The regional city of Ipswich has launched a new community-based campaign seeking urgent infrastructure commitments to avoid crippling traffic bottlenecks that will impact the whole region.
The We Can’t Wait campaign released a discussion paper today highlighting the impact of the city’s population more than doubling to 533,000 by 2046.
Ipswich Mayor Councillor Teresa Harding also unveiled comparative State Government infrastructure spending figures for different areas of Queensland.
She said the figures clearly showed that Ipswich received far less than its fair share of State and Federal infrastructure funding despite the city being the “epicentre of Queensland’s population explosion”.
“Figures from the Queensland Government’s own funding tool, the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program (QTRIP), clearly spell out the shortfall our city faces,” Mayor Harding said.
“(Over the next four financial years) the QTRIP allocation for Ipswich is just $198 million. In comparison, over that time Logan next door will receive more than $1 billion, and Brisbane more than $3 billion.
“Put another way, if we look at a breakdown of QTRIP funding per resident across all south-east councils, Ipswich residents would receive the second lowest amount of funding in SEQ.”
The We Can’t Wait campaign is asking for commitments from all parties between now and the October State Election for:
- Development of a mass transit solution between Ipswich and Springfield (including Ripley)
- Critical upgrades to the Cunningham and Warrego Highways
- Commitment to the planning of a second river crossing in the centre of Ipswich
“Without significant, urgent infrastructure investment, travel times in our city will explode, and excessive congestion will cost the Queensland economy more than $1 billion,” Mayor Harding said.
“Ipswich is poised to double in size within 20 years. Through careful planning, we are ideally positioned to lead South-East Queensland in managing growth without destroying the liveability of our city.
“But right now, we are not being given the chance. With each new Queensland and Federal budget, obvious and vital infrastructure needs continue to be ignored.
“Our community can’t wait any longer. We are calling for meaningful commitments from all State election candidates to deliver the infrastructure funding our city needs.”
Ipswich Chamber of Commerce President Phillip Bell told a news conference today that businesses in Ipswich were looking for “smart money investment” by the State Government in infrastructure funding for the region.
He said private companies were investing heavily in the regional due to it growth and economic potential.
However, so far, they were not seeing the level of State Government infrastructure spending to give them “comfort and confidence” to keep investing in the area.
“While they (investors) have confidence economically based on the data and the growth that our region continues to contribute to the state, that is not being reflected in infrastructure investment in this region,” Mr Bell said.
“Some smart money investment in infrastructure by the State Government could send a very strong message to private industry that this is a great place to continue doing business.”
Mayor Harding called for residents of SEQ to get behind the We Can’t Wait campaign to help preserve their quality of life.
The We Can’t Wait campaign will play out through ongoing public campaigns, advertising, community engagement, petitions, and advocacy to political candidates and parties.
Details can be found at wecantwait.com.au, where supporters can sign up to the “wait list”.
