E-Petition

The Petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that the Bruce Highway through the Goorganga Plains and Myrtle Creek floodplains near Proserpine remains highly vulnerable to flooding, safety risks, and disruption, regularly severing access for communities, freight, emergency services, and the tourism economy. While upgrades have been assessed and partially funded, delays and funding uncertainty continue to place the Whitsunday Region at risk.

These sections of the Bruce Highway are nationally significant freight and tourism links and service an area experiencing steady population growth and increasing visitor numbers. The Whitsunday Coast Airport turnoff, in particular, is increasingly busy and has been the site of serious and fatal crashes, highlighting the urgent need for safer, higher-capacity access.

Current proposals improve flood resilience but do not sufficiently future-proof the corridor for safety, traffic separation, and long-term growth.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to do all within its power to allocate full funding for the Goorganga Plains and Myrtle Creek upgrades in the Queensland state budget and to undertake stronger, more coordinated lobbying of the Australian Government to ensure the projects are fully funded and construction can commence this year.

The petitioners request consideration be given to upgrading the project to a four-star safety rating and to preserving and designing for future lane separation (dual carriageway) with a wide median and rope barriers to separate opposing traffic and reduce serious crashes. The Proserpine Airport turnoff should be made an interchange.