The Club’s General Manager of Advocacy, Joshua Cooney, said some Bruce Highway upgrades, and the Sunshine Coast Rail and Coomera Connector projects received much needed funds to get them started or finished quicker.

“Just as we expected, an additional $467 million has been allocated for the Bruce Highway, mostly to cover cost overruns,” Mr Cooney explained.

“This funding is a step in the right direction and will assist with upgrades to the Bruce but the fight to fix this crucial Queensland highway is far from over.

“We remain concerned that the Federal Government hasn’t reversed its decision to walk away from the well-established 80:20 funding spilt with the State Government for new regional infrastructure projects. 

“In the future, beyond the forward estimates, we will see a drop-off in funding for road infrastructure if the Federal Government retains its current 50:50 funding model.”

RACQ supports the additional $1.15 billion investment for Stage 1 of the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail project which has the potential to take pressure off the Bruce Highway, between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

A total of $431.7 million additional funding will be provided for the Coomera Connector Stage 1 project to cover cost overruns.

The Budget has also allocated $100 million for a new Active Transport Fund to upgrade and deliver new bicycle and walking paths, however Mr Cooney said the funding wasn’t enough to alleviate congestion on busy roads in capital cities.

“This is a missed opportunity. There is a significant need for targeted, increased, active transport infrastructure in our inner-city areas to ease congestion on busy routes but $100 million is simply not going to cut it,” he said.

The Club welcomes investment to improve the National Road Safety Data Hub and support of a National Road Safety Education and Awareness Campaign, following the Australian Automobile Association’s (AAA) Data Saves Lives campaign.

It also welcomed funding to implement the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).

Mr Cooney said the NVES is an important reform for Australia’s cleaner transport transition but fuel excise and how we fund our roads also needed reform.

“We’re concerned about the lack of action from the Federal Government to address the impact of electric and hybrid vehicle adoption on future fuel excise revenue,” he said.

“We don’t want a future situation where the only motorists contributing to road funding are those least able to afford a cleaner car.

“It is important for equity and future infrastructure funding that the Federal Government create a sustainable long-term road taxation model to replace fuel excise.”

The Club will continue to call for greater federal investment in disaster resilience projects for Queensland, noting that a record $200 million-a-year Disaster Ready Fund is already running.