Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Queenslanders are no strangers to the dangers of the Bruce Highway. Research from the RACQ should send shockwaves through this parliament. It reveals that motorists travelling on the Bruce Highway between Gympie and Cairns are five times more likely to be injured or killed in a car crash than those driving on the Hume Highway.

The Bruce Highway, at 1,679 kilometres long, is the backbone of Queensland, connecting every major city from Brisbane to Cairns. It carries essential freight, keeps businesses moving and underpins our economy, particularly in regional areas. Yet it is fast becoming known for its deadly toll. In my electorate of Capricornia, the statistics on the Bruce Highway are nothing short of alarming. There are only two overtaking lanes for every 100 kilometres, 31 narrow bridges and over 230 road defects. It is no wonder this stretch of road has some of the highest rates of fatal and serious injuries in this country. The most concerning section, between Sarina and Mackay, has an average of 9.9 fatal and serious injury crashes every 100 kilometres. These aren't just statistics. It is a devastating reality for too many families across our great state. Every year lives are shattered, dreams are cut short and communities are left grieving.

In just a matter of weeks, the Bruce Highway has become the scene of some of its most devastating tragedies. Four serious crashes have claimed three lives in just three weeks. Among the victims were Dioneto Pereira de Souza, a 29-year-old Rockhampton man who had just become a father for the first time; Scott Cassidy, a 50-year-old father of six from Townsville; and a 21-year-old Rockhampton man whose life was cut short in a horrific highway explosion. Recently I had the privilege of speaking with Leyland Barnett, who is a Rockhampton constituent and a dedicated safety advocate. Leyland's 21-year-old niece, Emily, tragically lost her life in a head-on collision on the Bruce Highway, caused by dangerous roads—a day that, as Leyland describes, their family will never forget. These people, like so many others, are not just statistics. They were everyday Queenslanders much like you and me. They woke up in the morning and got behind the wheel and set out on the Bruce Highway for work or travel, never imagining they wouldn't return home.

Queenslanders are crying out for action, but, instead of delivering the funding to fix this critical artery, Labor has failed to meet the urgent needs of our communities. Those opposite made a devastating decision, cutting the funding model for the Bruce Highway from an 80-20 contribution to a mere 50-50. This reckless change will not just delay the critical upgrades that this dangerous highway desperately needs; it will likely cancel them altogether. The consequences of this funding cut are real. Without the necessary financial backing, essential upgrades will be postponed or scrapped altogether. Every day that these upgrades are delayed, more lives at risk. We are not talking about abstract figures here; we are talking about real Queenslanders who may never make it home because this government has chosen to balance the books at the cost of human lives. Far too many families are losing loved ones on our roads, yet Labor is cutting critical road funding and failing to assist councils to make these safety improvement to local roads. It's shameful for the minister for infrastructure to claim credit for road safety funding in a cynical attempt to distract from the rising fatalities on our roads throughout Labor's term in office.

I am proud of the track record of investment which I have delivered for the Bruce. Unlike Labor, I know what improving roads does for communities. This includes $106.4 million for black spot areas, $72.6 million for maintenance funding, $126.4 million to upgrade the northern access to Rockhampton and $11.5 million to improve the highway in north Sarina. This investment was made possible because the coalition government believed that investing in roads was investing in lives.

People in Capricornia are also not seeing a return on the wealth they create to improve the roads in our region. In the 2022-23 financial year, the Fitzroy region alone contributed $18.1 billion in royalties generated by the hard work of local miners. This substantial revenue was funnelled into Treasury, only to cover cost blowouts on projects in metropolitan areas. Labor are letting the Bruce fall into disrepair to fund city developments, and it is costing lives. We owe it to the memory of those who have lost their lives on the Bruce, and to every person who continues to travel this highway, to acknowledge that human cost of inaction. These are not isolated incidents; they are a part of a growing pattern of tragedy that we cannot afford to ignore. I call on this government to restore the former government's 80 per cent funding share of projects to allow for urgent upgrades to be made.

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