Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my colleagues, the member for Ryan, the member for Herbert and the member for Forde for their input today. Queensland is nearly five times the size of Japan, seven times the size of Great Britain, and two and a half times the size of Texas. As the second-largest state in landmass, with a population of over four million people, the state is very significant to our nation. I am a proud Queenslander, and most Queenslanders are proud Australians.

However, I must question whether every Queenslander really has the best interests of their state at heart. I refer to a recent decision in the Senate. It is interesting that certain Queensland members of the federal Senate voted to hold an inquiry into the current Queensland state LNP government, a government that is trying to fix up the state's economy and get Queensland back on its feet.

The move by certain senators to hold an inquiry is questionable, because Labor itself neglected Queensland for many years. They simply ran it into the ground. I guess we should not be surprised, because while the former state Labor government, under Premier Anna Bligh, was running down Queensland's economy, her oddball friends in the federal Labor Party were running down Australia as a whole. The 'Rudd Gillard experiment' left all Australians paying a $1 billion per month interest bill on a huge national debt. The common factor here is that, whenever it is in power, wherever it is in power, Labor destroys the financial credibility of our economy, both state and nationally.

The Abbott coalition government, however, is supporting Queensland. Over the next four years the total annual Commonwealth funding to Queensland is increasing by around $5.8 billion. Hospitals and schools will enjoy the benefit of this. You already heard that our government is investing $13.4 billion to build the infrastructure of the 21st century for Queensland. And, because Queensland is such a large and important state, we are spending $6.7 billion towards fixing the Bruce Highway. I can report that in my electorate of Capricornia people can actually see where this money is being spent.

Progress continues on stage 2 of the Yeppen Floodplain improvements on the Bruce Highway at the entrance to Rockhampton. All up, between stage 1 and 2, about $320 million is being spent to ensure the highway into Rockhampton remains open in flood times. This is the major transport corridor that links freight from Brisbane to Cairns. Keeping this highway open will keep goods flowing north and keep Queensland's economy rolling. Without this work, funded by the government, highway transport comes to a complete standstill when heavy rains cause flooding to cut off the city. This costs the local and the Queensland economy millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Our federal coalition government is also spending $120 million to fix the Eaton Range section of the notorious Peak Downs Highway between Mackay and Moranbah. This is an important transport corridor into Queensland's vital coalmining areas. Speaking of fixing things up, over the next few years—

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