Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak of great news for the electorate of Bonner. As thousands of my constituents on the Bayside would know, I've been fighting to fix the Lindum low-level crossing since 2017. There's not a week that goes by that I'm not speaking to people at the Manly markets down Edith Street in Wynnum or visiting Lindum and witnessing the horrors of this intersection firsthand. I've collected more than 7,000 signatures to fix Lindum. I've hosted many ministers, senators and local people at the intersection to call for a fix, and I've been working hard with the Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population, the Hon. Alan Tudge, to secure funding to fix this crossing. Thanks to the Morrison government's strong economic management, the community's full support and my strong advocacy, we've done it. I'm pleased to announce the federal government will contribute $85 million to fix Lindum crossing in Wynnum West.

In addition to this, newly elected Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has confirmed that the Brisbane City Council will also put forward $40 million for the project. The only level of government that hasn't committed funding now is the Queensland state Labor government. I've spoken to many constituents about this local traffic hazard. I've door-knocked businesses, who've told me about the horrors that they see daily as motorists rush through this intersection on their way to work or taking their children to school. Locals who live in Wynnum West dread leaving their driveways, and others just avoid it. But none of the stories have been as harrowing as the recent death of an elderly woman that occurred there and the toll that it took on the local students, passengers, train driver and commuters who witnessed this tragedy.

Father Michael Twigg of Iona College has personally thanked me for delivering this funding, and he said that fixing Lindum will have a huge impact on the school community and the 1,600-plus students and their families. If the state Labor government won't listen to my pleas to fix the issue then I ask them to listen to the local community, who are sick of having to take their lives in their own hands as they cross this intersection. Once again I thank the community who have rallied behind me on this issue. We've delivered this win together. Now let's fix Lindum.