Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to draw the House's attention to the great work we are doing to improve the infrastructure on the Bruce Highway in the Flynn electorate. For example, we have been proactive in improving the highway on several projects: $170 million has been spent on the Yeppen Floodplain south of Rockhampton; $7.65 million on the upgrade of the Benaraby junction , with double overtaking lanes; $1.8 million on lane widening north of Benaraby junction, which is to begin very soon; construction of a new Eight Mile Creek bridge near Bajool; the $155 million crossroads at Calliope; the grossly needed upgrade north and south at Gin Gin, where we took out the Big Dipper, which was one of the worst spots on the Bruce Highway; and $25 million at the Kin Kora roundabout in Gladstone, 50 per cent federally funded and the rest by the state. On the Bruce Highway, generally the basis for funding is broken up on the ratio of four parts to the federal government and one part to the state.

But we do need to do a lot more work on our internal roads to support our agribusiness and to back up our FTAs that we have recently signed. For example, the Proston-Boondooma Road in South Burnett deserves attention. Upgrading this road has economic benefits for all local businesses, including the Smithfield Feedlot. Smithfield have 20,000 head of cattle in their feedlots, employ about 40 staff and contribute about $2.3 million in wages each year to the local economy around Proston. They move around 1,700 B-doubles a year. The last 30 kilometres of the road are not accessible by B-doubles. Smithfield currently pay $6 per tonne for feed and $5 per head in additional transport costs. It would be a shame to lose this business to feedlots in the south, out of my electorate. The estimated cost of road upgrades is about $16 million to $20 million, but the upgrade will save jobs and improve business productivity.

The road from Gladstone to Biloela is a well-used road, but there are six bridges on that road which have weight restrictions, and this stops road trains from coming into Gladstone. This is essential if the Gladstone port, which is one of the largest ports in Queensland, is to thrive and prosper with new products and new primary production, including the transport of cattle and other products produced in the Central Highlands and the Callide and Dawson valleys. It will also improve safety for people travelling on those roads. Every time you unhook a road train, it will cost time and energy and a lot more movements of the prime mover on the road.

I want to finish the job started by the Queensland government and the federal government on the Monto-Mount Perry Road. This is another piece of infrastructure that we certainly need to address. This is at a cost of $12 million, and where are all these dollars going to come from? But I think the question is that the amount of extra dollars produces an income, and it is economically viable for those businesses to have better roads.

The Theodore to Cracow road needs upgrading. It is partly done from Cracow to Eidsvold, but it needs the other 30 kilometres linked to that road so it gives a through bypass, which will benefit cattle movements, and there is a gold mine at Cracow that also creates a lot of transport. The other roads in the area are very numerous—Springsure to Tambo, Rolleston to Blackwater, Taroom to Bauhinia Downs and Bauhinia Downs to Woorabinda. All of these roads need to be upgraded to allow efficient movement of cattle and other products including grain along these highways.

The Mundubbera-Durong Road is necessary. Blueberries are a new industry in my part of the world. Blueberries are now being flown direct from Toowoomba at the Wellcamp airport straight into China for consumption on the very next day. This will continue as our free trade agreements begin to work. In Agnes Water and Baffle Creek, the Deepwater National Park road hook-up is also essential. So there are many projects we need to work on, but of course they all take money.