John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the current Labor Queensland government's underinvestment in infrastructure across Queensland. Our electorate of Groom in the Darling Downs has been overlooked by successive Queensland Labor governments when it comes to infrastructure. The single largest piece of infrastructure being built in regional Australia right now is the $1.6 billion Toowoomba Second Range Crossing. It was the LNP government in Queensland that signed the original agreements with the then federal government. I knew because I was the acting Treasurer at the time, and I signed them alongside the then federal Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development and Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Warren Truss.

Federal and state Labor governments have continued to ignore the priority of that nation-building project many years over. In Groom, the Wagner family has built the first greenfield jet-capable airport in 44 years. They did it in 18 months. The Gardner family is investing in a world-class technology park and data hub. The federal government is providing majority support to the $508 million Warrego Highway Upgrade Program, west of Toowoomba. We are absolutely committed to the Inland Rail project, yet another national nation-building project. But Queensland public spending is at a 10-year low according to an RPS Group analysis of ABS data.

We knew before the last state election that Labor's disloyalty to the regions throughout Queensland could be exposed, and they confirmed that by scrapping the successful Royalties for the Regions program. Under the leadership of Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney in 2012, the LNP created the Royalties for the Regions program to fund the roads, bridges, water infrastructure and flood mitigation that regional communities desperately needed after 20 years of Labor neglect. We committed $495 million over four years to fund the projects that regional Queensland has needed in their local areas, and we delivered.

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