Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Forde for his question. I recognise that he represents one of the fastest-growing areas of Queensland. The Logan-Gold Coast area is expected to double its population over the next 20 years. As a result, the infrastructure requirements to service that area will become much more important. There is only one major highway, the Pacific Highway, that joins Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It is already as wide as eight lanes for a fair part of the distance, and it is clearly going to have to be extended and widened and given extra capacity as the years go by.

I am particularly aware of his interest in Exit 54, which is in the heart of his electorate and is a key distributor from the Pacific Highway. I visited the site with him on a number of occasions. We made commitments during the election campaign that the Commonwealth government—the coalition government—would deliver some financial support to make that intersection a reality. The state and local governments and developers have all contributed now. I note that the honourable member was present for the start of the construction of that intersection just a few days ago. I congratulate the member on the way in which he has fought for something that was important for his constituency, and he has delivered. That will be a significant upgrade for the Pacific Highway.

Of course, the Prime Minister has also recently announced $95 million as a contribution to the Gold Coast light rail, which is a bit south of the member's electorate but will still be very important in servicing the movement of people between the Gold Coast and the capital city of Brisbane, while also extending the capabilities of the light rail through the city of the Gold Coast.

All of this is particularly important with the Commonwealth Games coming to the Gold Coast in 2018. It will be a significant international event which will focus the attention of the world on the Gold Coast, and we certainly want it to be presented in the best possible light in those circumstances. The Commonwealth is contributing significantly towards the cost of hosting the games, and the infrastructure network to service the large population and the number of visitors will be critical to making those games a success. So I welcome the question, I congratulate the member on his own advocacy and I recognise that still more will have to be done in that area to meet the traffic needs of the people of Logan and the Gold Coast.

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