Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, says the State Budget is just smoke and mirrors, with no major new announcements for the South Burnett.
Mrs Frecklington said it is extremely disappointing that once again the South Burnett has been overlooked.
"Most of the projects are re-announcements. There are no new major projects for the South Burnett in this State Budget," Mrs Frecklington said.
"Most of these projects have already started, like the Kingaroy SHS Multi-purpose Hall and the Kingaroy Hospital.
"Another $20million has been budgeted for to continue the work on the Kingaroy Hospital, but this only brings the money’s allocated so far to $28million. This is a $62 million project and it’s extremely concerning that we might see the project held up with not enough funding allocated this year.
"It is also very disappointing to learn that the Kingaroy Hospital is not on the list to be included in the Digital Hospital’s rollout," Deb said.
"Common sense would indicate that including digital technologies at the same time as the Hospital’s refurbishment would be the way to go, however, once again Kingaroy will miss out.
"I have requested a briefing with the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service to better understand the services to be included in the new Hospital and funding arrangements. The digital hospital rollout will certainly be on my long list of questions," Deb said.
"In regards to road funding, we are finally seeing a recognition that funding needs to be spent on the Bunya-Mountains Maidenwell Road, but it is not until 2020/21. This is just too long to wait.
"There is a small budget for widening and sealing an 800m section of the Byee Road and $6.5 million for the D’Aguilar Highway.
"But, the Burnett Highway has again missed out, with just $200,000 to widen and seal a 700m section somewhere between Goomeri and Gayndah. It’s unacceptable that this is all that has been set aside for the Burnett, especially in light of the recent fatalities," she said.
