Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the importance of an integrated approach to the transport issues in my electorate of Petrie. With the electorate of Petrie stretching from Stafford Heights all the way up to the Redcliffe Peninsula, with the western boundary running along the Bruce Highway to the north and the eastern boundary linking Brisbane and the Gateway to Redcliffe via the Houghton Highway bridge, there are many transport issues that need to be addressed. It is paramount that the three levels of government work together to plan long term for our roads and public transport infrastructure in the area.

I recently had the pleasure of opening the new Hamilton Road upgrade with the Brisbane City Council. This project was partially funded by the federal government through Roads to Recovery, with the Commonwealth contributing over $22 million and the council contributing approximately $26 million. This was an important extension and upgrade for the inner western area of Brisbane.

In the outer northern area of Brisbane, as part of the commitment to improve access to and from the Redcliffe Peninsula, the Queensland government has already committed $315 million to the construction phase of the Houghton Highway duplication project. This project has already commenced and is due to be completed in 2011. The project involves construction of a new 2.7-kilometre bridge between Brighton and Redcliffe and will link the people of the peninsula with Brisbane. I know that the people in my electorate are pleased that construction of the bridge duplication has commenced. However, the bridge will deal only in part with the ongoing transport issues in the electorate. In the southern end of the electorate, the most significant issue in relation to transport is road congestion and access to public transport. Much more needs to be done in this area. As we know, there is ongoing investment in infrastructure in roads occurring throughout south-east Queensland with more work being proposed for northern Brisbane through bypasses and tunnels. The state government is also in the process of consultation on the western corridor that could see an improvement in roads in the area, including Everton Park, Aspley, Carseldine and Bracken Ridge. I look forward to working with the local community and the state members to ensure that any proposed infrastructure will benefit the whole community.

The Rudd Labor government has also committed in the budget, fulfilling an election promise, to $125 million to get moving on the $2.5 billion northern missing link from the Gateway Motorway at Nudgee to the Bruce Highway at the South Pine River. This builds on the Queensland government’s commitment to the Gateway Motorway duplication project—Queensland’s biggest ever infrastructure project. It is extremely important to the people in the north of my electorate to have this missing link addressed. This will ensure a free-flowing motorway so that people and freight can move around the city and the region.

Having highlighted these projects, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. With the cost of failing to act on climate change much greater than the cost of acting, we must invest more in the area of public transport. Whether you live in the north or the south of my electorate, people are frustrated by either the lack of bus services or the supply not meeting demand for commuters. More and more people are willing to catch public transport, whether for environmental reasons or for financial reasons with the increase in petrol prices and parking costs. We need to do more to support their willingness to use more environmentally friendly transport.

In the north of my electorate, there is ongoing frustration with the lack of reasonable access to an integrated public transport system. I acknowledge the many years of hard work by the Mango Hill Progress Association in their lobbying for a rail link to the Redcliffe Peninsula. I know that the state member for Murrumba, the Hon. Dean Wells, and the state member for Redcliffe, Lillian van Litsenburg, have both worked tirelessly to bring improved public transport to the area, as has the new Mayor of Moreton Bay Regional Council, Allan Sutherland.

I support the calls for a rail link to the Redcliffe Peninsula and for a more integrated approach to the public transport plan for the outer northern Brisbane areas. Areas such as Mango Hill, North Lakes, Griffin, Rothwell, Kippa-Ring and the whole of the Redcliffe Peninsula would benefit from such improved infrastructure. If we wish to bring more commercial enterprises to the area, provide job opportunities and training opportunities, we need to have a long-term transport plan. A rail line in itself will not address all of the issues, but with the support of local and state governments, in conjunction with the federal government, I believe much can be achieved. It is important to deliver this not just from a social perspective but also from an economic perspective. These people deserve to be part of the wider investment in infrastructure in south-east Queensland and nationally. I encourage the Moreton Bay Regional Council, the Queensland government and the federal government to recognise the needs of this area and to help us address an area that has missed out for far too long.