In an embarrassing turn of events for the Labor Government, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has directly contradicted claims made by Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey and confirmed statements he made in June in relation to M1 funding were untrue.
The Deputy Premier’s public slap down comes as the Labor Government, in a submission which contains no new ideas for infrastructure, finally asked for Federal funding to upgrade the M1 between Robina and Reedy Creek, which Mr Bailey claimed to have asked for prior to the Federal Budget in May.
Member for Mudgeeraba Ros Bates said the revelations were hugely embarrassing for the Labor Government and the “bumbling fumbling” Labor Minister, who she said was not up to the task of delivering urgently needed road upgrades for her electorate.
“Three months ago, I caught the bumbling fumbling Labor Main Roads Minister telling porky pies, after he claimed he ‘asked for $350 million’ to upgrade the M1 in the Federal Budget, but ‘got nothing’,” said Ms Bates.
“This was despite the only funding submission having been made by the LNP State Government to the Labor Federal Government in 2012, which was completely ignored.
“What we have now seen is the Deputy Premier contradicting her own Main Roads Minister on the floor of the Parliament and confirming Labor had never made any application for Federal funding, with Labor only bothering to make its final submission to Infrastructure Australia last week.
“Not only did Labor take seven months to prepare its infrastructure submission, but it has since been revealed their submission contains no new ideas for infrastructure projects, with at least one proposal being decades old.
“Residents of my electorate deserve better than a Labor Government with no new ideas for infrastructure and a Minister for Main Roads who is out of his depth and prone to telling porky pies in relation to important road upgrades for our local area.”