Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, the Service Economy and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about an important local issue for my constituents on the Gold Coast, and that is the Queensland Labor government’s decision to close the Worongary North-Elysium Road Interchange—that is, exit 75 on the M1. I spoke to thousands of local residents in that community and wrote directly to them seeking their opinions and views about whether or not exit 75 should be closed. What came back in a very resounding and clear way to me was the universal view of residents in that part of the Gold Coast that they did not want exit 75 closed. I had over 640 local residents sign a petition and write, together with me, to the state Labor Premier to say: ‘We do not want this road closed. Do not close this exit. It is a bad decision.’ They asked the state Labor Premier to listen to the local community, recognise the very negative impact there would be on the local community as a result of this exit closure and, most importantly, make sure that the state Labor government actually took into account the concerns of the thousands of local residents in the community.

I wrote that letter—a copy of which is here—to the state Labor Premier on 10 October last year. And I am yet to receive a reply. I am not surprised that the state Labor Premier is not prepared to write back to me. But I am surprised that the state Labor Premier would turn her back on and ignore the thousands of local residents on whose behalf I wrote this letter and who were happy to sign my petition. I take this chance to implore the local state Labor MP, Di Reilly, who says on her website, in the first line under her welcome message:

A good local MP stays in touch with local residents.

The first sentence! That is not worth the paper it is printed out on. It is very clear that the local state Labor MP is not prepared to stay in touch with local residents, is not prepared to talk to local residents about this issue and would rather put her fingers in her ears or put her head in the sand and not listen.

The coalition federal government put $455 million on the table for the widening of the M1. I would like the new Rudd Labor government to make sure that, if that money is going to be spent on this project—as it should be—the Queensland Labor government listens to local residents and does not close exit 75. I urge the local Labor MP: please, talk to Good Stuff Bakery’s Nick Horgan; talk to Karen Fullarton from City Link Tiles; talk to Mark Bonner from Cut Price Fencing; and talk to Bob Gibson from Bisy Recycling. I have spoken to all of them. They highlight the way this exit closure will have an adverse impact on them and will push heavy vehicles through local neighbourhoods. It is a bad decision. The state Labor government should listen to the community and, most importantly, should respond to my letter and the letters of 640 locals. (Time expired)