Opposition Questions Labor’s $7 Billion Pledge to Upgrade Bruce Highway

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, on July 4, 2023. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

The shadow treasurer has called on the government to be “frugal” with its spending during the cost-of-living crisis, a day after Labor announced it would drop $7.2 billion (US $4.4 billion) on upgrades to Queensland’s Bruce Highway.

The comments come as Labor announced a $7 billion funding commitment to the main highway route that connects the east coast of the state.

“Government needs to be frugal at a time like this,” Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor told reporters.

“Investment in good infrastructure projects is crucial … What we haven’t seen yet is the timeline of when the spending will occur.”

Taylor said Labor had previously cut funding to the highway, which claimed 41 lives in 2024 and has already claimed two this year.

“We’ll decide whether we support this particular proposal when we see those details.”

Taylor also questioned the government’s cash splash at a time when many Australians were struggling to put food on the table.

“On the treasurer’s own numbers by June 2025 Australians’ living standards will still be more than 7 percent behind where they were when Labor came to power in May 2022,” he said in a statement.

“The Albanese government is ignoring the problem, pursuing empty promises and implementing bad policies with no plan to restore Australians’ living standards.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was determined to “get things done.”

“We put in the additional $700 million, for example, into the [Rockhampton] Ring Road. The Commonwealth funding of that is now over $1.2 billion just on one section of the Bruce Highway. So, we needed to get the spending and investment in order,” he told 4RO radio.

“Part of the problem of the former [Liberal-National] government was that you had promises made—but you can’t drive on a media release.

“So, that you can’t have something that is 60 percent funded and there being a gap because you can’t actually go to contracting out and get things done. My government knows how to get things done when it comes to infrastructure.”

‘It’s Life and Death’: Premier

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was quick to jump on the federal government’s offer of a 80-20 funding deal, after previous negotiations considered a 50-50 split.

“What’s been missing [previously] is the state advocating to have that return, but also a proper, coherent plan,” Crisafulli told the Today show.

He said the previous Labor government had failed to pressure the federal tier.

“And I’ve been saying that for a long time, and we’re now in a position to do something about it. And you bet we will,” he said.

Australia’s Worst Road?

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) Head of Public Policy Michael Kane said upgrades could take years due to the condition of the 1,679 kilometre (1,043 mile) highway.

“We’ve been running our Unroadworthy Roads Survey for more than two decades and the Bruce Highway has either been the worst or second worst road every time,” he said in a statement.

“Rough surfaces, such as potholes, were the most common issue highlighted by Queensland motorists, followed by poor shoulders, narrow lanes, lack of overtaking lanes and sections prone to flooding.”

The single-lane sections of the Bruce Highway from Gympie to Childers, Gladstone to Proserpine, and Townsville to Cairns, received the most complaints.