to the airport. And to be a world-class airport, you need a train to the airport, and we know that Melbourne is one of the few airports that doesn’t have one. So I can’t imagine that the Victorian public will not hold any government accountable to make sure that it’s delivered.

JOURNALIST: This is a big step today. [Inaudible]…

CATHERINE KING: Yes, it is a significant step today. I think what we’ve had in the past is that I think Victoria and the airport have been in discussions. That went on pause for a while. The Commonwealth really wasn’t part of those discussions. And so, what this today is saying is the Commonwealth, the Victorian Government, and the airport collaboratively saying we want our officials to now start working. There’s a working group to be established, chaired by an independent chair.

To sort out any of the remaining issues that we have, I was very grateful that the airport took the decision that they would accept that the [indistinct] rail will come above ground. That’s sorted out immediately. A really challenging problem. As you know, we’ve got Neil Scales to come in and have a look, how could we progress this important project. So Sunshine really important to actually get that built to unlock the capacity to build airport rail as well as really get that electrification to Melton started and really improve regional services in places like Ballarat and Bendigo and Geelong, my hometown of Ballarat, but also to look at the traffic study on the Tullamarine. So all of that is happening and this is really a significant step.

Basically saying, now here you’ve got frankly, three fabulous women who are basically saying, we want to get this sorted, we’re signing an agreement. This is how we’re going to work together cooperatively in good faith to deliver this for the people of Victoria. So it’s a pretty big deal.

JOURNALIST: [indistinct] the timeline on it? Now that- did the MOU put a date on that?

CATHERINE KING: No, look it doesn’t. And as I said, I think that this is important that we all work together in good faith. There are outstanding issues that the airport has, outstanding issues that the Victorian Government have. The Commonwealth has got interest in this as well. We want to work together to get this done, and I think we want to make sure it happens. Obviously, the Sunshine work is starting, that planning work, we announced that earlier. The Victorian Government has put the money into that. We’re putting $2 billion into the construction. All of that is happening. There was already significant work done on Melbourne Airport rail by the Victorian government previously. So all of those services that needed moving, all of that has already been done.

So once we reach agreement, I guess in terms of the airport and how we’re actually going to work that through, then the project will start. But really, I don’t want to put a timeline on it yet. We want to be able to work in good faith together.

JOURNALIST: Gab, is one of the sticking points funding from the state government perspective?

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: Well, look, as we’ve seen, you know, the MOU sets out very clearly our commitment to delivering the project. And within the terms of that MOU, it also sets us a path to continue the discussions that will ultimately allow us to deliver that project, taking into account all the various considerations that each of the parties will have. What we’ve also seen, though, and I think for me, the announcement by the federal government a couple of weeks ago and the announcement around works commencing next year on Sunshine station works, as well as this represents the biggest kick starting to this project that we’ve seen in many years and brings this project well into view for all Victorians. And I think our opportunity is first and foremost to get started on the works on Sunshine, which is effectively stage one of airport rail, and then through this MOU to work through all of those other commercial issues and matters and ensure that we can be delivering this project for the benefit of all Victorians. And that’s what we’re committed to doing. And this MOU, I think, is a very powerful signal to all Victorians that we have three very invested and committed parties who are absolutely focused on delivering this project, alongside significant investments from both the state and the Commonwealth government to getting the works effectively started from the Sunshine end.

Keeping in mind, that that’s arguably the most complex phase of the project in terms of the untangling of some six kilometres of track to make way for a line to the airport, and also to pave the way for a future electrified Melton line, and, you know, moving a jet fuel pipeline and all sorts of other very difficult things at that end of the network. And also keeping in mind that that interchange is a super hub for our city. It’s got 70 per cent of V/Line services come through Sunshine station. It is an incredibly important transport hub and interchange point for our public transport network and absolutely critical for the delivery of airport rail.

So getting moving on that while also solidifying our relationships, with both the Commonwealth and the airport and the state, will ensure that we can deliver this project and will give Victorians I think, confidence in our commitment to deliver the project.

