Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate the Turnbull government on its expenditure in my electorate of Fisher for all things infrastructure.    Just last week I welcomed the transport and infrastructure minister to my electorate where we turned the first sod on the Bruce Highway for the $929.3 million upgrade between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway. This will take the highway from four lanes to six lanes. It will provide a new interchange Caloundra Road and a new interchange at the Sunshine Motorway. It will provide a number of service roads. In fact, all up I am told there will be 100 kilometres of new roads just in that stretch that is to be improved. Together with parking and park-and-ride facilities, this is a fantastic outcome for the Sunshine Coast, and I am very proud to have announced it last year. The works are underway—they started last week—and we are all very excited about that on the sunny coast.

But we have not stopped there. In the budget two weeks ago the Treasurer announced some $650 million in addition to that already put aside for upgrades to the Bruce Highway south of Caloundra. That will provide us three lanes each way at a minimum from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Once again I am very proud to be a part of the Turnbull government that has delivered those upgrades for the Sunshine Coast. Add to that another $180-odd million for the Nambour interchange, which takes this government's total expenditure on the Bruce Highway the $1.6 billion. That is the most money spent by a federal government on the Bruce Highway in my neck of the woods, and it is not before time.

When the member for Grayndler was the infrastructure minister, what did he do for the Sunshine Coast? Absolutely nothing. It reminds me of the old saying: 'What have the Romans ever done for us?' What did the member for Grayndler ever do for the Sunshine Coast? Absolutely nothing.

I am very, very proud to be part of a government that is providing this much-needed infrastructure, part of $75 billion over a 10-year investment program for this infrastructure, for the country. But we are not stopping there. We all know that dealing with the travel woes for Sunshine Coast locals going to Brisbane is not just predicated on an effective Bruce Highway; we now have to turn our attention to the duplication of the railway line between Beerburrum and Nambour. So, as well as $8.4 billion that this government has set aside for the Melbourne to Brisbane railway, this government has set aside another $10 billion across 10 years to fund the National Rail Program.

Out of that National Rail Program, the Palaszczuk Labor government can bid for the duplication of the railway line. In my discussions—and I am sure that my friend the member for Petrie has discovered the same thing—I have discovered that on not one occasion has the Palaszczuk Labor government picked up the phone and tried to speak to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and tried to get funding for that much-needed duplication of the railway line. We have to ensure that the state Labor government actually gets off its backside and applies for that money.

I intend to write to the Queensland government this week to formally request how we might advance the progress of the rail duplication. I hope they respond, unlike the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Anthony Lynham. I wrote to that minister on 2 February on behalf of my constituents at Mooloolaba Marina. I have had my office follow him up seven times since 2 February asking for a meeting between my constituents, me and him to progress the Mooloolaba Marina. Not once have we had a response that said, 'This is going to be a date.' If we get any response, it is: 'Well, we're getting to it. We're getting to it.' That was 2 February.

Minister Lynham, you are a minister of the Crown. It does not matter that I am from the opposite party. It does not matter whether my constituents do not vote for your lot. Please respond to my request. Let us have a meeting, and let us try to sort out the problems that Mooloolaba Marina are encountering. It is in your patch. Thank you.

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