Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the black spot funding program, which has been axed under this government. I'm sure that the Labor government realises the impact—well, I'm not actually sure that they realise the impact of this decision to cut funding for road safety, and the effect that it has on my people in the electorate of Dawson. So I'm here to help educate them.

It's plain and simple, really. Labor's decisions are endangering the lives of the people in my electorate of Dawson, and others who live in rural and regional Australia. I wouldn't be doing my job if I just sat back and let that happen. It is my duty to be their voice and to stand up and fight for their rights and safety. You might think, 'Hang on a second; surely the government wouldn't be putting the Australian public in danger.' Let me put it to you this way: so far this year, according to the latest Queensland road crash weekly report, Queensland has lost 190 lives on its roads. Statistically speaking, two-thirds of all of those road fatalities have occurred in regional areas.

An article published just over a week ago in Mackay's local newspaper detailed 13 fatalities on the region's roads; that's since the start of the year alone. Eight of those have occurred in the last eight weeks, and that is just one section of my electorate. For the past 27 years, every side of government has backed this crucial funding to black spot projects nationwide, yet, for some reason, the Albanese Labor government has made the decision to strip away $69 million worth of funding, with nearly $10 million of that being removed from vital projects in Queensland. To add to this insanity, the Albanese Labor government announced these funding cuts in the same week a report identified rural and regional areas as a major cause of fatalities.

'So what are they going to do with this money instead,' I hear you ask. It's going towards funding projects like the upgrade to the Gabba, a sporting facility. Once again, the Albanese Labor government has its priorities totally in the wrong areas. According to reports, motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 factor causing death and injury in the workplace. In a time of a Labor-created cost-of-living crisis, when families in rural and regional areas are struggling to make ends meet and every dollar counts, the Labor government is now making something as simple as driving to and from work, or driving for work, a potential death trap. For the people of Dawson, our roads aren't a wish-list item; they are a necessity. They are the arteries to the heart. We don't have trams or trains like the big cities. For most people, our roads are the only way to work, the only way to see their family and the only way to access essential services like health.

There are currently eight black spot projects that are yet to be completed in Dawson; not one has been completed under the current Labor government. Anyone who's been to North Queensland would know the state of the Bruce Highway. Under the previous coalition government there was funding allocated towards improvement repairs, but this funding has been sat on by the Queensland Labor government and now the Albanese Labor government are intent on leaving identified black spot funding and hazards behind for the foreseeable future.

My job is to fight for the rights of the people of Dawson, and let me tell you: the people in rural and regional areas have the right to be safe on their roads, just like everybody in the big cities. By investing fewer funds in our regional areas, especially in areas that are heavily impacted by natural disasters, the standard only falls further behind. This is unacceptable. On this issue, I am pleading with the Albanese Labor government to seriously reconsider their decision. I ask that they do the right thing and reinstate the funding so our local councils in rural and regional areas can carry out the upgrades to our roads, so that identified black spots can be addressed and fixed, and no longer be a constant threat to people's lives. Please reconsider the risks you are putting on people in rural and regional areas, like my people in the electorate of Dawson.