Promise check: $700 million for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing - ABC Online

Updated November 07, 2014 09:39:31

"Building the Toowoomba Bypass is a priority for the Coalition," Nationals Leader Warren Truss told the Toowoomba Bypass Forum on February 8, 2013.

Mr Truss promised that the Coalition would "provide $700 million in funding to have the project built if returned to government at the next election".

The Liberal federal MP for Groom, Ian Macfarlane, reaffirmed this commitment in his official campaign launch in August 2013, pledging that "work on the Toowoomba Bypass would begin within a year if the Coalition is elected to Government on September 7".

"Our $700 million commitment will build on the hard work and planning that was completed under the Howard Government," Mr Macfarlane said. "A Coalition Government will work with the State Government and private enterprise to get this project completed. It's expected it will take five years to construct."

And in an address to the National Press Club on August 29 Mr Truss said: "We have... committed $700 million to the Toowoomba Range Crossing".

Days before the election, the Coalition released its infrastructure policy, which outlined major projects including a promise to "get the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing underway".

A table of policy costings released on September 5 showed the Coalition was intending to spend $50 million on the Toowoomba Bypass in 2015-16 and $80 million in 2016-17 if elected.

Here's how this promise is tracking:

Topics: federal-government, liberals, government-and-politics, states-and-territories, regional-development, toowoomba-4350, qld

First posted November 07, 2014 09:15:24