After two years of deliberately taking away critical road, rail and water infrastructure in regional Queensland, Labor’s latest budget does more damage.
The Albanese Government’s review of the Infrastructure Investment Pipeline established a ‘Warrego Highway corridor’ derived funding allocated by the former Coalition Government.
According to the review papers, the new corridor would usurp:
• Warrego Highway Corridor (unallocated)
• Warrego Highway – Mt Crosby Road Interchange
• Warrego Highway – Toowoomba to Ipswich Future Priorities
The Warrego Highway Corridor investment package would be valued at $467.5 million. In the 2024-25 budget Labor has championed investment on the Warrego Highway of $177 million.
The budget has ignored the planned ‘Toowoomba to Ipswich’ priorities package that was previously designated for the Warrego Highway.
All of this $177 million commitment has been allocated to the 35 kilometre section in the government-held electoral division of Blair.
This has shamefully ignored that the Warrego Highway is a critical freight route in Southern Queensland that moves product from paddock to port.
The Warrego Highway is 725 kilometres in length and this Labor Government is ignoring the 690 kilometres of it out of pure political interest.
The Albanese Labor Government needs to come clean; it needs to explain where the Warrego Highway Corridor funding is, how it will be used and if this political funding in Blair is budgeted out of the corridor funding.
The people of regional Queensland, the truck drivers, farmers, mums and dads who rely on the Warrego Highway deserve an answer.
This budget was a big spending plan for an election, not a plan for our future.
This budget delivered cash for the southern states and big cities, at the expense of the regions.
ENDS.
Media contact: Greta Dwan 0414 211 908
