August 1, 2016
Road trains could be travelling along the Mundubbera-Durong Road within a few years if newly re-elected Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd has his way.
Mr O’Dowd paid a flying visit to the South Burnett on Monday to thank voters for returning him to office, and also to consult with Mayor Keith Campbell and Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff on the region’s top transport priorities.
Mr O’Dowd, who has held the seat of Flynn for the Nationals since 2010, had a nail-biting 10-day wait after the July 2 Federal Election before he was able to claim victory.
When he went to bed on polling day he was several thousand votes ahead in the initial count, he said.
But when he woke up the next day, he was several thousand votes behind his ALP rival Zac Beers and was worried Bill Shorten might become the new Prime Minister.
Over the following 10 days, postal votes saw Mr O’Dowd narrowly get across the line, retaining the seat for a third time by 41,859 votes to Mr Beers’ 40,533 on a two-party preferred basis – a margin of just 1326 votes.
Mr O’Dowd said the wait had been very stressful, but he was very grateful for the support of his wife Shirley and his campaign team in the electorate, which stretches from Wondai in the south as far north as Gladstone and west to Emerald and Springsure.
He was also very grateful to those electors who had voted for him but promised to work for everyone in the electorate.
Mr O’Dowd said his main goals for the South Burnett during this term of government were to try to get local transport issues improved, mobile “black spots” eliminated and fast internet spread as widely as possible, particularly in rural and remote areas.
He believed all three were essential infrastructure if economic conditions in Flynn were to be improved.
Mayor Campbell and Cr Duff told him they thought upgrading the Mundubbera-Durong Road so it could accommodate road trains would be a significant improvement for freight movements between the North Burnett, South Burnett and Western Downs regions.
At present, the poor condition of the South Burnett’s stretch of this road limits freight transport options.
They also thought the North Burnett Regional Council might agree this was a priority project as it was that region’s most direct route to Wellcamp Airport.
Another road that was discussed was the Proston-Boondooma Road, which is unable to accommodate B-doubles at present.
This road is the main transport route for Smithfield feedlot, a major employer in the western part of the region, and would benefit from an upgrade.
Mr O’Dowd thanked them for their advice, and promised he would see if he could advance the projects.
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