Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt says just two months after its election the Newman Government has abandoned Cairns by scrapping proposed major transport and road projects vital to coping with a growing region vital to Queensland’s future growth.
Mr Pitt said Transport Minister Scott Emerson had wrongly accused the previous government of not funding projects outlined in the QTRIP (Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program) strategy document.
“Mr Emerson is using this false accusation as an excuse to abandon the $38 million Cairns bus station,” Mr Pitt said.
“This was a project the former government listed in its QTRIP strategy precisely because of its importance to the region and its people and industry.
“The facts are that the QTRIP strategy contained approved projects for any current financial year and indicative funding for the following three years.
“It was developed as means to forward plan to cater for the needs of our state’s growing regions.
“No other state took the approach of looking that far ahead to set its transport and road priorities.”
Mr Pitt said future projects listed in the QTRIP strategy were always subject to the State Budget process and could always be re-evaluated as needs changed.
“For instance, in mid-2011 the projects listed in QTRIP were revised to take account of the need to prioritise those road and transport projects needed to help communities rebuild after devastating floods and cyclone damage,” he said.
“Mr Emerson really must learn to stop playing politics, especially when he doesn’t know or deliberately misrepresents the facts.”
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