Coalition MP’s to drive the Bruce Highway |
13th July, 2012 |
Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss will make a five day road trip along the notorious Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Cairns next week with a team of Liberal and National Members of Parliament to inspect sections urgently in need of upgrading.
Mr Truss, federal Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, will address the LNP State Conference in Brisbane on road priorities immediately before he starts the trip.
“Making Queensland’s main north-south transport artery a safer and more reliable route has to be a top priority,” Mr Truss said.
Recent flooding has highlighted the inadequacy of the highway. It was part of the disaster.
Mr Truss said that on top of being one of the most dangerous roads in the country, accounting for one in six highway deaths, the constant disruptions to commerce through regular flooding at 33 sites cost Queenslanders at least $45 million.
“My commitment is that we will do what it takes to fix the Bruce – and that means projects to fix these problems will be moving within 12 months of the election of an Abbott/Truss federal government.”
Accident, and flooding, hot-spots on the Bruce which will be included in the trip include the Cooroy to Curra section, Sarina to Mackay, the Yeppen floodplain near Rockhampton, the Cardwell Range, and the Houghton River.
The “Fix the Bruce” drive is an initiative of the Federal Coalition Parliamentary Bruce Highway Action Group which has been meeting since the last election to highlight the need to take urgent action to upgrade the highway.
Mr Truss will be accompanied for the entire journey by his Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Darren Chester, and for relevant stretches of the highway by State and Federal Members, including the Member for Hinkler (Paul Neville), Flynn (Ken O’Dowd), Dawson (George Christensen), Herbert (Ewen Jones), Leichhardt (Warren Entsch), Maryborough (Anne Maddern) and Whitsunday (Jason Costigan.)
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