GOVERNMENT REPORT CONFIRMS FOUR LANE TIARO BYPASS IS MILES AWAY

The Queensland and Federal Labor Governments have finally confirmed that the much needed four lane Tiaro bypass will not be prioritised and the timeline has slipped further, with an Australian Government report confirming that more than half of the Australian Government’s $268.8 million contribution to the project’s total $336 million budget will not be spent until at least 2026-27 or beyond.

Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien said the report shows the Queensland Government won’t be seeking more than $150 million for the four lane Tiaro bypass until at least 2026-27 or later, a full year or more than previously indicated by the Queensland Government.

“The latest funding profile indicates the timing for completion of this new, vital nine-kilometre corridor has already slipped out by at least a year, and major construction hasn’t even started yet,” Mr O’Brien said.

“Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey has a shocking track record of delivering projects on time, as we saw with the Tinana overtaking lanes and Bells Bridge intersection, which were years overdue, and the intersection upgrades at Gootchie where funding was announced in January 2019 and construction is still underway – four years later. 

“The Tiaro bypass seems destined to suffer similar prolonged delays because Minister Bailey doesn’t share our community’s ambition to drive the project forward,” Mr O’Brien said.

“This report also shows the former Coalition Government’s request for the Queensland Government to expedite the Tiaro bypass has fallen on deaf ears and our community’s campaign to get this bypass done as soon as possible is being ignored by State and Federal Labor Governments.”

The National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport Infrastructure – October Budget 2022-23 Schedule for Queensland contains the Federal Government’s $268.8 million funding profile for the long awaited four lane Tiaro bypass, which shows allocations as follows:

2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27 onwards
$5.97m	$1.42m	$3.44m	$63.22	$44.56	$150.19

The Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King, as well as her predecessor former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Barnaby Joyce, both confirmed that the Australian Government’s share of the funding for the Tiaro bypass is available and ready to flow to the Queensland Government.

On 13 July 2021 Deputy Prime Minister Joyce wrote to Minister Bailey, stating:

The Australian Government is committed to delivering this vital project as soon as possible and our funding will be profiled to achieve this outcome.  I am seeking your advice on an updated funding profile for the project to ensure expedited delivery.

Minister Bailey replied on 6 September 2021 with a funding profile for the Federal Government’s share of funding, but he failed to respond to the call for expedited delivery:

To 30 June 2021	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26 onwards
4.08	2.08	3.2	3.2	64.00	192.01

Minister Bailey’s funding profile indicated the four lane Tiaro bypass would be open sometime around 2026, but the new funding profile indicates it won’t be finished until at least 2027 or later.

The new funding profile also conflicts with advice from the office of the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Catherine King, telling local media on 10 November 2022 that “construction was expected to start early next year, and was due for completion in late 2024, weather and construction conditions permitting.”

“Those comments gave our community hope that we were being listened to,” Mr O’Brien said.

“If the Federal Minister says construction can start this year and the job can be completed and open to traffic by the end of next year, and 80 per cent of the funding comes from the Federal Government, it’s clear that the biggest roadblock to achieving this timeframe can only be the Queensland Labor Government.

“We know that Tiaro is the four-lane bypass Minister Bailey never wanted and said wasn’t needed, and this funding report shows that motorists will continue to be put in danger for another four years or more, and consequently the dangerous sections between Gympie and Maryborough may not be four laned for a decade or more.

“With over 11,000 vehicle movements every day, if the section of the Bruce Highway between Gympie and Maryborough was in New South Wales or Victoria it would already be four lanes, a fact I have relentlessly pointed out to both sides of politics.

“Our community can’t afford these delays which will continue to claim lives until the road is brought up to the safe four lane standard which every motorist travelling on our national highway deserves,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The Queensland Labor Government’s multiple failures on health and youth justice are well known, and now the Tiaro bypass under Mark Bailey’s watch is heading for the same scrap heap of policy failures.”

The report containing the funding profile is available here:

QLD 2022-23 October Budget NPA Schedules.xlsx (federalfinancialrelations.gov.au)