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

The electorate of Forde is the epicentre of one of the fastest-growing regions in Queensland, the south-east corner. South-East Queensland is expected to grow by up to 2.2 million people by 2046, and yet we see this government keeps putting critical infrastructure in our region on the backburner. The coalition understands that to properly plan for future growth you need to invest in the infrastructure that will allow that to occur. Far too often, we have seen massive new developments around the south-east corner, yet the infrastructure is not put in place in a timely manner and we finish up with roads and other services that are no longer fit for purpose.

That is why during the 2022 election the coalition committed $55 million to upgrade Exit 38 on the M1 at Yatala. This $110 million project, jointly funded by the Queensland state government, would improve access to one of the largest industrial zones outside of Brisbane, at the northern end of the Gold Coast, whilst also decreasing travel times for tens of thousands of commuters along this vital piece of infrastructure.

One of the really concerning pieces to do with this exit is the queue of traffic that builds up from that exit during peak hour, back along the M1 into a 110-kilometre-an-hour zone. This is incredibly dangerous. There have been innumerable accidents along that stretch of road as a result, and it's well past time that this exit was upgraded.

Since the election, I have written to the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, highlighting the importance of these projects in the local area. I do want to thank the minister for her time last week to catch up and discuss some of these projects. And yet we have seen no commitments to these projects actually being funded, including the ones we had previously announced, even in the 2019 campaign. The recently announced 90-day independent strategic review puts at risk projects like the Chambers Flat Road upgrade between Park Ridge Road and Derby Road; the upgraded High Road and Easterly Street at Waterford; and the upgrade of the Beaudesert-Beenleigh Road to Milne Street section, to name just a few.

These funded, targeted upgrades will cut travel time drastically—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 16:20 to 16:29

In the short remaining time, I will say it's disappointing to see the future of these projects now in doubt. Once again, I've written to the minister for infrastructure highlighting the importance of these projects, I've also provided a submission to the review. I'm committed to seeing these upgrades across the electorate of Forde to ensure our community is properly serviced with the infrastructure it needs.