Mal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the Bruce Highway between Mooloolaba and Caloundra interchange—a critical piece of infrastructure for the people of the Sunshine Coast. I welcome to the new portfolio Minister Mark Bailey, who is the Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports in the new Queensland government. I ask him, in a bipartisan way, to reassure the local business community and the local environmental community that the money that was promised in 2013 between the then LNP government and the Liberal-National coalition in opposition will flow to this road. It is a critical road, which needs those two intersections upgraded for safety and for the flow of traffic.

I floated an idea—that is a little outside the circle—which was going to ensure that we could connect Caloundra to the Roys Road interchange through a property which is currently owned by Stockland. This has been rejected by the main roads department, which said it is not in the best interest of the community. However, the chamber of commerce, the environmental groups and the Glasshouse Mountains Advancement Network all beg to differ. I would ask the new minister to work with us to ensure that the local business community gets urgent access to new information, and that we have locally-based information sessions so certainty can abound. I reinforce the view of the local environmental groups that the loss of many hectares is unnecessary at the Caloundra interchange, and that there are better options.