Today with Davina Smith

DAVINA SMITH: Labor has pledged more than $7 billion for a major upgrade to the Bruce Highway in Queensland. This is the PM's first major funding announcement for the election and we're joined by Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King. Minister, thank you so much for your time. We saw 43 lives lost last year, two already this year on the Bruce Highway. Queenslanders are well familiar with the fact that come election time, there's promises about upgrading the Bruce Highway. So this time, will this funding save lives? 

CATHERINE KING: Absolutely. It will save lives. Upgrading the Bruce Highway from a one star to a three star will really improve significantly the safety of this road. We know that too many people lost their lives on the Bruce Highway last year, and in particular, we have seen, unfortunately, an increase in fatal accidents on this road, particularly that stretch from Gympie onwards, where really it goes from being, you know, where we've got a really significant bypass, it goes back into one lane. It's not divided. There aren't good wide shoulders on the road and you're not able to really separate the incoming and oncoming and outgoing traffic in a way that does make it safer. So this $7.2 billion commitment that is budgeted for this is really our the single biggest investment that any government has made into fixing the Bruce Highway. And Labor's going to get it done. 

DAVINA SMITH: And yet are there votes in this for you? Because the LNP holds most of the territory that the Bruce Highway runs through. 

CATHERINE KING: Well, again, this is pretty clearly the way in which we have reformed infrastructure. What we are wanting to do is make sure we partner with states to improve productivity, to improve road safety, to make sure that our national highways and our roads that we drive on every single day, it's why we've doubled the road funding to local councils. We're really investing significantly in those projects, whether you know no colour coded spreadsheets under our infrastructure investment, it is really focused on where do we need to put the money to make sure we can get freight moving the country productive and we can save lives. 

DAVINA SMITH: It is a major route, so it is well overdue. Minister, thank you so much for your time today. 

CATHERINE KING: Great to be with you and stay safe, everyone, as you're coming home. 

DAVINA SMITH: Absolutely. Thank you.