The federal government has rejected claims it is overlooking major infrastructure projects in Queensland.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie today claimed the federal government was ignoring Queensland, after a draft list revealed almost 30 infrastructure projects earmarked for federal funding could be cut down to just seven.
“It beggars belief and makes no sense why the federal Labor government would take these priority projects off these lists for funding in the future,” Bleijie said.
Among those that have been dropped are the future stages of the Sunshine Coast rail line and the Mooloolah River Interchange.
Leaders like Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said projects taken off the list were “absolutely vital to our future”.
“We already feel like we’re stuck in traffic. We already feel like we have a substandard public transport system,” Natoli said.
“We need to provide a public transport system that gets people moving around the Sunshine Coast in a way that is ready for the future.”
9News understands many of the projects, including upgrades along the M1, are being dropped because they are already funded and are under construction.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the deputy premier’s comments “frankly ridiculous”.
“If you think about that $7.2 billion investment in the Bruce [Highway], if you think about that $2.75 billion investment in Sunshine Coast Rail, I think the total is about $28 billion of investment in Queensland,” Chalmers said.
The list, compiled by independent statutory body Infrastructure Australia, is still up for consultation, leading the state’s leaders to urge Infrastructure Minister Catherine King to reconsider the projects on the table.
King said the priority list had not been finalised and the Queensland government could provide input to Infrastructure Australia on additional projects to inform the list.
Opposition Leader Steven Miles backed the federal government’s actions.
“Infrastructure Australia is independent of the Australian government,” Miles said.
“If you want to look at the Australian government’s priorities, well, the place to look for that is in their budget.”
