Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A comprehensive and accessible rail transport system is a critical and essential link in the Australian transport chain that joins communities and strengthens industry. The Rudd government in its last budget continued its commitment to rail infrastructure by delivering important priority rail projects and spending to support job creation in the short term, and economic growth and productivity in the longer term. As we will see a number of local rail projects from around the country, it is pleasing to see a broad range of members representing different states and, with them, different priorities and needs. Tonight I want to focus on my home state of Queensland and the funding that was set aside for nation building from the Building Australia Fund.

Firstly, it is important to note that the $668 million in this year’s budget for Queensland road and rail projects is 80 per cent higher than the 2008-09 funding, with $318 million provided immediately to keep key projects moving forward. Locally in South-East Queensland we saw initiatives such as $20 million for a Brisbane inner-city rail feasibility study and $365 million in equity investment in the Gold Coast light rail project. Work on the Brisbane inner-city rail feasibility study continues, and will see two new rail tunnel corridors being identified to meet growing demand for rail services in Brisbane. As I said, the Rudd government has committed $20 million to make sure that that does take place, with the project due to begin in 2010.

Work on the $850 million Gold Coast light rail project is expected to begin in 2011 and be completed by 2013. The planning and construction of the project is expected to support 2½ thousand jobs. The project will provide public transport to 20 per cent of the Gold Coast population, removing 40,000 cars from the road network and foster urban renewal and boost the local tourism industry. It is projected the Gold Coast light rail will cater for 80,000 trips a year, increasing public transport from four per cent of journeys to 10 per cent by 2026. Both of these are important nation-building projects and feature cooperation between all levels of government and the private sector for the good of South-East Queensland, one of the nation’s fastest growing regions.

This leads me to a great example of where these partnerships truly do work in concert, and that is in the western corridor of South-East Queensland—particularly in my electorate of Oxley. We had the member for Blair here, who also mentioned that it particularly works well in the electorate of Blair. The Queensland government has been planning for the duplication of the Centenary Highway between the Ipswich motorway and Springfield, together with the extension of the passenger rail branching from the Ipswich line at Darra and then running along the Centenary Highway through to greater Springfield.

The rail project is one of the priority projects in the Queensland government’s infrastructure plant, which supports the South-East Queensland regional plan and is designated as a vital piece of infrastructure for the western corridor. The project has now been broken up into stages, with stage 1 now progressing to completion. It will be part of the duplication of the Centenary Highway from the Ipswich motorway to the Logan motorway. As a result, we will see a new passenger rail line being built with 650-space commuter car parks. Stage 1 is due for completion in 2012. Stage 2 will also be part of the Queensland state government’s and the federal government’s commitment to the corridor.

Further to that, the cost of a rail component as part of the project to Springfield in the South-East Queensland regional plan is projected at $872 million. If funding can be brought forward, then we will see the great possibilities of what rail transport can bring to that corridor. This will then allow both the road and rail projects to be delivered together, and of course that would mean greater efficiency and a greater effective corridor for the area. The original delivery was for 2012, but it has now been pushed out to 2015. But many thousands of jobs can be expected to be created and millions of people moved along the corridor.

I believe that the western corridor will continue to drive strong residential growth for the next decade, with significant investment accompanying infrastructure needed to be delivered both in a public and a private manner. For South-East Queensland, we need environmentally sustainable transport environments of the future. In this place we often speak of better ways to find these sorts of projects; in the western corridor we are ready to deliver both through public funding and through private funding. What we need now is to bring forward these projects.

All members of parliament support more effective transport systems that provide growth in a sustainable manner. Often the critical missing components that are the hold-up are the political will to achieve the desired outcomes and political cooperation. That is not the case in the western corridor. The three levels of government work together in a most constructive manner, as does the private sector, including developers in the corridor. They are all prepared to make these projects technically feasible, and I know they can work in a great partnership together.

I commend the motion to the House and I encourage government at all levels to get more involved and provide the essential, critical environmentally sustainable transport systems for the future—and there is no better place to begin than in the western corridor of Queensland. (Time expired)

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