(Photo: Nanango Electorate Office)
June 14, 2023
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington has welcomed two of the key initiatives in this week’s State Budget, but is disappointed other local priorities have been overlooked.
The Budget included a $550 rebate on electricity bills for all Queensland households as well as a higher $700 rebate for “vulnerable” households and $650 for small businesses.
Mrs Frecklington described this as a “one-off sugar hit” but said if prices had not risen 32 per cent it would not have been needed.
The Budget also included 15 hours per week of free kindy for all four-year-olds.
Mrs Frecklington said this was a good initiative but she was concerned it was “an announcement without the infrastructure behind it”, such as teachers and classroom spaces.
She was also concerned kindy children cannot catch school buses.
“It’s got to be practical and able to be achieved,” she said.
Mrs Frecklington said most of the projects listed for the South Burnett were re-announcements from previous years, with the exception of the funding for the Maidenwell-Bunya Mountains Road.
“This is a project which has been on my priority list for so many years and it is a relief to know that it has finally been acknowledged that this critical tourist road to the Bunya Mountains needs to be sealed,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“Let’s hope it stays there, unlike the GS Bond Bridge (on the Chinchilla-Wondai Road) which has completely disappeared.
“It was announced about three years ago but it has now disappeared off the face of the earth.”
The Tanduringie Creek Bridge, on Kingaroy-Cooyar Road, has also disappeared from the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program (QTRIP).
Also missing are funding for the 11km single-lane section of Mundubbera-Durong Road, Kingaroy-Barkers Creek Road, Kilkivan-Tansey Road, Memerambi-Gordonbrook Road and overtaking lanes on the D’Aguilar Highway.
Mrs Frecklington said she had hoped to see funding for important projects such as the Barlil Weir, the Kingaroy Hospital Short Stay Unit, a Telestroke service, and a Special Education School for Kingaroy.
Another project she had been pushing for was a new police station for Blackbutt.
“I thought there would have been planning money for the Blackbutt Police Station,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“It really surprised me. It is by far one of the worst stations for housing four police officers on roster. Their working conditions are not good.”
Mrs Frecklington said that overall the Budget was “very disappointing”.
“We have been seriously let down,” she said.
“The only funding, like every year, was for the overhauls at Tarong, and that has to happen year on year.”
