Unprecedented cooperation between 33 Queensland shires is the outstanding feature of a new plan revealed on Monday aimed at driving funding to the most needy parts of Queensland’s inland road network.
The Inland Queensland Roads Action Plan (IQ-RAP), launched in Charters Towers, has found that over 3000 kilometres and more than 300 bridges in regional and rural Queensland require upgrades to bring them up to ‘fit-for-purpose’ standards, at a cost of $5 billion over 18 years.
More than that, the plan, which covers 82 per cent of Queensland, prioritises upgrades over the next 15 years and beyond.
Charters Towers mayor Frank Beveridge said it was the first of its kind anywhere in Australia and was a “very exciting” plan.
“After every election we get asked for our road priorities - this gives it to them,” he said.
“It’s normally our job to push our own barrow but with this we’re one big happy family.”
He said this would also take away the necessity for time-consuming and costly reviews.
IQ-RAP consists of an alliance of 47 organisations, including the 33 regional councils.
The plan was developed by consultants Harrison Infrastructure Group, and its secretariat is Regional Development Australia Townsville and North West CEO Glenys Schuntner.
She said 52 per cent or $140b of Queensland’s gross state product was generated outside Brisbane each year.
“The inland Queensland road network is of vital significance to key industries such as mining, gas, agriculture, tourism and the freight and logistics industry, which supports the wholesale and retail sectors,” she said.
“A key objective of this plan is to establish a methodology for prioritisation of road network investments in the western and eastern zones of Queensland, based on economic value, strategic intent, safety, access and social value.”
It’s the first time a strategic level analysis and prioritisation has been undertaken on a network of around 16,000km of rural roads.
Road networks have been given ratings of 1, 2 or 3, based on priorities for investment in five, 10 and 15 year horizons.
Ms Schuntner said a rating of 3 could mean it would either take a lot of work to get that road to standard, or that it wasn’t as high a priority.
“Other roads might have higher volumes or greater safety needs,” she said.
Sales pitch
The task now is for the IQ-RAP working group to sell the priorities to state and federal governments, and get agreement to regular meetings to progress recommendations and associated projects.
A number of mayors, including Cr Beveridge, are in Canberra this week for “stakeholder briefings” prior to federal budget planning.
A workshop with state transport representatives is also on the masterplan for April, once the local government elections have concluded.
Cr Beveridge said while his heart was with the plan just announced, his head told him government would still allocate money to politically sensitive areas.
“This is stuff we’ve been banging on about for ages - there’s not really any surprises,” he said.
“With the drought starting to break though, and the slowdown in mining, there’s going to be more emphasis on the movement of stock.”
IQ-RAP welcomed by Member for Gregory
The Member for Gregory, Lachlan Millar says the IQ-RAP takes a “strategic, long-term view” of the road network, which was long overdue.
“At the moment, planning and funding of Queensland’s road infrastructure works are published by the Department in the Queensland Transport and Road Investment Program (QTRIP) for four-year blocks.
“I have two major concerns with the current QTRIP. My electorate covers a fifth of Queensland, a location that means we are logistically vital to the freight and travel task in the state.
“Gregory roads are very much under-funded. Most of the $40m allocated for the Western Roads Upgrade Program is earmarked for the north west, not the central west, while Gregory’s easterly roads fare no better.”
He was also concerned that funding only appeared secure up to 2016-17, after which he described it as a wishlist.
“In contrast, the IQ-RAP takes a 15-year view with a $5b funding plan.”
Mr Millar also highlighted the 2014 Summary of Queensland Road Fatalities, released by the Department of Transport at the end of 2015, which showed over 70 per cent of state road fatalities occurred in regional Queensland.
“While there are many contributing factors, the condition of our inland roads and bridges is the one that unites all regional drivers,” he said.
“I urge the government to knuckle down and get serious about regional road funding. It is literally killing Queensland and killing Queenslanders.”
CSIRO modelling for Beef Roads
When questioned on the difference between this and the CSIRO TRANSIT (TRAnsport Network Strategic Investment Tool), Ms Schuntner said the CSIRO tool was specifically for beef cattle movements, whereas her group wanted a broader economic scope.
Lead CSIRO researcher Andrew Higgins has said that their tool could “identify key investments, large and small, at critical points in the supply chain, along with policy changes that might allow for better planning” and had informed many infrastructure and policy opportunities” under consideration by governments, industry and community in northern Australia.
Ms Schuntner said her group had briefed CSIRO on their project, and had been able to share information.
“The Beef Roads program is for $100m over four years - what we’re doing has a larger scope.”
COAG releases national freight route expenditure plans
In a separate road review, the weekend release of a set of national expenditure plans and asset registers for Australia’s key freight routes by COAG’s Transport and Infrastructure Council has paved the way for governments to accelerate reform and implement independent price regulation for heavy vehicle charges.
Also described as a first, COAG Transport and Infrastructure Council chair, deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss said it was a “major milestone in heavy vehicle road reform”.
“The ultimate aim of heavy vehicle road reform is to provide heavy vehicle infrastructure as an economic service, with clear links between the needs of users, the charges they pay and the services they receive,” he said.
“The two products released today provide a baseline of information needed to transition to a market-orientated system of heavy vehicle service provision over the longer term.”
The expenditure plans profile maintenance expenditure and capital investments planned by all levels of government on each key freight road over the next four years.
The asset registers provide ratings for each of the key freight roads according to heavy vehicle access, safety characteristics and ride quality. This information is provided in a format that can be viewed on mapping applications like Google Maps.
“This level of transparency is critical in ensuring that the roads heavy vehicles use and pay for through user charges best and most efficiently meet their needs,” Mr Truss said.
“It is true that reform to date has been challenging and it has taken some time to get to this point.
“While direct user charging is needed to fully close the loop between the needs of users and the services they receive, governments recognise there is much that can be done to improve these links within the current charging system.
“This first step towards implementation, together with COAG's decision to support the Australian Government's response to the Harper Review, provide a solid basis for governments to accelerate reform and implement independent price regulation for heavy vehicle charges by 2017–18.”
The asset registers and expenditure plans will be updated on an annual basis and governments will shortly undertake industry consultation with a view to refining future editions to ensure they best meet the needs of industry.
The first editions of the asset registers and expenditure plans can be downloaded from the Council's website at www.transportinfrastructurecouncil.gov.au.
