Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to reflect on the inaction of the Queensland government. As children return to school and parents return to work, commuters in south-east Queensland are reminded of the Queensland Labor government's failure to act as they sit in the daily gridlock on the M1 motorway, which is part of the Pacific Highway network. Caused by local commuter traffic, the M1 motorway is nearing capacity during peak hours. Often from as far south as Beenleigh, every morning, commuters heading into Brisbane face the stop-and-go congestion of the failed planning and inaction of the Queensland Labor government. The problem re-occurs in the afternoon. As commuters head home from work or the school pick-up, once again they are faced with a gridlocked M1 at the Gateway Motorway merge. A journey that should only takes 10 minutes can take up to an hour and sometimes even longer. Upgrading the M1 motorway between the Logan and Gateway motorways is a $1 billion project that requires a business case. My colleague the member for McPherson, Karen Andrews, also battles congestion issues on her patch of the Pacific Highway. The business case will also cover upgrade plans for her electorate. The Queensland government has indicated that this business case will cost $20 million to complete. I would like to commend my colleague the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, for providing an in principle commitment to fund 50 per cent of the costs to see this business case get underway. It is a funding commitment that is consistent with previous Australian funding commitments on the M1.

Unfortunately, the Queensland Labor government are yet to respond to the offer—an offer that was put forward months ago. While residents from the Gold Coast, Logan and Brisbane sit in traffic Queensland Labor members are sitting on their hands. I am calling on the Queensland government to get off their hands, write a cheque and complete this business case. The longer Queensland Labor take to complete this the longer commuters in my electorate of Forde will be waiting in M1 gridlock.

The residents and businesses of Forde need the M1 upgraded desperately to help our region grow and prosper. Commuters from Logan and the Gold Coast need this upgrade, the South-East Queensland business community needs this upgrade and the incompetent Queensland Labor government are doing nothing about it. By failing to act Queensland Labor are disrespecting commuters of South-East Queensland and are sentencing them to years of gridlock pain.

By playing politics with this important issue Queensland Labor are potentially robbing our region of millions of dollars in vital infrastructure upgrades. Queensland Labor need to stop pointing the finger at the federal government and look at themselves. This local traffic is caused by bad planning and it is now their responsibility to fix this. The Queensland government need to complete this business case because we need the M1 upgraded now, not later. We need action now, not tall stories and excuses. Logan and Gold Coast commuters do not want to spend hours out of their day stuck in traffic when they could be home with their families or building their businesses to create jobs and wealth for our local communities. It is time to get the M1 upgraded.