Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak in parliament to share how the Morrison government's record funding for road safety measures around the nation is improving roads in my electorate of Bonner. Rebuilding our economy as we recover from the global coronavirus pandemic means building more roads, rails and bridges. Now is the time to look at the infrastructure projects to create jobs, manage our growing population and deliver flow-on spending to local communities.

Nationally, the Morrison government is investing $110 billion, over 10 years, on infrastructure, which is already supporting 100,000 jobs on worksites across the country. In Queensland, and, importantly, in my electorate of Bonner, this nation-building infrastructure includes major highway and road upgrades. One of the most well-known congestion-busting upgrades is the M1 Pacific Motorway Gateway merge, which has been a sore point for commuters for years, and I thank the honourable member for Forde for his ongoing support of this project. The southbound upgrade has made a tremendous difference to motorists in Bonner. As the northbound upgrades continue, we know the end result will be a smoother congestion-free commute.

Another exciting infrastructure project underway is the Brisbane Metro public infrastructure, which will help take cars off busy roads in South-East Queensland. The Brisbane Metro is being delivered by the Brisbane City Council and supported by the Morrison government with $300 million in funding. The city-shaping project will transform Brisbane's public transport network to get people home quicker and safer, with easy links to existing bus and train services. The depot and four stops will be located in my electorate of Bonner, and I'm very excited to see work progress this year that is creating 2,600 jobs through its design and construction phase.

In my many years as the member for Bonner I have been proud to deliver funding to fix dangerous intersections and blackspots on local roads. It goes to show, when multiple levels of government are willing to work together, we can get the job done. Thanks to my colleagues at Brisbane City Council, working alongside the federal government, we have some great road projects ready to start construction. In fact, this week, construction will get underway on the Chelsea Road and Rickertt Road intersection at Ransome. I was delighted to deliver $6 million of federal funding towards the safety upgrade, which was jointly funded with and will be delivered by the Brisbane City Council.

This intersection had been a cause for concern for many years, and the petition I ran alongside the community helped fight to deliver funding to get this much needed safety upgrade underway. As part of the works to improve safety and reduce congestion, upgrades will include installing traffic signals at the intersection to improve the overall operation and safety for all road users, constructing right-hand-lane turns on all four approaches to improve traffic flow through the intersection, installing signalised crossing facilities to improve safety and access to pedestrians and cyclists, and providing improved safety and connectivity to the public and active transport options.

Another project due to get underway this year is the Newnham Road and Wecker Road intersection at Mount Gravatt. The Morrison government delivered $12 million towards this project, which will also be delivered by the Brisbane City Council. This project was jointly funded with Brisbane City Council for much needed safety upgrades: between 2014 and 2019 there were 18 crashes reported and countless near misses. Thanks to the petition I ran, we were able to deliver this funding to get the safety upgrades underway. Construction is scheduled to get underway in mid-2021, with work to be completed during mid-2022, weather permitting.

Over the weekend I joined Councillor Steven Huang at Rochedale to chat with residents about the upgrades to the Rochedale roundabout, which is heavily congested and outgrown by the needs of the new housing developments in the area. To be able to share with all corners of my electorate how this government is delivering on our road projects, it makes my job worthwhile. When people tell me there's a problem, I listen. When they demand action, our government delivers. Thanks to my supportive colleagues, every road upgrade I have fought for has seen funding delivered by this Morrison government. With the backing of our local government, we are getting Bonner families home sooner and safer.

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