Albo hits the highway to kick off election campaign
Road Upgrade
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is making a fleeting visit to Far North Queensland this week to coincide with the first major announcement of the 2025 federal election campaign - a $7.2 billion upgrade of the Bruce Highway.
Mr Albanese’s Queensland visit, his first public appearance of 2025, will take in several stops including the FNQ seat of Leichhardt, which includes the entire Cape York region from Cairns northward.
Although the Federal Government holds only five of 30 Queensland federal lower house seats, it has identified Leichhardt as a possible danger seat in the poll - due in May if an early election is not called - because of the retirement of long-term Liberal MP Warren Entsch.
Ahead of his expected visit, Mr Albanese spoke of why upgrading the major road was so crucial.
“I’ve driven the Bruce Highway many times, and I know the critical role it plays for Queenslanders, tourists and freight,” the PM said.
The highway, which stretches more than 1600km along the Queensland coast to Cairns, is the state’s deadliest road, with 43 fatalities last year and two already in 2025.
More than half the Bruce fails basic safety standards, and the aim of the upgrade is to lift the entire road to a minimum three-star safety rating by fast-tracking critical projects.
This includes installing more safety barriers, widening centre lines and shoulders, installing more overtaking lanes and rest areas, improving signage and intersections and resealing road surfaces to eliminate potholes and other safety hazards.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said the government was making a long-term commitment to fixing the Bruce.
“We know that too many people lost their lives on the Bruce Highway last year,” she said.
“This $7.2 billion commitment that is budgeted for is really our single-biggest investment that any government has made into fixing the Bruce Highway.”
Northern Bruce Action Group spokesman Colin Dwyer said its campaign to fix the road, which started in 2016, was beginning to pay off.
“We have been looking forward to this announcement, we think it’s positive,” Mr Dwyer said.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time and we’re happy they’ve come on board.”
Mr Albanese’s visit will be part of a one-week pre-election blitz taking in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
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