JOURNALIST: Deliver it when?

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: [Laughs] As I said, work starts next year on Sunshine. That can be delivered by 2030. In the meantime, this MOU allows us to be able to work through all of those matters and be able to have more to say in due course about the next phase of this really important project.

JOURNALIST: And what’s the final- the most updated cost estimate for this? The breakdown has been [inaudible]…

GABRIELLE WILLIAMS: Look, those will be matters that will ultimately be worked through the framework of this MOU. And we’ll have more to say about that in due course. Obviously, you’ve heard from Lorie about the change in position from the airport around an above ground station. These are all matters that we will work through now and fine tune, and we’ll have more to say to the Victorian people about that as these conversations progress. Thank you.

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

The Melbourne Airport Rail Link (MARL) project has taken a big step forward today with the agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached between the Albanese Government, Allan Government and Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd.

The MoU means all three parties have committed to work together to commence delivery of MARL and will establish a Steering Committee led by senior officials from each organisation to progress this project. 

With this understanding, all parties will work collectively, in good faith, to finalise the path to construction and deliver this important project for all Victorians.

The MoU is the next step in delivering MARL and builds on the recent decision to kick start works on rebuilding Sunshine Station.

MARL remains an important project for Victoria, which is why the Albanese Government brought in an independent mediator last year to ensure continued progress. 

With an agreement to proceed with an above ground station, we have since been acting on the mediator’s recommendations including the work at Sunshine Station. 

Rebuilding Sunshine Station is essential to enable services to the airport and Keilor East, with the project set to untangle six kilometres of track between West Footscray and Albion to cater for freight, metro trains and 70 per cent of the V/Line network – while also paving the way for future upgrades in the west.

Today’s announcement is another signal of our joint commitment to progress this project following the Albanese Government’s recent $2 billion additional investment and the Allan Government bringing forward funding to enable works at Sunshine Station. 

Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King:

“Many Victorians have spent a lifetime hearing of a rail link to the airport, and today we are telling them that we will work together in good faith to get it done. 

“We want to keep this project moving which is why we brought in an independent mediator, why we’ve been acting on his recommendations and why we’re investing to make it happen. 

“MARL will enhance the resilience and reliability of the transport network, better connecting Melbourne’s growing population to where they live, work and play.”

Quotes attributable to Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams: 

“Melbourne Airport Rail Link is an important rail project, which will pave the way for faster and safer journeys for passengers across the state for decades to come.

“We are getting on with delivering the first stage of Melbourne Airport Rail, reconfiguring freight, regional and Surburban tracks between West Footscray and Albion to make space for this important new rail link.”

“After a decade of neglect from the Federal Coalition Government, it’s great to have a partner in Canberra that can find Victoria on a map and invests in important projects that will keep people moving.”

Quotes attributable to Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus: 

“Airport rail will increase the transport options for our passengers and staff, and we are pleased to work with the Australian and Victorian governments to progress this project for Melbourne.

“This Memorandum of Understanding formalises the compromise we made in July last year to help airport rail become a reality.”

Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

GLEN KELLY: Well, this is a great honour today as the Member for Mirani. It’s my honour to welcome today, we have our Federal Member, Infrastructure Minister, Catherine King. We have our state transport minister, Brent Mickelberg. And it’s an honour to have our two colleagues here, Donna Kirkland from- member for Rockhampton, and our member for Keppel, Nigel Hutton. Today is a big announcement today on the Bruce. The Bruce Highway. The Bruce Highway is the busiest highway in Queensland, and today’s announcement is going to be very welcome to the electorate of Mirani, as Mirani has 400 kilometres of the Bruce. And today’s announcement is going to go a long way into supporting the area of Mirani. Thank you and I’ll welcome Catherine King. Thank you very much.

