QMCA is pleased to see that several major transport initiatives have been included in the updated Infrastructure Australia Priority List published today but believe that Queensland is missing out on its fair share of priority allocation and funding.
CEO, Jon Davies, highlighted the lack of Queensland projects and initiatives in the report as a major concern, “Only 14% of the identified projects are in Queensland, a figure which neither reflects the Queensland economy nor the needs of the nation’s most decentralised state. We call on the Queensland Government to do more and to commit to developing a greater pipeline of detailed project proposals that can be reviewed by Building Queensland and in turn Infrastructure Australia.”
“In the coming election, Queensland will be a key infrastructure battleground and it is disappointing that there are not enough shovel ready projects awaiting funding. We would like to see the Queensland Government armed with a series of projects that are ready to go, as soon as funding is available, rather than waiting for analysis, modelling and business case development, which can be done far in advance of funding decisions.” said Mr Davies.
QMCA has welcomed the focus on upgrades to significant sections of the M1, Centenary and Warrego Highways contained in the priority list as going some way to easing the misery of Queensland’s road users “I think anyone who has travelled on the M1, Centenary or Warrego Highways will welcome significant investment in their improvement, because as major arterials they more often than not struggle to cope with the flow of traffic.”
“We believe that the Government needs to take a more holistic approach to upgrading the road network. Currently we are seeing valuable projects being undertaken in isolation, and whilst they ease a localised bottleneck, quite often upgrading a small stretch simply moves the issue further along the road.” said Mr Davies.
The full priority list can be downloaded at: https://infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/policy-publications/publications/files/IA18-4005_Priority_List_2019_ACC_L.pdf
