Mayor Luke Smith is set to push for funding to upgrade the Mount Lindesay Highway and boost the city’s infrastructure when he visits Canberra next week.
He said the region was one of the fastest growing areas in Australia and infrastructure would be needed to support a population that was projected to reach more than 420,000 people within the next two decades.
“That’s one generation, but we can’t wait that long,” Cr Smith said.
While $10 million in federal funding had been pledged to the Mount Lindesay Highway and $215 million to the M1 as part of the Get Logan Moving campaign in 2016, Cr Smith said more needed to be done to upgrade the roads.
“We need to move beyond fixing stretches of arterial roads and adopt a serious, long-term solution,” he said.
Cr Smith will meet with senior ministers, including Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher and Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Fiona Nash, Opposition members and local MPs during the week.
A more efficient transport network to connect the region to Brisbane as well as a faster roll-out of the NBN would be included in his agenda.
Cr Smith said the campaign to get the City of Logan’s infrastructure boosted had only just begun.
“Council has a very clear mandate to improve the infrastructure in the City of Logan,” he said.
“I’m confident that with more direct representation, both levels of government will recognise that infrastructure is one of the greatest challenges facing our country and it’s important to voters, especially those who are stuck in traffic each morning.”
Cr Smith’s trip to Canberra was discussed during last week’s general council meeting.
The discussion followed Division 11 councillor Trevina Schwarz’s comments that not enough had been done by state MPs to secure funding upgrades to the Mount Lindesay Highway.
“It is just a treacherous, dangerous stretch of road,” she said.
“We have ladies and men stepping out in front of B-doubles telling them to stop for children to cross the road.
“It is just disgraceful.”
Cr Smith said Logan City Council needed to hold state members to account and push for the federal funding to be used to design a business case for the Mount Lindesay Highway upgrades.
Logan MP Linus Power said he was pushing for highway funding and was regularly meeting with ministers to discuss the issues.
“I wish Luke well on his tour and hope he gets the support our growing area needs from the federal government,” he said.
“I know he will fight for the right priorities.”
