Bruce Highway and Goorganga Plains

The member for Pumicestone spoke about waiting for federal funding, but that may be attributed to a lack of state government planning just like what has occurred in my electorate. Unlike the member for Pumicestone, I am pleased with the hard work of my local federal  member  and the $1.6billion that the Morrison government  has  allocated to the Bruce Highway, of which $400million is going towards flood-proofing Goorganga Plains. However, there is a hold-up in flood-proofing Goorganga Plains and maintaining access to North Queensland during the cyclone  season which affects our fruit and vegetable  crops and tourism  across  the  electorate. That hold-up is the $12million of funding that the state government has not yet fully expended in the planning study to flood proof Goorganga Plains. Funding of $12million was approved back in 2018 to see that planning, and we are still yet to receive it from this current state government.

We cannot fast-track upgrades and infrastructure in this state because we have a state government and in particular a department of transport that does not have the resources behind them to fast-track planning and approvals. I appreciate that many on the other side of the House may not understand the challenges  of  regional and rural Queensland  particularly when it comes to public transport.

I have been contacted by constituents in my electorate who have challenges in getting their kids to school and in accessing public transport to travel to health care from Dingo Beach, Cape Gloucester and Proserpine. This is because the same  TransLink model that is utilised here in South-East Queensland is what is shaped and showcased in regional and rural Queensland. I can tell honourable members it does not work. It fails. It fails my constituents in the Whitsundays. We need a better model of public transport across regional and rural Queensland, particularly in the Whitsundays.

 I look at the school buses in the northern beaches of Mackay that have no capacity left. Kids can no longer leave earlier because of the traffic challenges in the northern beaches. I have been calling on the transport minister to fast-track $700,000 of planning money in this upcoming budget for the growing population in the northern beaches. We have seen over 500 houses approved and construction commenced in  the  northern  beaches. This will  bring over 2,000 new residents to the electorate of Whitsundays, and the northern beaches is the fastest growing part of Mackay. I call on the minister to allocate funding and fast-track that planning so that we can get on with the job.