Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Capricornia funds the wealth of the nation, but it seems the nation won't fund Capricornia. Labor have cut $1.6 billion in vital regional and rural project funding that the coalition fought for, with no regard for the costs and the losses that this will bring to businesses and their families in Central Queensland. The Prime Minister and the minister for infrastructure have delayed vital funding to the Rockhampton Ring Road. Hundreds of trucks must pass through 19 sets of traffic lights to travel through Rockhampton. Emergency service vehicles have delays, and they cannot get through the traffic on the existing bridges. The coalition fought for the Rockhampton Ring Road funding, but Labor have decided to delay it, after they had committed to it previously. Cost blowouts from $1 billion to $1.7 billion are being used to justify the axing. Well, Prime Minister, construction costs are only going to rise over the next two years. There's no better time than now to start construction on the Rockhampton Ring Road.

I joined over 500 people in Rockhampton last week to rally against the cuts the government has made to the ring road funding. Organisers are in Canberra today to plead the case to the Prime Minister. They are up in the gallery here now. As the federal member for Capricornia I do not accept the painful blow that the federal government has dealt to the regional and rural communities. This money needs to be reinstated now.