CATHERINE KING: Thank you. Well, look, it’s terrific to be here today. Can I thank very much my state counterpart, Brent Mickelberg. This is the first press conference we’ve done together, and this is a great partnership on the Bruce Highway. Back in January, Prime Minister Albanese, and I announced the $7.2 billion to fix the Bruce after a significant campaign by the RACQ. And I thank and acknowledge that David is here with us, and all of the communities along the highway. Matched then, or put in by $1.8 billion by the Queensland state government, and we are getting on with it. We are getting on with fixing the Bruce.

Today we’re announcing that we’re releasing $300 million for the first stage of projects. 23 projects, 16 of them are shoulder widening, dividing the road, making sure that we’re putting those safety improvements in place. And then a further number of projects are the planning stages of the next tranche. We’ve got the Bruce Highway Advisory Committee is meeting in Rockhampton today. Brent and I will both be meeting with them to work through what are the next stages of projects. We want to get this done. This, of course, the $9 billion safety program is in addition to the money that is already being spent on the Bruce Highway, over $10 billion of major projects that are already underway. And today, we’re announcing some additional money for some of those. 200 million to deal with some cost pressures that have occurred again on the Rocky Ring Road, and Minister Mickelberg will talk a little bit about those, but making sure that we didn’t have to reduce the scope of the Rocky Ring Road in any way, but putting that additional money in from the Commonwealth to make sure that full scope of the project is realised.

We’re also- finally, we’ve got some agreement on what the projects are under the Beef Road corridors. This is a $500 million program between the Queensland Government and ourselves. So 38 million is being released for that today. And then some further money being released for the Rockhampton to Gladstone corridor projects. But this is a really good day for the Bruce. What we’re trying to do as a joint government initiative is to really fix this road. We know that its safety is not up to scratch. We hear it every single day, and the fact that 41 people lost their lives last year alone is way too many. A single life lost is too many, but 41 was certainly something that we were highly concerned about, hence the commitment. So really what we’re trying to do here is improve the safety of the Bruce substantially, lift it from where it is two star to at least three star. If we can get it higher, we will through road safety treatments, but really concentrating on the worst bits first. And that’s what these projects do. And I want to thank very much, Minister Mickelberg, for working so closely with ourselves to really get this first tranche $300 million released, for getting on with it. The work has started. I think you’ll see workers on the road either today or in the coming days actually getting on with these projects. I’ll hand over to Minister Mickelberg and then we’ll take some questions.

BRENT MICKELBERG: Thank you very much, Minister. Well, it’s an absolute pleasure to join here today with the Australian government delivering on our commitment to better the Bruce Highway. We made it very clear over the last four years and through the recent election campaign that the Bruce Highway was one of our key priorities as a new Queensland Government, and it has been a tremendous privilege to be able to partner with the Australian government to deliver these critical works on the Bruce Highway. Nine billion dollars over the next six years to fix those worst parts of the Bruce Highway. And work has started today. We have workers on site now working on that early works package. So $300 million of funds, which has been released already, and they’re getting on with the job to address those immediate priorities.

As the Federal Minister mentioned, we have the Bruce Highway Advisory Council here in Rockhampton today, our second meeting of the Bruce Highway Advisory Council, which has local representatives from up and down the Bruce Highway in every single region that the Bruce Highway passes; key stakeholders like the Queensland Trucking Association – we’ve got Gary Mahon here from the Queensland Trucking Association, who you’ll hear from soon; the RACQ – David Carter from the RACQ as well. This is a body by which we can consider what needs to be done to address the Bruce Highway and prioritise the work across the Bruce Highway. We know there is considerable amount of work that needs to be done on the Bruce.

