Shute Harbour Boat Ramp and Shute Harbour Road

I rise to speak on behalf of my community in the Whitsundays in regard to the lack of community engagement and consultation with both my local council, the Whitsunday Regional Council, and my community and constituents—in particular, the recreational fishing community—on the latest infrastructure debacle that has been delivered by the Minister for Transport and Main Roads. I am talking about the Shute Harbour boat ramp. I refer to correspondence I received from the minister which states:

— The recent boat ramp upgrade works included widening the existing ramp from seven to eight metres, construction of a walkway support lane, and installation of a fixed sloping walkway. One of the benefits of the fixed walkway is it allows boaties to use the boat ramp and walkway without having to get into the water.

Unfortunately, the minister has been misinformed. I have written to him and invited him to the region, along with 40 other fishermen I met at the Shute Harbour boat ramp where clearly the platform that you walk down is submerged in the water. For the minister’s benefit and that of those on the other side of the House, in the Whitsundays we do encounter irukandji jellyfish in our waterways—in particular, from October right through to April. We also encounter the odd saltwater crocodile—in particular, in the area where boaties frequent. In the past we have also had some visits by local sharks that reside in that part of the world.

The infrastructure investment by this department and by this government fails to even meet the basic safety standards to allow children to be able to safely participate in recreational fishing with their families or to allow parents to put their boat in and safely leave their child holding the boat while they park their trailer. I welcome the minister to the region to see what a substandard $1.8 million joke of a boat ramp he has delivered for the people of Shute Harbour and the Whitsundays. We have one of the largest boat registrations in the state and that deserves significant investment. In particular, we deserve for this to be rectified immediately.

I would also like to bring to the attention of the minister the lack of consultation on Shute Harbour Road. Some two years ago, detailed design that was communicated to the community included roundabouts. We will now see five sets of traffic lights in a 1.5-kilometre distance under the Roads of Strategic Importance program, funded 80 per cent by the federal government and 20 per cent by this state government. I urge the minister to come and meet with the community and the Whitsunday Regional Council. This fundamentally changes the entrance to the Whitsundays. It fundamentally changes the ambiance of what is a tourist destination. It is not acceptable. People are already planning to march on the streets and block that road. I urge the minister to engage.