Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

Just to correct the record: the reality is that I turned the first sod on this project. The workers built the project and the taxpayers are paying for it—and this government is including it in the budget. They talked; we acted. We built it! The honourable member for Capricornia and the honourable member for Flynn were strong advocates of this project, which is, incidentally, the largest bridge in regional Queensland—and it is certainly a great tribute to all of those people who were involved in building this project. This government created 200 jobs for people by constructing that bridge. Those are real jobs for people in Central Queensland.

But that is not all we have done in that area. We have a large number of significant road projects underway: there is $428 million for the Mackay Ring Road, which will create 600 jobs—and that, I know, was very much appreciated by the member for Dawson; $166 million for the Peak Downs Highway; the Kin Kora roundabout in Flynn—another 78 jobs; the Sarina Northern Access—another 32 jobs.

We are creating jobs by building the infrastructure that those regions need. We are doing that because we have the capacity, because we are running an economy that is capable of funding these worthwhile projects.

But there are threats to these jobs. The other side, at its conference, is now proposing to implement a carbon tax—to go back and introduce a turbocharged carbon tax, which will add to the cost of every road construction project in Australia. Every road construction cost will be more expensive.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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