As the Federal Minister mentioned, over 40 lives were lost on the Bruce Highway last year. That is simply unacceptable. We’re committed to ending that toll which impacts Queenslanders every single- nearly every single week we lose a Queenslander on the Bruce Highway. That is simply unacceptable, and we can and must do more to make the Bruce Highway both safer and more resilient and more reliable. And that’s our commitment today. We’ve got a broader package of works outside this $9 billion program, projects like the Rockhampton Ring Road and others, and we’re committed to getting on with the job of delivering those projects on time and on budget. And it’s an absolute pleasure to be able to join with the Federal Government to kick off those works on the Bruce Highway here today, and hopefully we’ll see many more projects over the next six years delivered under this program. And I just want to thank the Federal Government for their commitment. It is a testament to being able to deliver for communities that we can work together to deliver a very considerable investment in Queensland’s major road network, of which- I think about 62 per cent of Queenslanders used the Bruce Highway in any given year. Many people use it every single day, including myself. I know the work that needs to go on the Bruce Highway, and we’re committed with getting on with the job of delivering that.

I’ll hand over now to Gary Mahon from the Queensland Trucking Association to talk about what it means for Queensland’s trucking industry.

GARY MAHON: Thank you, ministers. We’re absolutely delighted to be here today to see and acknowledge the state and federal ministers working together in partnership on what is the most critical road in the state as far as we’re concerned. It is the spine of the state in terms of road freight resupply, but it also has significant safety implications for everybody who uses that road. As far as we’re concerned, the safety improvements obviously are essential, but we also need to remind that other treatments that go to the sustainability of this route are vitally important as well. Overtaking lanes, you know, bridge treatments, bridge replacements, wide centreline marking and all of those treatments need to be dealt with together because we also have a situation unfolding right now in Far North Queensland where it’s cut off yet again. So Far North Queensland right now is fully cut off for the second time in about five weeks. So when you look at that section between Townsville and Cairns, it deserves a fair bit of remedial treatment as well, and it needs to be sooner rather than later. I heard the word unacceptable used before. It is unacceptable in today’s day and age that Far North Queensland has to live with being fully cut off more than twice a year. So if this event goes on up North Queensland the way it’s going, we could be in the order of 14-odd days where Far North Queensland cannot be supplied with daily normal replenishment. Supermarkets, hardware, pharmaceuticals, people getting to medical treatment, and all of those things that go with daily life. So we’re delighted to be endorsing this program of works. We’re even more pleased to see the state and federal governments working so closely together. And as a third point, to have that being done within the next six years is even better. So that will make a material difference to regional Queensland in a very quick space of time, and we couldn’t endorse that more strongly. Thank you.

BRENT MICKELBERG: Thanks, Gary. Hand over now to David Carter from the RACQ.

DAVID CARTER: Thank you. And I’d also like to start by just endorsing a lot of Gary’s comments there. It’s great to see federal and state governments working well together to sort out a problem that is significant for all of Queensland. The Bruce Highway needs work. It needs a long term program of work. The $9 billion commitment is a terrific signal from both governments about how important this road is. The package of works that’s been announced today, the $300 million of funding, allows for projects that are ready to go, that Main Roads have identified as ready to go, to start and get going on lifting the safety on these roads. There are so many places where we can improve from two stars to three. There’s no shortage of work. This allows work to commence now and more work to be done on the next phase of those projects that can be done as well.

We also need to acknowledge, as RACQ, the great support and collaboration we had with Gary and the Queensland Truckers Association, with the Farmers’ Federation, with the Local Government Association of Queensland, the College of Surgeons, and indeed the tourism industry as well in this conversation about the importance of fixing the Bruce for the benefit of all Queenslanders, which is really- as Minister Mickelberg just said, this road is vital to all of us here in Queensland. So it is a very good day to see money actually hitting the ground now, to see the work commencing, and we look forward over the next six years or so to see this $9 billion spent well and safety on the Bruce Highway improved significantly.

CATHERINE KING: Thank you. Happy to take questions. We’ll start with me or with-

JOURNALIST: Catherine [indistinct]…

CATHERINE KING: Yes, of course, of course.

JOURNALIST: Gary just touched on Far North Queensland, with the flooding event up there. Will you make flood proofing work a priority as part of this package?

