THE HON BILL SHORTEN MP
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
MEMBER FOR MARIBYRNONG
THE HON ANTHONY ALBANESE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT
MEMBER FOR GRAYNDLER
LABOR TO UNLOCK M1 BOTTLENECK
A Shorten Labor Government will invest $168 million to upgrade the Gateway-M1 merge to ease congestion and boost productivity in one of the fast-growing regions of Queensland.
With congestion in this busy area frequently causing long queues and delays for motorists, Labor will add additional southbound lanes on the M1 between Eight Mile Plans and Springwood to improve the merge with the Gateway Motorway.
Under existing conditions, seven lanes merge into three at this bottleneck.
The $210 million upgrade, to be delivered in conjunction with the Queensland Labor Government, will significantly improve productivity by reducing travelling times, not just for commuters, but also for trucks moving freight around the region.
Jim Chalmers and Des Hardman have been relentless campaigners for this much-needed upgrade – this announcement is due to their tireless work and fierce campaigning.
The upgrade is the perfect example of how the Commonwealth can work with state governments to unlock productivity gains and significantly improve liveability in our cities.
Labor will put people in the Brisbane-Logan-Gold Coast corridor first by lowering traffic build-up and easing congestion on this nationally significant highway.
The project is already listed on Infrastructure Australia’s national priority list.
Traffic congestion remains one of the nation’s most-serious economic challenges, with Infrastructure Australia warning the problem will cost the nation $53 billion a year in lost productivity without action now.
A Shorten Labor Government will confront the problem head-on by investing in strategically important road projects as well as the public transport that is needed to take cars off our busy roads.
It contrast the Abbott-Turnbull Government has failed to achieve progress on major road projects, actually cutting investment in the important upgrades of the Bruce and Pacific Highways.
These failures are reflected in Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing public sector infrastructure investment fell by 20 per cent between the September quarter of 2013 and the September quarter of 2015.
Labor has a strong record of investing in the M1, with millions of dollars’ worth of upgrades to the road paid for and completed when we were last in Government.
Despite the Liberals’ big talk on the M1, they haven’t provided a single cent for upgrades since taking office.
WEDNESDAY, 27 APRIL 2016
