Council
25 May, 2024
Federal support MIA
City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery has expressed dismay at the lack of support for the City in the Federal Budget.
The budget announced funding for the Bruce Highway, the Linkfield Road Overpass and the Pine River Bridge Upgrade, which Cr Flannery called “just a top up to fund projects that have been on the books for some time”.
“Of course, there needed to be funding assigned in the budget, with costs rising so rapidly in construction, but this is old news,” Cr Flannery said.
“There is just no foresight. City of Moreton Bay has a critical need for new infrastructure that will unlock land for housing.
“The Federal Budget claimed to have a solution to ease infrastructure bottlenecks and better connect essential services to homes such as roads, water and power, and called for an increase in housing supply. But not a dollar has been even offered to City of Moreton Bay for this purpose.”
Cr Flannery expressed his frustration, given Council presented to Ministers, had been part of delegations in Canberra and spoken regularly to MPs and senators to keep Moreton Bay in the front of mind when making decisions.
“Even the loan funding already committed in the SEQ City Deal for Waraba is tied up in bureaucracy, when we have put forward ideas to fund Buchanan Road, that will support the growth of Waraba,” he said.
“It seems both Governments are not listening and are committing South East Queenslanders to even more congestion than what we see on a daily basis.” Cr Flannery called Bruce Highway upgrades “band-aid fixes”, as east-west arterial roads (like the Bruce Highway Western Alternative) are what are really needed to open up growth fronts and take locals of Bruce Highway.
“We’ve done the planning, we know what we need to manage this impending growth, and the fact of the matter is that land can’t be developed without infrastructure.
“Council can’t keep taking the unsustainable cost-shift ing that other levels of Government are pushing on to local ratepayers, when Councils only receive 3% of tax revenue.”
Cr Flannery called the lack of federal funding “inadequate” and “a snub” to locals.
“As South East Queensland’s fastest growing city, we need Governments - both State and Federal - to realise the significance City of Moreton Bay has across housing, liveability and employment growth.
“Without a pipeline of funded catalytic infrastructure, alongside a serious commitment to public transport, the ability to create a functioning, liveable city will be threatened.”
