Today I want to start by sending my heartfelt condolences to those in the Far North community who have been impacted by the heartbreaking news of a loss of a toddler this week.
A young boy just shy of his second birthday has passed away following a choking incident at a local childcare centre. The weight of this loss is being felt far beyond the boy’s immediate family; it has impacted his day care educators, the first responders who rushed to help and the countless parents across our community who are grieving alongside them.
In the midst of this sorrow, this little boy’s family made a selfless decision to donate this child’s heart—giving another child the gift of life. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this tragic loss of life and I send my condolences to the family.
Today I would also like to address the future of the Barron River bridge. Next week we are back to half a bridge. Thousands of vehicles and trucks cross the Barron River bridge every day.
This bridge is a vital artery connecting the Cairns region to the Tablelands and cape, supporting tourism, freight, health, produce and daily life for thousands of residents.
Heavy vehicles, including B-doubles, are banned from using it, forced to take a detour of more than 100 kilometres. Many businesses, through the cost of freight, are impacted. Weight restrictions on smaller trucks is costing some operators over $1 million in lost revenue annually.
This is not just about inconvenience, lost revenue and community frustration. The former Labor government did nothing to progress the bridge. They did not put any money in the state budget for it. They did not negotiate any funding from the federal government for the project and they did not have a plan, nor was it on their radar to do anything.
I have been advocating for this for over a year. We made an election commitment in September 2024 and I know the community is getting very impatient after being ignored for a decade.
I promise that this is progressing. In March this year, our government negotiated and secured $245 million from the federal budget, which is a significant funding commitment that the former Labor state government failed to achieve in more than a decade.
That money is in the budget no matter which party wins government at the weekend. We have finished the business case and look forward to sharing it with the community. I am fighting to ensure that the funding for the Barron River bridge is also in the state budget to be announced in June.
I have been the member for Barron River for 188 days and our government has done more to progress this bridge than Labor managed in over a decade.
Let me be clear: I will not stop until the election commitment I made takes significant steps and we deliver a new Barron River bridge.
To the people of Far North Queensland I say this: I hear you, I represent you and together we will deliver the infrastructure you have been promised for far too long.
