The middle section of the Bruce Highway, including Yellow Gin Creek and the Haughton River Bridge, is off the radar of both State and Federal Labor governments, according to Federal Member for Dawson, George Christensen.

Mr Christensen attacked the government in Canberra last night over a lack of action on the Bruce Highway between Rockhampton and Townsville and invited the Prime Minister, Treasurer, and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to take a drive with him during the summer parliamentary break.

“They need to come and see this section of the Bruce Highway for themselves,” he said. “The stretch from Rockhampton to Townsville represents almost half of the Bruce Highway but the major infrastructure works are happening everywhere else.

“When the government tries to boast about what it’s done, they roll out a list of infrastructure works but when you look closely at what they are, the shovel doesn’t even make it out of the shed for one half of the highway.”

Mr Christensen cited the Queensland Government’s Bruce Highway Upgrade Strategy, which listed projects commenced or completed in recent years. Every single project south of Rockhampton and North of Townsville was actual construction work.

“But not one project between Rockhampton and Townsville was anything concrete,” he said. “We had two studies and a plan. You don’t need any more evidence that draining revenue from our region is a top priority for this government but funding infrastructure in the region isn’t.”

Mr Christensen challenged Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese to see how far they can drive from Rockhampton to Townville in February, before parliament starts for 2012.

He also attacked the Bligh Labor Government for expecting motorists to wait a decade for problem areas on the highway between Rockhampton and Townsville to be addressed, as outlined in their Bruce Highway Upgrade Strategy.