Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The people of Brisbane's western suburbs are sick of being stuck in traffic, sick of bottlenecks and sick of spending more time in congestion than with their families. The Morrison government has committed to several projects for residents in the Ryan electorate to get them home sooner and safer, but these can only be fixed when all levels of government work together. Unfortunately locals are still being roadblocked by the state Labor government. We, the Morrison government, have committed $12.5 million to fix the Kenmore roundabout. This pinch point is not only adding to congestion on Moggill Road but it is not currently a safe access to Kenmore Village, a busy shopping precinct.

Despite the state Labor government being dragged kicking and screaming to the table to finally match the commitment, for months we have had radio silence from the Labor state Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey. That was until last week when, after much poking and prodding on my behalf, he finally sent me a letter to say that, at this time, they could not provide further project details. Well done, Labor minister! You've literally sent me an update to say that there is no update, that you have done no work to progress this project, despite the Morrison government's commitment to fund it. My response to Labor is: this is not good enough. Residents expect Labor to act better when it comes to helping reduce congestion in our suburbs.

In stark contrast, the other major commitment, just down the road at Indooroopilly, is where the Morrison government is working with Adrian Schrinner, our lord mayor, and the council to fix the Indooroopilly roundabout. Brisbane City Council, unlike the Labor state government, have got straight on with the job. They presented two options, asked locals for feedback, listened to that feedback and amended the design, announced that the popular overpass option would proceed, and they are getting on with the job of construction. This is what happens when you have two levels of government working together to help reduce congestion in our suburbs.

But we can't take the support of council for granted, because it is only Adrian Schrinner and the LNP team who are committed to working with the Morrison government to bust congestion. Despite this roundabout, this important bottleneck in our community, having 32 serious traffic incidents recorded between 2013 and 2018, with 10 requiring hospitalisation and a further 17 requiring medical treatment; despite this bottleneck keeping people from their families and from their homes; despite all of this, the lord mayoral Labor candidate doesn't support this project, calling it a 'wicked, wicked waste'. It just goes to show that only the LNP are dedicated to making sure we reduce congestion in our suburbs. (Time expired)