Victorian MP Darren Chester to be sworn in as minister for infrastructure and transport
Last week’s Federal Government reshuffle will have an impact on public transport infrastructure, as the retiring Warren Truss passes the minister for infrastructure role to Victorian MP Darren Chester.
Chester will also become minister for transport and, marking the start of a new era for the Ministry of Transport at a time when state and territory leaders are crying out for Federal Government funding for their major public transport infrastructure projects.
In an interesting and unexpected move, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull himself has taken on the role of minster for cities, in the wake of the resignation of Jamie Briggs late last year.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has welcomed the appointment of a number of Queenslanders to key ministries in the reshuffle, but warned action was now overdue on projects and initiatives across the state.
Palaszczuk says entrusting Queensland with the ministries for trade and investment (Steven Ciobo), and Northern Australia (Senator Matthew Canavan) is excellent news and should help the work being done to boost economic development.
“Since we formed government 12 months ago, more than 60,000 new jobs have been created in Queensland and our exports increased by more than 12% to almost $50 billion,” she says.
“We need the Federal Government to play its part, and we urge the new ministers to prioritise Queensland.
“I also welcome the appointment of Jane Prentice as assistant minister for disability services.”
Palaszczuk is hopeful Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will commit to a series of projects and initiatives when he visited Queensland this week, including the Cross River Rail and Ipswich Motorway projects.
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