THE RACQ has called on the Queensland government to fast-track vital infrastructure projects and reduce the financial burden on drivers in its coming budget.
The State’s peak motoring body has urged the government to commit to vital road safety upgrades for southern Queensland ahead of its budget.
RACQ spokesperson Lucinda Ross said it was time for immediate action to address the serious lack of funding given to transport and roads in Queensland.
“Locals are all too familiar with the transport issues that plague the region and it’s time the Government commits to resolving them,” Ms Ross said.
“Both the Mount Lindesay and Cunningham Highways are major problem areas and are in desperate need for safety upgrades to ensure drivers are protected from head-on, run-off road and intersection crashes.
“In the last three years, Queensland budget funding for transport and roads has dropped to the lowest level in a decade. The State government has to address this now and make transport infrastructure and safety a priority.”
Ms Ross said RACQ also wanted the government to progress the Salisbury to Beaudesert passenger rail corridor.
“Southern Queensland residents deserve a good quality transport system – key to this is getting passenger rail to Flagstone,” she said.
“What’s certain is we need greater government investment if we’re to see less crashes and improvement in productivity and economic growth in the area.”
In other news, the RACQ has identified the areas it says the State government needs to focus on its its upcoming bujdget.
RACQ spokesperson Paul Turner said Queenslanders had copped the highest transport costs experienced in a decade.
“Transport affects people’s day to day lives. It’s vital we get the infrastructure we need to be able to get around safely and efficiently in the future,” Mr Turner said.
“In the last three years, transport and roads funding has dropped to the lowest level in a decade. Road safety must be a priority – if it isn’t, we’ll lose more lives and run our state into the ground.”
Mr Turner said Queensland motorists were fed up with being slugged at the hip pocket for petrol, vehicle registration and stamp duty.
“Drivers here are paying more than in most other states. We need to eliminate stamp duty on new cars and freeze vehicle registration for three years, saving motorists $230 million.”
Mr Turner said top priorities of the state budget for 2018-2019 priorities should include:
- Increased on-road police presence for greater enforcement of unsafe driving
- By 2022, 90 percent of State Government infrastructure should achieve an AusRAP rating of three stars or better
- Government to fund and provide crash data and support both ANCAP and Used Car Safety Rating programs
- Address vehicle theft by restoring Queensland funding for the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council
- Implement transparent real-time fuel price reporting system
- Freeze vehicle registration for three years
- Eliminate stamp duty on new cars
- Queensland’s annual roads and transport capital expenditure to be a minimum of two percent of Gross State Product
- Implement an integrated public transport authority that administers the delivery of all public transport services in Queensland
- Upgrades to urban State-controlled roads to include segregated cycle infrastructure.