CATHERINE KING: So separately to this package, there’s already- I’d have to check the figures, but there’s already a couple of billion dollars allocated to the Bruce Highway in Far North Queensland, including, I think, [indistinct] that’s yet to be allocated to a specific project. We’ll work, obviously, with the Queensland Government about how that money is to be spent on the Bruce on some of those bigger projects. Obviously, as part of our disaster recovery arrangements, we have now built in that we will build back better rather than just replacing what is existing. So obviously, around that particular area, there was some flooding earlier in the year. We’re still working our way through those disaster arrangements with the Queensland Government about what we do. But obviously, as we continue- as we do the safety work, we want to continue with those projects that are already existing within the pipeline to make sure we actually get some substantial improvements to the movement particularly of freight and people around the state.

JOURNALIST: Do you think it’s good enough that regional Queenslanders, particularly in the north, has continually had their lives and businesses disrupted by the state of the highway?

CATHERINE KING: Well, again, this is why we’re putting this investment in. This is a $9 billion investment on top of the $10 billion worth of projects that we’re already delivering along the highway. In particular, what we’ve tried to do with this package is to look at not down south, but really look to central and north because they are the areas where the road is at its worst, and that’s why we’re concentrating on those areas with these projects.

BRENT MICKELBERG: I might just touch on that [indistinct]…

CATHERINE KING: Yes, sure. Of course.

BRENT MICKELBERG: Just in relation to the flooding in the north, obviously, we had a significant event about six weeks ago I think it was. And we had the Prime Minister and the Premier on the ground at Ollera Creek, which was washed away, and the commitment from both the Prime Minister and the Premier, as the Federal Minister alluded to, is to build back better. So we’re focused on building in flood mitigation and improvements to capacity where we can, where we need to rectify damage. For example, at Ollera Creek, we’re going to build that crossing back better and build flood resilience into it.

Now, will we be able to make the Bruce Highway completely flood-proof? No, it’s built on a floodplain, but we can certainly reduce the impact and the incidence and the severity of the flooding that occurs in places like Ingham. And right now, the Bruce Highway is cut again at the Seymour Bridge, and as Gary spoke about, so too are the inland routes. So we need to be looking at all aspects of the routes, north and south, in North Queensland. So whether that is the Kennedy Development Road, the Hann Highway, the Bruce Highway, we need to be building in resilience wherever possible, and we’re committed to working with the Federal Government to delivering just that. And I think you’ve got a unity ticket from the Prime Minister and the Premier of Queensland to deliver better roads and more resilient roads, both on the Bruce Highway and on our inland routes as well.

In relation to this package, though, one point I wanted to make. So this $9 billion, every single dollar of this package will be spent north of Gympie. None of this money will be spent in the south east. It will address critical concerns, safety issues from Gympie through to Cairns, and I think that’s a really important point to make. We know that those sections of the Bruce Highway are where the safety issues are greatest. And while we have flood impacts closing the Bruce Highway, so too do we have serious motor vehicle crashes which also closed the Bruce Highway, and this money will go a long way to reducing some of those instances.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you’re here today to announce stage one works. Where will that work begin?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Well, there’s 16 projects up and down the Bruce Highway. [Indistinct] So we actually inspected one of those sites yesterday, south of Tiaro, but there’s also works to the north of Townsville, south of Townsville, in Central Queensland here as well. We can provide you a map incidentally as well for your story subsequently. So the 16 early works packages, this is about getting on with the job of those areas where the work had already been done, the design work had been done. And we know there’s a critical need. Things like turning lanes off the Bruce Highway and onto the Bruce Highway, wide centreline, widening the shoulder, addressing the pavement where it is in a particularly bad state, these are projects that we could get on with the job of delivering straight away, and we have workers on site right now delivering those projects.

JOURNALIST: Can you tell us a bit more about the committee meeting today?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Yeah. So, one of the tasks I was given by the Premier was to re-establish the Bruce Highway Advisory Council. We had our first meeting in Townsville before Christmas. And one of the other tasks I was given was to seek 80-20 funding from the Federal Government. I’m very pleased that the Australian Government have come to the party and provided 80-20 funding for this package of $9 billion on the Bruce Highway. It’s a welcome investment, and it’s a recognition of the fact that we needed to invest in this critical road for Queensland’s future.

