Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The problem with the argument of the member for Werriwa is that many AFP officers think that what the member for Moreton said is dead on the money. The member for Moreton has been denied natural justice in this matter, and that is a real shame. Week after week in the newspapers, he has been called the ‘disgraced member for Moreton’, and now we find he has no charges to answer. I certainly feel the way the member for Moreton and many AFP officers feel, in that it took six months to conclude a relatively simple investigation. I think that is the flaw in the argument of the member for Werriwa.

I need to speak in the parliament about roads. In my electorate in Townsville, roads are a very significant issue, and I am pleased to report to the community that the Townsville ring road, which I promised at the last election, is well underway. It is a new, high-speed motorway that will link the northern beaches through to James Cook University, the hospital and Lavarack Barracks. It will cut travel times by up to 20 minutes. When it opens, the community will be delighted. It will be open within about 12 months.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And all as a result of your good representation.

Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, it was my proposal. I won the money at the last election, we are building it and the community will understand that that is the way it should go. We are about to start work on the four-laning of the Bruce Highway, between the Woodlands Shopping Centre and Veales Road. That will take away the deathtrap intersection with the Mount Low Parkway. The people of Bushland Beach will be very pleased.

Looking ahead, we want to start work on the port access road. That is a $190 million project which will be funded by state and federal governments on a fifty-fifty basis. It is something that is timely, having regard to growth in the Townsville port and the Townsville region. I am determined to make sure that that project gets the green light and goes ahead.

I would also like to draw the parliament’s attention to my commitment to build a superhighway south of Townsville, from the Cluden turn-off through to Vantassel Road. We will four-lane that section. That section right now is overloaded. The number of vehicles it services a day warrants four-laning. It will also be a flood mitigation project because the highway gets cut in times of heavy rainfall at that location. That is a $110 million project, and I intend to deliver that to the electorate, along with a number of other road projects that are very important to the people of Townsville and Thuringowa. I look forward to making those final commitments in due course, as we approach the coming election.