Truss to Government: Listen to the community and get on with it
20th February, 2009
Reports the Federal Government has decided to re-route the Bruce Highway around the site of the proposed Traveston Crossing dam demonstrates a total disregard of the community’s preferred option to four lane the Highway close to the existing road, Federal Member for Wide Bay and Shadow Minister for Transport Warren Truss said.The former Coalition Federal Government with the State Labor Government undertook extensive community consultations to determine the best route for four laning the Highway between Cooroy and Curra.
“Almost two years were spent talking with local community groups and there was virtually unanimous agreement that the best route would be one broadly following the existing road. This option is also shorter and cheaper to build and would have less adverse environmental and community impacts.
“That work has now been wasted and the Labor Government has apparently decided to override the community’s wishes. Why?” Mr Truss asked.
“I have one simple message for the Government. Listen to the community and get on with building this road.”
Mr Truss said it is hard not to be suspicious that changing the preferred route was further proof of the Labor Government’s commitment to go ahead with building the Traveston Crossing dam.
“This announcement seems to confirm that if Labor wins the Queensland election, its dam plan will proceed, irrespective of the environmental or community consequences. It exposes Anna Bligh’s shelving of the dam as a pre-election con.”
Mr Truss said he was disappointed that Labor continues to misrepresent the Coalition’s $700 million allocation for the first stages of the Cooroy to Curra project.
“The Coalition committed $700 million to upgrade the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway from the $22.3 billion Auslink 2 program. It is the same source of funds from which Labor made their $200 million commitment, and Labor has chosen to spend the other $500 million on other projects.
“The money we all want now to be allocated to the Bruce Highway is the extra funding Labor proposes to borrow for its Infrastructure Australia projects.”
Mr Truss also warned that the Federal Government’s decision to pick up the cost of what was going to be Queensland’s contribution to the road around the dam meant that the project was now even more chronically under-funded.
