Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak in the parliament today in relation to the so-called Goodna bypass project, which is of very deep interest to the constituents of the Ryan electorate, particularly the residents of the Moggill and Bellbowrie parts of the western suburbs of the Ryan electorate. I refer to the lead story on the front page of today’s Courier-Mail which talked about the cost of the Goodna bypass being double what was initially proposed. I am delighted that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services is in the House today because I think it is important that the minister is aware of my concerns as the federal member for Ryan and is aware of the issues in the electorate.

I again want to put on the record for the benefit of Ryan constituents and particularly new residents in the Ryan electorate that my position remains unchanged in relation to the Goodna bypass project. My position is that I would support very strongly a project that involved two bridges crossing the river into the Ryan electorate. I would not support any proposal from the Commonwealth and the state steering committee that recommended more bridges than that. I do not think that is appropriate, I do not think it is feasible and I do not think it is in the interests of getting infrastructure constructed in Queensland that will make a very big difference. Of course, we know how lacking in financial support and commitment the Queensland Labor government has been in terms of infrastructure projects in Queensland. This is why the Commonwealth is heavily involved in this proposal.

I want to make it very clear to all the people of Ryan, particularly the new residents of Ryan—because every year many new people move into the Ryan electorate—that my position is unchanged. I am very disappointed that this story has taken on an enormous amount of deception in the media, which of course has affected many constituents. I did receive an email from constituents who now believe that my position has changed and that there is therefore some funny business going on within the government and state government in the steering committee. There is no funny business going on.

The Maunsell report into this project has not been released. Therefore, I am not in a position to advise my constituents of the final position. Suffice to say, I will remain unchanged in my position. I have been working very closely with my good friend and colleague the member for Blair, who must take a lot of credit—indeed all the credit—for ensuring that the Commonwealth pays a lot of attention to this. We do need infrastructure. Quite properly, the Commonwealth is investing significant amounts of money into the south-east corner and the western suburbs of Brisbane. And we are, of course, addressing the terrible traffic problems of the Ipswich Motorway. Quite frankly, the Queensland government’s suggestion that the Ipswich Motorway should be widened is just not feasible. At the moment, some 100,000 vehicles use it. By the time the widening of the motorway would be completed the traffic on that would have doubled, so really we would have had no net progress whatsoever. This is a very visionary project. This is a very important infrastructure project. The Commonwealth is committed to it.

As the member for the western suburbs, the member for Ryan, I express very strongly in the parliament to my constituents that my position remains unchanged. I went to the last election on that position and the people of Ryan indeed voted very strongly and increased my margin. Therefore, I had no hesitation in maintaining my position. This is a decision I am taking in the interests of not only Queensland but also that part of Brisbane. Any suggestion to the contrary by anybody—and I refer to certain contact from my constituents—has no basis to it whatsoever. This is a government that is very strongly committed to infrastructure projects and very strongly committed to making a difference in the traffic related issues of the western suburbs of Brisbane. I do of course encourage the Commonwealth government to come to a conclusion as soon as possible after the vacation. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.