OODGEROO MP Mark Robinson has challenged the state government to build the Eastern Busway to Redlands.
Mr Robinson said a series of broken promises by successive Labor governments amounted to a state government transport infrastructure freeze on the Redlands.
He said Redland commuters were waiting for train services, the rail duplication and the Eastern Busway.
“Redlanders see right through Labor’s latest hollow promises of big public transport infrastructure projects because they have heard it all before,” he said.
“Labor promised many times to build the Eastern Busway to the Redlands by 2026 and have failed to honour their commitment, despite having the power to deliver it while in state government for over 80 per cent of the last 30 years.
“In 2011, Labor stated that they would even go it alone and that the state government would fully fund the Eastern Busway to the Redlands by 2026, even if federal funding wasn’t available.
“In (August) 2011 Premier Anna Bligh, with (then) Transport Minister Anastacia Palaszczuk standing by her side at Coorparoo, promised the people of Queensland that they would build it, with or without anyone else’s help.
“When the LNP came to power in 2012, we found that there was no funding set aside for the busway.”
Mr Robinson said this resulted in the LNP government appealing to the federal Labor government for funding, but the request was rejected.
“In effect, state and federal Labor governments killed off the Eastern Busway by their failure to plan and to commit the necessary funds to the project,” he said.
Instead, the LNP developed the Transitway strategy.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey is on leave but a spokesman said it was rich for an LNP MP to complain about a lack of public transport funding, when his party failed to commit a cent to Cross River Rail in their election transport policy last year.
“Not only are we building Cross River Rail, which will free up the network across south-east Queensland, having significant benefits for bay residents, but we are investing $22 million for the delivery of the Eastern Transitway along Old Cleveland Road between Langlands Park and Creek Road in Carindale,” he said.
“This is a staged approach to the busway solution.”
He said the government recognised the need for the Eastern Busway and the corridor would be protected but he did not respond to questions about when the government might build the infrastructure.
“The Eastern Transitway will provide cost effective, on-road bus priority measures as the first step in providing a high quality public transport corridor along Old Cleveland Road,” he said.
Mr Robinson said he hoped the LNP federal government, state opposition and greater Brisbane councils would work together for the extension of the LNP’s Brisbane Metro plan.
