By Matthew Pearce
The LNP and One Nation have rejected claims from Keppel Member Brittany Lauga that members of their parties are “trying to derail” the $80 million Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road upgrade.
Speaking in Parliament during Private Members Statements on 11 May, Ms Lauga accused LNP Shadow Minister for Local Government Ann Leahy and One Nation’s Stephen Andrew, the Member for Mirani, of stalling the delivery of the project because they did not agree with the engineer’s designs for the Artillery Road-Dairy Inn Road intersection.
Ms Lauga tabled a letter from Ms Leahy to Transport Minister Mark Bailey detailing concerns from residents about the safety, environmental impacts and local road impacts of the current design.
Ms Lauga said putting traffic lights or a roundabout at this intersection, as suggested by the residents, would only impact the travel time between Yeppoon and Rockhampton.
An Opposition spokesperson said Ms Leahy represented the electorate of Warrego, 580km away from Keppel, and did not have the power or means to stand in the way of a local road project.
“Ms Leahy, who was contacted by Ms Lauga’s constituents because Ms Lauga failed to listen to them, merely did Ms Lauga’s job for her and forwarded on concerns of her constituents to the relevant department,” they said.
The spokesperson said Ms Lauga had abrogated her duty of care and should “apologise to the local media for misleading them”.
Mr Andrew said Keppel residents had come to him with concerns over the design of the road, not the project itself.
He said it was “absolutely farcical” to think that his support of a Petition to Parliament from concerned residents could hold up the upgrade.
“The ALP has been in government for eight years, what possible leverage do I have on anything to do with any of their projects?” he said.
“The only thing I did was represent the people who felt that they didn’t have a voice about what they wanted to see, which is changes to make it a safer motorway.”
The upgrade for the section of Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road between Iron Pot and Hedlow Creek is expected to begin construction in mid-2023.
The project has been divided into three sections of work: Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection with Yeppoon Road; Iron Pot Road east to Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection; and Artillery/Dairy Inn Road towards Hedlow Creek.
The Yeppoon Road upgrade project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, with the Australian Government contributing $64 million and the Queensland Government contributing $16 million under the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative.