During Estimates hearings on Tuesday 30 July 2024, I asked the Director General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the Minister for Transport and Main Roads about the proposed Gympie north toll tunnel.
You can read my questions and their full responses below, or in the official Parliamentary record of proceedings (Hansard) here.
Mr BERKMAN: I will move onto another issue but still sticking with questions to Ms Stannard. In relation to the plan we have heard from Labor and the LNP for a new toll tunnel on the north side, has the department held discussions with Transurban—notably a Labor and LNP donor—about privatising the toll tunnel once it has been constructed with public funds?
Ms Stannard: I thank the honourable member for the question. I believe you are referring to the Gympie north tunnel.
Mr BERKMAN: Indeed, yes.
Ms Stannard: Under the delivery of that, Queensland Investment Corporation are undertaking those pre-construction activities. Transport and Main Roads have been allocated some funds to look at the surface of the road network. We are looking at detailed planning for public and active transport— what we could achieve on the surface if a tunnel was built under Gympie Road. The government has announced they are doing a detailed investment proposal and that proposal was developed by North Brisbane Infrastructure. They are a subsidiary of QIC.
We meet with Transurban on a regular operational basis. I have conversations with them about how they are managing the road network, what flows of traffic they are seeing, some of the technology they are using on the network, but we have not discussed with them anything to do with the bypass tunnel on the basis that it is being developed by QIC.
Mr BERKMAN: So these would have been questions for QIC in the Treasury session on that basis, I assume.
Ms Stannard: That is correct.
Mr BERKMAN: On this issue, I will put one question to the minister. I have seen claims on your social media that the new privatisation ready toll road would save motorists 30 minutes, which appears to me to be pulled from a Courier-Mail article from November last year. My understanding though is that that article accounts for time savings from the existing Airport Link tunnel in that 30-minute figure. Can you clarify where that number came from?
Mr MELLISH: I thank the member for the question. I am happy to add to the director-general’s answer to the question before as well. I can say that I have certainly had none of those discussions with Transurban in that regard either as minister or local member.
In terms of the time savings of the proposed project, I understand there are some consultation outcomes and initial study outcomes on the websites of I think either QIC or North Brisbane Infrastructure. I understand some of the time savings are outlined on the websites in terms of some initial work they have done and not related to Airport Link or other road infrastructure.
Mr BERKMAN: So your understanding is that that 30-minute time-saving figure does not include the existing Airport Link tunnel?
Mr MELLISH: Again, further to what the director-general said, the project is being led through QIC through the Treasurer’s responsibility. My understanding is that the time figures that have been put out there publicly—whether that is each direction or a cumulative in and out—would not include Airport Link unless it clarified and said that it did.