POPULAR WORDS

August 2, 2010

Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s government will use revenue from its proposed mining tax to fix a congested section of a road south-west of Brisbane.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has talked up the prospect of rebuilding the Blacksoil Interchange that has been plagued by safety issues and congestion for a number of years.

The project is expected to cost $70 million, and Albanese says the Government will use the Regional Infrastructure Fund to bankroll the upgrade.

The fund will be established when the mining tax is introduced in 2012.

Revenue from the tax will go into the fund, which is designed to build new and upgrade existing infrastructure in resource rich states such as Queensland and Western Australia

Tax revenue will also pay for a 1 percent cut to company tax and an increase to superannuation.

“Rebuilding this intersection is a prime candidate for funding under our Regional Infrastructure Fund, particularly given much of the extra pressure on it is as a result of the multibillion dollar resource developments occurring in the Surat Basin,” Albanese says.

He says funding will be subjected to community consultation and a final assessment by Infrastructure Australia, the government body established to guide investment in nationally important projects.

“We need to make sure we have a solution not just for the next three years but for the next three decades, one which reflects the community’s expectations and the region’s long term infrastructure needs,” Albanese says.

The Queensland Government has committed $16 million to the upgrade of the interchange, which intersects the Warrego and Brisbane Valley highways.