In last October’s Federal Budget, Central Queensland got the shocking news that the new Labor Government had put on hold the Rockhampton Ring Road “indefinitely”.
I was expecting a new Labor Government to cut regional infrastructure as they always do but I was shocked that Labor chose this project to target.
The Rockhampton Ring Road had bipartisan support. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had said “Rockhampton Ring Road a Certainty Under Labor”. So the project had not been a hot topic of political discussion for years. It was going through the routine arrangements of procurement and delivery by diligent public servants. Tenders had been issued and local contractors were just months from starting a big job they had spent money preparing for.
Those local businesses were left high and dry by Labor’s unexpected cut to the Rockhampton Ring Road. But they refused to take Labor’s ignorance of the regions lying down.
Within weeks they had established a new organisation, “Start Rockhampton Ring Road”. Hats and shirts were printed, a rally was held in Rockhampton and a convoy that I joined travelled all the way to Canberra to demonstrate why this project was needed not just for Central Queensland but the whole country.
Our story was an easy one to sell. There are 19 traffic lights along the Rockhampton section of the Bruce Highway that hold up major freight for up to an hour travelling through Rockhampton. This costs the whole country in a higher cost of delivered produce from North Queensland like bananas, avocados and pineapples.
The Rockhampton Ring Road would also make it easier for all of us to get around town. The road will link up the coast, the university, and the Parkhurst and Gracemere industrial estates. This will make getting to and from work and school easier for thousands of us.
Around 2000 trucks a day travel along the road past four schools. This is a headache for parents every school day and it is just not safe for our children.
The efforts of locals to highlight the need for the Rocky Ring Road has been successful to date. The Labor Government now says that it will start the Ring Road this year overturning its decision in the budget last year. However, the road is still not fully funded.
The costs of the project came in at $1.7 billion compared to an initial estimate of $1.1 billion. Labor tried to use these cost increases as an excuse not to do the project. But the cost of everything is going up and it only seems to be cost increases on regional projects that cause them to be cut.
Brisbane’s Cross River Rail has blown out by billions yet it continues. And the upgrade of the Gabba for the Olympics will now cost $2.7 billion, up from an initial estimate of $1 billion. There is not even a suggestion that Labor will change its plans for Brisbane’s Olympics infrastructure.
Given the shocking cuts of Labor’s first budget, it is with some trepidation that I anticipate Labor’s second budget next week. The omens are not great with Labor leaking to the media this week that it was set to start a 90-day review of $120 billion of infrastructure funding.
Hopefully our efforts will not go unrewarded and we will get good news with new funding for the Rocky Ring Road. However, if not, I know that Central Queenslanders will fight hard for their region again.
