Labor goes slow on Cooroy to Curra
5th May, 2010
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss today said it was astonishing that the Rudd Labor Government has admitted that it has no date in mind for the completion of the four laning of the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra.A spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese recently declared that it was ‘impossible’ for the Minister to know how long it would take to upgrade the 61 kilometre section to four lanes.
“We knew that Mr Albanese had so far refused to make a commitment to the full project. We did not know that he does not even have a schedule in mind for the completion of the project,” Mr Truss said.
“Minister Albanese is capable of regularly trotting out press releases providing updates about progress of the realignment of the road around the non-existent Traveston Crossing dam, so why can he not tell us when the full Cooroy to Curra project will be finished?”
The former Coalition Government had committed to completing the four laning of the Highway between Cooroy and Curra and the bypass around Gympie by 2020.
“The project could be completed easily within that time with the money that the Rudd Labor Government has wasted on its bungled home insulation scheme and the rorted school building program,” Mr Truss said.
“It is obvious that Labor lacks the will to fix the rest of the dangerous section between Cooroy and Curra.
“The Cooroy to Curra section is one of the deadliest parts of the Highway. It connects the Sunshine, Cooloola and Fraser Coasts to Brisbane and other northern towns and communities, but the Rudd Labor Government has no plan to fix it,” Mr Truss said.
“It is clear that Rudd Labor’s interest in the Bruce Highway has only extended as far as Bligh Labor’s Traveston Crossing dam.
“Even with this project, Labor is not delivering the road in the best and most cost effective way.
“The Rudd and Bligh Labor Governments refused to listen to the people and now we are to be stuck with a route that is longer and more expensive than the community’s preferred option.
“The Government has had long enough now to schedule the funding for the full construction of the Cooroy to Curra section. Road users want to know that the realignment around the Traveston Crossing dam will be quickly joined to the four lane Highway south of Cooroy and that the remaining parts of the road north to Curra will be promptly programmed for construction as part of an orderly plan.”