Look, the committee meeting today will actually be considering where we can best target the spending for the balance, the $8.7 billion of the balance of this program. There are many, many works that need to be done up and down the Bruce Highway. My department, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, have done a considerable amount of work over many years working out where those critical needs are. And today we will be discussing – the Federal Minister and myself and committee members which, as I said, includes local representatives, people who use the Bruce Highway for all sorts of different reasons, whether they’re truck drivers, a local representative here, her mother was tragically or was seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway – and so people are invested in making sure that the Bruce Highway is safer, more resilient and more reliable. So, today’s meeting we will be discussing how we can best roll out these funds. And then the Federal Government and the Queensland Government will work collaboratively to get work started as soon as possible. 

JOURNALIST: So, how important is it having everyday Queenslanders who have been impacted by the Bruce on that committee?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Well, I think it’s incredibly important to have local voices informing government policy wherever we can. And I was- one of the things I wanted to see when we re-established the Bruce Highway Advisory Council is to ensure that all sections of the Bruce Highway are representative- represented. So, whether that’s the Sunshine Coast right through to the far north, there’s our local representative from every single one of those districts on the Bruce Highway Advisory Council.

They all bring a different approach and different challenges. The challenges on the Bruce Highway in my part of the world, on the Sunshine Coast, are fundamentally different to the challenges in the far north and in North Queensland, or here in central Queensland for that matter. And I think it’s really important that those who use the road every single day are listened to and that we take their views into account. Now, industry is a big part of that. Queensland Trucking Association, the RACQ, Local Government Association of Queensland, they’re really important stakeholders and they’re all members of the Bruce Highway Advisory Council as well. But so too are those local voices, because they bring a different way of looking at the problem. And they bring lived experience of having to drive the Bruce Highway every single day, in many cases.

JOURNALIST: Minister, specifically in Paluma, near Townsville…

BRENT MICKELBERG: Yes.

JOURNALIST: …these residents have been taking three hour detours for a month now. Can you reassure them it’ll be fixed soon?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Look, we’ve got massive issues on the Mount Spec Road, which is the road to Paluma. Considerable impacts as a consequence of the flooding and the rain associated with the event six weeks or so ago in the north. It is going to take a considerable amount of time to rectify those, the damage to that road. We’re committed to working with the local community to support them through that process [indistinct], but the reality is it will take time. We have had significant landslips and, as a consequence, the road is currently not safe to be able to traverse.

However, that’s why we appointed a local disaster coordinator in Andrew Cripps, and I’ve been working with both Andrew and the local member, Nick Dametto, local state member Nick Dametto, to ensure, one, that the community is informed, and two, to ensure that we get those works completed as soon as possible. But it will take time. The damage is very, very considerable and- but we’re committed to ensuring that we both address the immediate concerns of reopening the roads for locals so they can get to and from home and to and from work, but also ensuring that we build in resilience in the long term so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes of the past.

JOURNALIST: Two questions. How much has the Ring Road project in Rockhampton blown out to?

BRENT MICKELBERG: So, the Federal Government have committed an additional $200 million today, and the federal minister may wish to speak to that. Look, my focus as the new Transport- Queensland Transport Main Roads Minister is to deliver this project. And far too many projects have run over budget and over time here in Queensland for too many years. And I have a very clear directive from the Premier, which is to end that. And part of that is getting on with the job of finishing the projects that are in train now. Another part is ensuring that we address the drivers that are driving cost overruns.

Rocky Ring Road has exceeded budget again and that is unacceptable, but by the same token we’re focused on delivering the project. It’s an important project that will deliver benefit to, not just people from central Queensland but all road users who traverse through this part of the world. It’s a safety improvement. It takes trucks off the road through the Rockhampton CBD, where we’ve got schools right now, and I think 26 odd sets of traffic lights off the top of my head. It’s an important project that must be delivered. My focus is delivering that project now.

