The Courier Mail: Queensland Government plan to upgrade M1 is for Federal Government to pay

IN JUNE this year, Prime Minister Turnbull announced $215 million of federal funding towards two major projects to upgrade the M1 motorway, following determined advocacy by two LNP Federal MPs.

Bert van Manen, Member for Forde, successfully made the case for $105 million to widen the M1 to five lanes from the Gateway Motorway merge to past the Rochedale Rd off-ramp.

Karen Andrews, member for McPherson, secured a $110 million commitment to upgrade the M1 from four lanes to six between Robina Town Centre Drive and Reedy Creek Rd.

Bert van Manen and Karen Andrews have made the job of the Queensland Government much easier. Everyone knows that the M1 is under pressure and needs extra capacity – but big road projects cost a lot of money.

The Federal Government’s announcement means that half the cost of these projects is now fully provided for. We have taken two of the biggest items on the wish list of Queensland Roads Minister Mark Bailey and moved them from the ‘maybe, someday’ column to the ‘ready to go’ column.

You would expect Mark Bailey to be pleased – and to be rolling up his sleeves to find the remaining money required so these vitally needed projects can get started.

Not a bit of it. His response has been to complain, loudly and repeatedly, that the Federal Government has offered funding on a 50:50 basis while we are funding Pacific Highway upgrades in NSW on an 80:20 basis.

According to Mark, we have reneged on a policy that the Federal Government will always provide 80:20 funding for country roads; it only does 50:50 for city roads.

It’s just not true. There is no such principle. Mark has not been able to point to any document which lays out such a principle – and the facts about road funding over the last decade or more make it clear that the funding basis varies from project to project.

For example, between 2008-09 and 2013-14, the Federal Government provided a total of $455 million to upgrade the M1, on the Gateway to Logan and Nerang to Tugun sections. All of this was on a 50:50 basis – under a federal Labor government and state Labor and LNP governments.

The Federal and Queensland Governments are funding the latest upgrade to the Ipswich Motorway (Darra to Rocklea) on a 50:50 basis and 50:50 applies in other states too. Recently, the Federal Government committed $1.5 billion of funding to Victorian road and rail projects, on a 50:50 basis.

In Adelaide, the Torrens to Torrens project is funded 50:50 between the Commonwealth and SA governments.

It is true that some sections of the Pacific Highway in NSW are funded on an 80:20 basis; but other sections in NSW are funded on a 50:50 basis, such as the $614 million Frederickton to Eungai section, opened a few weeks ago, and the $780 million Nambucca Heads to Urunga section.

There are also 80:20 projects in Queensland, as well as some which are 100 per cent funded by the Federal Government such as a $195 million project to upgrade four intersections between Caboolture and Caloundra on the Bruce Highway.

Indeed the Federal Government is investing more than $13 billion in Queensland infrastructure including $6.7 billion for the Bruce Highway, $1.14 billion for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, $914 million for Gateway Motorway North, $200 million for the Ipswich Motorway and $95 million for Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 2.

The Federal Government balances up the infrastructure needs of every part of Australia – and we aim to work constructively with state governments.

We can best support state governments which have their own proactive strategy to fund major projects. In New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, for example, governments are privatising existing assets such as ports and electricity networks, raising billions of dollars to reinvest in vitally needed new infrastructure.

But the Queensland Labor Government has refused to consider such a strategy; it abandoned work done by the previous LNP government which would have set up Queensland to make similar infrastructure investments.

Instead, it seems from Mark Bailey’s complaints that the Queensland Government’s plan to fund infrastructure is for the Federal Government to pay for it all.

The Turnbull Government stands ready to work constructively with the Queensland Government on road funding. That is best achieved through constructive mutual dialogue rather than politically motivated blame shifting and finger pointing.

Paul Fletcher is the Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure.

The original article appeared here: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-queensland-government-plan-to-upgrade-m1-is-for-federal-government-to-pay/news-story/78fe00155b7254a3188c11392d765dbe