Nicholls pledges Bruce Highway upgrades

Queensland opposition leader Tim Nicholls has announced a swag of planned Bruce Highway upgrades to make roads safer for farmers.

A swag of Queens land regional intersections and bridges deemed unsafe or flood-prone will be upgraded under a Liberal National Party government, leader Tim Nicholls has announced.

In Bundaberg on Monday, Mr Nicholls committed $360 million to fix a dozen sections of the Bruce Highway spread across the state, in addition to existing funding allocated under the state government's Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program.

Included in the works are intersection upgrades in Bowen, Proserpine, Gympie and Mackay, and improving a bridge in Currajong.

It comes on the heels of other LNP election campaign promises to boost and future-proof major Queensland roads, including plans to replicate the notoriously congested M1 motorway if elected on November 25.

In Brisbane on Monday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Radio the federal government would cover 50 per cent of the $500 million needed to complete the project, a figure Labor has said falls well below of the funds needed.

Asked whether Mr Turnbull's commitment was too modest, Mr Nicholls said an equal split had been accepted by the current state Labor government for other projects.

He was also questioned over his plans to address state debt following Mr Turnbull's remarks that it paled in significance compared to economic growth.

Current projections show Queensland's debt will reach $81 billion by 2020-2021, a figure Mr Nicholls says will not be reached if he holds the reins in parliament.

"We are going to manage debt over the economic cycle so that we can effectively, over time, make sure that we are not paying more in interest than we need to," he said, again declining to outline his party's specific plans.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world