We were on site earlier this morning actually having a look at one of the bridge- bridges at the northern end. They were going to do a concrete pour this morning but they’ve been interrupted as a consequence of the rain. But we’re just focused on delivering the project now that it’s well advanced, and ending the blow-outs that existed under the former government. Minister, so you want to add anything to that?

CATHERINE KING: No.

JOURNALIST: When will it be delivered?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Well, we’re focused on delivering the project. The initial- so there’s two packages of works effectively at either end and the last package is for the centre which is for the bridge. We’re focused on ensuring that it’s delivered within the existing time frame. So at the moment, we’re working to a time frame of around 2029. However – and it is a complex project, I’m not going to shy away from the fact it’s a complex project. What we need to ensure, though, is that what we deliver reflects what the community needs, both here in central Queensland, and more broadly as a key spine of Queensland road- Queensland’s road transport network.

JOURNALIST: When will the funding come through for the [indistinct] project?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Well, Federal Minister, I think that’s included in this batch as well. I might let you talk to that.

CATHERINE KING: Yeah. No, I think it is. Yeah.

BRENT MICKELBERG: So, I understand that’s actually included in these announcements from the Federal Government as well.

JOURNALIST: Can you tell us anything more about the beef corridor works?

BRENT MICKELBERG: Yeah. Look, the Queensland beef corridors initiative is a tremendous initiative which aims to build capacity and reliability into some of our inland routes which are traversed right through central Queensland here. So, it’s a partnership between local councils, the state government and the Federal Government. Minister King will probably like to speak to this, and Glen might like to talk to it given much of it sits in his electorate as well. But it’s a really important project that will both boost capacity for the beef industry, hence its name. But it’s also about building resilience and capacity into the- those regional interconnecting roads, roads between Moranbah and Emerald and Rockhampton, and to the south. These are critical roads that should have been invested in and need to be invested in to unlock both productivity from an economic perspective, but also connect regional communities. I might…

CATHERINE KING: Yeah, sure. We’ll get you a full list of the projects that have been announced under the beef roads corridor. But really, what this has required is for the local councils to work with TMR and the Queensland Government to decide where exactly the money is going to be spent.

So, we’ve signed off on the release of $38 million today to start a range of projects, small and large, across that network. We know that, increasingly, our large freight vehicles are travelling on these local roads and that whether it’s weather, that it’s the weight of vehicles, that it’s the volume of vehicles we’re seeing erosion on those roads. And really this is designed to strengthen, widen, make sure that our freight routes for your magnificent beef industry here, which is the best not only in the country but in the world – my hometown of Ballarat will be upset that I’ve said that, there are beef producers there as well – but nothing quite like up here. We recognise this is the beef capital for a reason. But making sure that that fantastic produce can get to market both within the country and outside, and so that $38 million.

But that’s really meant that we’ve got now local government all working together with TMR to identify where the money is to go. And that’s released today, and we’ll get you the full list.

BRENT MICKELBERG: Glen might add to it.

CATHERINE KING: Yeah.

GLEN KELLY: Yeah, thank. Well, thank you, Minister, for acknowledging the beef capital of Australia. It means a lot to me, actually. But no, the development package is very important to the electorate of Mirani because of the amount of produce that does come out of there, whether it be beef, or grain. And the May Downs Road is a very important part of that development project. It’s- we’re sort of talking up to, I think in a couple of those regions in the electorate of Mirani, 50,000 head of beef cattle coming out of two feedlots. I mean, this package is very welcome into this region of ours, of Mirani, and certainly looking forward to councils and the state government working together to make sure that where these issues are in these roads are done correctly. Because I’m a big believer in of a little bit of time goes a long way, because we only want to do these things once. And I think with this development road package it’s going to be so important to the electorate of Mirani. Thank you.

BRENT MICKELBERG: Any other questions?

CATHERINE KING: You’re done. Lovely. Thank you.