Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, in a scene too familiar to residents in my electorate of Fisher, there was a serious accident on the Bruce Highway. An overturned truck blocked both northbound lanes and thousands of people were trapped stationary on the closed road for many, many hours. Our community needs action to improve this notorious road, and the coalition government are delivering. Since my election, we've committed $3.13 billion to much-needed upgrades between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, and works are already underway now between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway. Among other funding, we've committed further packages of $530 million and $880 million to upgrades between Caloundra Road and Pine Rivers, which should allow us to deliver three flood-proof lanes each way.

Queensland Labor minister Mark Bailey recently delivered, more than nine months late, just one of the three project-planning reports we need to progress these upgrades. I encourage the Deputy Prime Minister to consider the one report as soon as possible. However, despite his promises to have planning for this section of the highway complete by the end of 2017, we are still waiting for two further planning reports from Minister Bailey. I want to see the federal government's money invested as soon as possible, so I say again to Minister Bailey: the Sunshine Coast is waiting; stop the delays and get us all three planning reports that we need now.