Transcript - ABC Radio - AM with David Lipson

DAVID LIPSON [HOST]: Thanks for your company. The Prime Minister is kicking off his 2025 re-election pitch today with a campaign blitz through Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA. Anthony Albanese will start the tour with a major infrastructure announcement for Queensland, promising $7 billion of federal funding for the Bruce Highway. I spoke to the Infrastructure Minister a short time ago. 

Catherine King, thanks for your time. $7.2 billion is a big slab of federal funding for Queensland. Why is it necessary for 80% of the funding for this Queensland road to come from the Commonwealth?

CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Well, the Bruce Highway is basically the artery of Queensland. Everybody drives on it. It's the major freight route, and in terms of its where it's at, at the moment is it's much of the road is still a one or two star. That's the rating system that's used to really grade whether a road is safe or not. And we've seen a significant increase in the number of accidents, and particularly fatal accidents along this road. So we've taken the decision that we will fund this at this additional $7.2 billion based on representations of the Queensland Government, the fact that it is the major artery, and the only really major artery in Queensland, the volume of freight and the volume of traffic and the crash accidents that we're seeing on this road. It's a significant commitment. It is the single biggest commitment that anyone has made to fixing this road and getting it up to three star rating. 

DAVID LIPSON: Are you able to quantify what this money will do in terms of lives that could be saved, or productivity improvements? 

CATHERINE KING: Well, both, two things, in terms of lives that are saved, all of the estimates, when you lift a road from one star to three star, you basically increase its safety rating by 50% so we would certainly hope to see a significant reduction in fatal accidents and serious injuries along this road once it is lifted to a three star. In fact, the significant gains you get is when you lift a one star road to three star. You get more marginal gains when you're going from a three star to a four star road. So that really big, significant gain is made when you're going from a one to a three star. 

DAVID LIPSON: Now, cynics would point out that there's quite a few key seats along this stretch of road. How are you choosing the priority sections of road that will be upgraded first in the context, of course of an election that must happen before May this year.

CATHERINE KING: Well, we won't choose the priority sections, that will be done by the Queensland Government, because they, at the end of the day, will need to deliver this funding. They are responsible for designing, doing all the service movement, contracting, tendering out of this road, so they will make those decisions. We are making the money available to the corridor, but it is fair to say where the safety concerns are, from Gympie onwards. There's significant money already on the table for projects along the Bruce Highway. We've already put around $10 billion into this road, a lot of that has gone down south. This really will be up in that Northern Corridor, particularly in that area down from Mackay, where we have seen significant accidents, and where that one star rating is.

DAVID LIPSON: Are we now in a pre-election campaign? 

CATHERINE KING: I think it's pretty fair to say there will be an election sometime early this year. And of course, voters will have a choice. A choice between a government that wants to build Australia's future, and you're seeing that with the significant investment we're making in Queensland today, a government that wants to build a stronger Medicare, universal childcare and a dignified aged care system. I think it's fair to say there will be an election sometime this year, and we are well and truly ready to take on Peter Dutton.

DAVID LIPSON: You said early this year, what do you mean by early? 

CATHERINE KING: Well, that is entirely a matter for the Prime Minister. So, if you if you knew, David, I'm sure you'd be telling your listeners. If I knew I probably wouldn't be.

DAVID LIPSON: Catherine King, thanks so much for your time. 

CATHERINE KING: So good to be with you, David

DAVID LIPSON: And Catherine King is the Infrastructure Minister.