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Last Updated: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 14:14

Published: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 13:59

Persistent and collaborative advocacy by local government will be needed to keep vital infrastructure projects and funding submissions to support growing communities in front of state and Commonwealth governments.

Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio today (Tuesday, April 4) highlighted the importance of this approach to delegates at the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Regional Organisation of Councils (ROC) Assembly 2023 in Toowoomba.

In his address titled Passing the Torch, Mayor Antonio drew on the decades-long campaign for the Toowoomba Bypass as a case in point.

“Major projects rely on the alignment of many different elements and competing priorities,” Mayor Antonio said.

“While most parties agreed on the long-term benefits of the Toowoomba Bypass, it took decades of lobbying, a petition lodged with the Commonwealth Parliament and the alignment of political will and funding commitments to realise the project.

“The Toowoomba Bypass is an efficient transport corridor that has delivered immediate economic and social benefits to Toowoomba and our Region. The link was designed to cater for future growth in the Region’s transport network, with Toowoomba continuing to emerge as a leading state and national intermodal logistics hub that is connected to the Wellcamp Toowoomba Airport and the proposed route for the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail.

“The Darling Downs and South West Queensland Council of Mayors continue to press the case for improving rail infrastructure and freight services connecting our productive southern and western areas with domestic transfer hubs and export/import facilities at Toowoomba and Brisbane.”

Mayor Antonio said the Bypass project emphasised how to persevere with advocacy to achieve the 45-minute Region goal for passenger rail services linking Toowoomba and the western corridor, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast with Brisbane.

“This plan, which was first proposed by the Council of Mayors South East Queensland, is a far-sighted approach to improving transport infrastructure delivery for a rapidly growing area, in addition to supporting the successful bid for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.

“The benefits of better transport links, in particular the passenger rail links, were presented to the recent Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Forum.

“I’m pleased that the wider infrastructure planning surrounding the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics is firmly in the spotlight, but it remains unclear which transport projects will be delivered in the next decade.

“We need to keep pressing the case for the projects that will support and advance growing communities well into the future.

“I have faith that successive elected representatives will see the merit in pushing for transformative infrastructure projects long into the future.”

Caption: Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio with Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Alison Smith at the Regional Organisation of Councils (ROC) Assembly 2023 in Toowoomba.