Campbell Newman promises inland highway for Queensland ROSANNE BARRETT THE AUSTRALIAN JANUARY 15, 2015 3:41PM ROAD upgrades to create an inland highway through Queensland will be built under a Newman government election commitment. The $375m series of projects from Cairns through Charters Towers, Emerald, Toowoomba, Warwick to NSW will create freight links and allow a second route as a backup for coastal flooding of the Bruce Highway. Speaking in Emerald today, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said the upgrades would allow the opening up of further tourism across the region. “We will see far more people going west of the Dividing Range and that’s a great thing,” he said. Projects will start from next year and roll out over six years. Mr Newman also announced $500m to continue the royalties of regions program allowing councils to apply for infrastructure-project funding. Both initiatives are funded from the centrepiece of the Liberal National Party’s re-election campaign, the asset privatisation plan. They expect a minimum of $37bn to pour into state coffers from the sale of electricity networks and ports and have committed $8.6bn to infrastructure. A $25bn lump sum will go to paying down debt to about $55bn this financial year, cutting interest-rate payments $1.5bn a year. The Australian today reported one of the reasons for the jump to an early election was so Queensland could be first in line to apply for the federal government’s asset-recycling scheme, which provides a 15 per cent bonus for privatisation. NSW has also committed to selling assets but will wait for the March election to start their divestment. Mr Newman said the 99-year leases would qualify for the scheme. The Premier also suggested electricity prices would stay the same or even decline with the government’s $3.4bn plan to fund solar-panel liabilities. He said there had also been a reduction in the steep hike of transmission costs. He said that would cut an average bill $577 of cost over five years through the $3.4bn fund. “Indeed we do see power prices coming down if we are given a mandate,” he said. “We are going to take that action to take the pressure off bills.” Meanwhile, Mr Newman said Queensland was opposed to Medicare changes to come into effect next week that will drop the rebate for short visits. Asked if the government opposed the changes, he said “yes we are”. “There have been discussions between Minister Springborg and Minister Dutton,” he said. “It’s not a state issue. We don’t support it.” He said the government was concerned the changes could be shift costs to the state hospital system but “that remains to be seen.” Mr Newman was in the electorate of Gregory — where long-serving Nationals MP Vaughan Johnson is retiring — which is a sparsely populated expanse the size of Victoria and Tasmania.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 10:56:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015