George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You would think the importance of the Bruce Highway to North Queenslanders could not be underestimated. It is vital for supplies coming in, for goods going out and for getting from point A to point B. In many cases it is a link between where people live and where they work. It is a link between businesses and their customers. But the importance of the Bruce Highway has been underestimated by the Bligh Labor government. The state government cannot point the finger at past federal governments, because Labor has been in power in Queensland for 20 of the past 22 years. After that 20 years they not only have failed to come up with a plan to fix the Bruce Highway but are only just starting to realise what it is that needs fixing.

I would like to dwell on one particular problem area on the Bruce Highway, the Goorganga Plains. Three weeks ago, flights in and out of Whitsundays were cancelled, not because of any issue with the airline but because the Bruce Highway at the Goorganga Plains, between the airport and the world-class tourism destination of the Whitsundays, was impassable due to flooding. Flooding closes the highway at the Goorganga Plains on a regular basis and the highway can be closed for days. That poses a serious risk for businesses relying on tourists being able to come into the region, particularly when tourism is at such a slump right now.

But it is not just tourism business that is at risk because of the flooding. Lives are also at risk. On an early January morning last year, Scott Boldiston was swept off the highway at the Goorganga Plains while he was travelling to work. When he realised he had hit the water, he wound down his ute window before the power cut out so he could climb out of it. He luckily climbed a nearby tree above the raging currents of the flood waters, where he waited until he could flag someone down for help. His partner, Bridget Middleton, and their three children were terrified that Scott could have died that night. Bridget is now spearheading a petition which she intends to provide to me so we can get some action on the Goorganga Plains.

But why has it come to this? Why hasn't the Bligh Labor government not done anything about this problem? So unaware and so incompetent was the Bligh Labor government that only five years ago they did not even know what the Goorganga Plains were and they certainly did not know that it had flooded there. In the Queensland government's 2007 report Brisbane-Cairns corridor strategy, this is what it has to say about the Bruce Highway, which runs from Brisbane to Cairns:

Reliability on the corridor is also affected at times of major flooding:

…   …   …

No mention of the Goorganga Plains there. Maybe it is not considered to be major flooding, so let us read on. It says in the report:

Minor flooding occurs where the Bruce Highway crosses the Beerburrum Creek, Isis River, Six Mile and Eight Mile Creeks, Sandy Gully Creek, Yellow Gin Creek and Pound Creek.

Still no mention. Five years ago, the Department of Transport and Main Roads did not know anything about flooding on the Bruce Highway at the Goorganga Plains, or so we are led to believe by the report. Maybe the team preparing the report could not get in to look at the highway because their flight was cancelled. More likely, they did not go and have a look. Apparently, they did not even bother to ask anyone who lived in the region either. Apparently, Queensland Labor's tourism minister, Jan Jarratt, in whose electorate this problem lies, did not think it was important enough to mention to the state government back then. But late last year, just a few months out from a state election, something changed. In December last year, the Bligh Labor government released its new Bruce Highway report, Bruce Highway upgrade strategy, which states:

Flooding at Goorganga Creek floodplain generally closes highway for up to 50 hours on a regular basis

Well, frabjous day—a revelation! So, now that they have discovered where the problem is and how much of a problem it actually is, what are they going to do? The answer is: nothing will be done right now. The upgrade strategy has the Goorganga Plains flooding problem listed as something to be addressed in a decade's time.

Queensland Labor's main road minister, Craig Wallace, reckons that he has a clear vision for the Bruce Highway that includes upgrading bridges and approaches at Goorganga Plains, which he says have been identified as priorities in our plan. Well, a clear vision, a priority or a plan needs to have a dollar figure to be realised, and the reality is that the Goorganga Plains is not costed. The Department of Transport and Main Roads do not know what the cost of flood-proofing this section of the Bruce Highway will be, because the Bligh Labor government and Craig Wallace have not allocated the appropriate resources to the department to do the predesign planning work. It is not a clear vision; it is not a priority; it is not a plan. It is the bucket list, and the Goorganga Plains is at the bottom of the bucket. It will be 18 months before the predesign and planning work will be complete. The actual construction will take another 18 months to two years. That is another three wet seasons that motorists and tourist have to contend with. So every tourism dollar lost between now and then will be thanks to the current Labor member and tourism minister Jan Jarratt. But more so any life lost at the Goorganga Plains, God forbid, will be on the heads of Jan Jarratt and Craig Wallace for their inaction and indifference.

Sadly, that is not where poor representation ends for the Whitsundays, because along with rate hikes and poor infrastructure delivery there is a question of ethics that hangs over the Whitsundays mayoralty when it comes to Mr Brunker, the mayor. This was noted by the CMC, who, after investigating Mr Brunker's credit card, said there were 'issues of noncompliance with council policy concerning corporate credit card use'. Through various sources I have obtained a copy of Mr Brunker's council issued credit card accounts showing this noncompliance. Well, he is certainly no member for Dobell. Mr Brunker used and abused the ratepayer-funded—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dawson will withdraw—

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will withdraw.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And the member for Dawson has been making some fairly outrageous statements and he can get back to talking about his roads.

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will withdraw, but Mr Brunker used and abused the ratepayer-funded credit card as if it were his own. Items of expenditure can be seen indicating that Mr Brunker thought a nightly meal was part of the council package. Numerous expenses of up to $150 were made at the Horseshoe Bay Cafe, up to $82 at the Central Hotel, up to $173 at the Queens Beach hotel, up to $76 at the Denison Hotel and one $25 charge at Bowen Eagle Boys. Bowen ratepayers would not be too pleased to know their rate dollars went toward the mayor's lunch and wine with anchovies.

It gets worse when you look at Mr Brunker's wheeling and dealing with local developers. Here are some facts. Fact 1: Mr Brunker received assistance during the 2008 local government elections from a local property developer in the Whitsundays. That developer organised a function for Mr Brunker. Fact 2: Mr Brunker has assisted the developer and his companies in getting their developments through council. In a newsletter to shareholders, the developer says he can use Mr Brunker as a strike weapon to get council to prepare a package of conditions that include a full master plan. Fact 3: at Mr Brunker's pushing, the council purchased a block of land owned by the developer to turn it into a sports park. According to two other councillors who spoke to me, Mr Brunker was instrumental in facilitating meetings regarding the purchase of this block of land. Fact 4: the block of land cost the developer $1.442 million in May 2009. Fact 5: this decision was against the wishes of the local sporting community and also against recommendations by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and an independent consultant contracted by council to look into community sporting facilities. Fact 6: the block of land was purchased by Mr Brunker's council for $2.42 million in mid 2010.

So the facts of the matter are that a developer helped Mr Brunker to get elected to be mayor. Mr Brunker then facilitated the purchase of a block of land owned by the developer for $1 million more than it was actually worth, against the wishes of the community, against the recommendations of Main Roads and against the recommendations of council's own consultant looking into this matter. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to complaints that have come to me surrounding Mr Brunker's ethics. The upcoming local government elections give the people of the Whitsundays, Proserpine, Bowen and Collinsville a chance to resolve the question of ethics with the mayoralty once and for all, and the answer must be that Mr Brunker has to go.