Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blaxland for his contribution that recognises well the important efforts of the many, many men who gave their lives for our country.

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about the campaign that I'm backing in my electorate of Forde to fix the M1. It is a simple message of just three words, but it rings loud and clear in my electorate every single day. The M1 highway continues to be the single biggest issue in my electorate, affecting every single local family and every single local business. I have no doubt, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the constituents in your electorate of Wright might also be affected by what goes on with the M1. This is why I have thrown my support behind this new local campaign that aims to lobby all governments to find a solution to this nightmare—for that is what it is. The campaign includes a new video that calls on locals in our community to come together in a single, concentrated effort to lobby governments to find a solution to the MI highway problem.

The M1is a national highway and the federal government has played a significant role in making sure this road connects our nation, moves our economy, helps us showcase our country to the world, and, importantly, is up to scratch. I give kudos to the infrastructure minister, Paul Fletcher, for being prepared to be involved and committed to the discussions about how we provide a solution to this problem. It is a national highway and it's an absolute necessity that it remains on our national agenda. The biggest issue on this highway is the congestion, not the freight task. It has a different responsibility; it is a fifty-fifty funded road. That is where the state government also needs to stand up and be part of the solution, not part of the roadblock.

My electorate is one of the fastest growing areas in Queensland if not in Australia. If we do not continue to work to find a solution to this problem, as we continue to pack more and more residential and industrial development into the Gold Coast-Brisbane corridor, this problem is only going to get worse. We will see next year with the Commonwealth Games, I hope, that the traffic solutions provided between now and then help reduce the problem so that people stuck in traffic are not a blight on the Commonwealth Games. This government has focused on providing funding for a number of problems, and we will continue to fight to solve this problem for our community, and I commend that to the House.

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