Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

People who travel the Great Western Highway across the Blue Mountains are facing a terrible situation, with the highway closed and a detour in place because of defects at the historic Victoria Pass convict bridge. Safety comes first, and the New South Wales government is working quickly to identify the issues. They're diligently working through the problem, looking for potential solutions. This is difficult terrain. If the fix was easy, it would have been done long ago. That's why I think everyone's priority is getting the existing convict era bridge reopened as soon as it's safe to do so.

At a federal level, we've made investments in this vital road corridor with improvements, most recently at Little Hartley and Medlow Bath, but all of us know there is significant and difficult work to be done to improve the Great Western Highway, especially between Katoomba and Mount Victoria—and urgently now down the Victoria Pass. My state colleague Trish Doyle and I are determined to see ongoing improvements to the Great Western Highway.

The federal government provides funding for projects following requests from state governments. The state government is then responsible for planning and delivering these projects. We have a budget coming up. If Minister Aitchison in New South Wales puts a budget request on this to Minister King, I'll be backing that investment and backing my community.