Estimates Committee D — 2009 Additional Information

ESTIMATES COMMITTEE D

2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Minutes of Committee Meetings

Minutes of meeting held on 19 June 2009 Minutes of meeting held on 17 July 2009

Minutes of meeting held on 27 July 2009

Minister for Main Roads

Documents tabled by the Hon C Wallace MP at the Hearing: ƒ RACQ Submission to Infrastructure Australia; and ƒ Brisbane City Council Transport Plan – Implementation Answers to government members’ questions on notice Answers to non-government members’ questions on notice Government members’ questions on notice Non-government members’ questions on notice

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Documents tabled by the Hon A Palaszczuk MP at the Hearing: ƒ Disability Service Plan – whole of government annual progress report 2008 Answers to government members’ questions on notice Answers to non-government members’ questions on notice Government members’ questions on notice Non-government members’ questions on notice

Estimates Committee D Member

Document tabled by Mr Andrew Cripps MP at the Hearing: ƒ Article from The Courier-Mail’s website - ‘Australians struggling with multiculturalism’

Minutes of Meeting

19 June 2009

Minutes @ Original Held: RD

File No: Est D 2009

Minutes of meeting of Estimates Committee D Held on Friday, 19 June 2009 At 1:03 pm in Room 5.05 Parliamentary Annexe

Present: MS Grace Grace MP - Chair Mr Andrew Cripps MP Mr Michael Choi MP Mr Chris Foley MP MS Jan Jarratt MP MS Fiona Simpson MP Hon Dean Wells MP

In attendance: Mrs Helen Bogiatzis, Research Director MS Erin Pasley, Senior Research Officer

Apologies: Nil

The chair called for nominations for the position of Deputy Chair. Election of Deputy Chair Mr Andrew Cripps MP nominated MS Fiona Simpson MP, seconded by MS Jan Jarratt MP. MS Simpson accepted the nomination. There being no further nominations, MS Simpson was elected deputy chair.

Questions on notice The committee discussed the timetable to be adopted with respect to prior to hearing and questions on notice and questions taken on notice at the hearing. questions taken on notice at the hearing On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by Mr Foley, the committee resolved that: m Members questions on notice be forwarded to the research director by 10:OO am Thursday 2 July 2009. m Minister's answers to the questions taken on notice at the hearing be returned to the research director by 10:OO am Tuesday 21 July 2009. Public Hearing on Hearing Time Allocations Friday 17 July The committee discussed the draft timetable. timetable On the motion of Mr Cripps, seconded by Mr Choi the committee resolved that with respect to the committee's hearing on Friday 17 July, 2009 the order and time allocations as follows be adopted.

Introductory statements, order of questioning and non-committee members On the motion of MS Jarratt, seconded by Hon Wells, the committee resolved that non-committee members be given leave to ask questions during the hearing. For administration purposes committee members to advise the research director of non-committee members that will be asking questions. Broadcasting of the hearing On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by Mr Choi, the committee resolved that television film coverage, photographs and sound broadcast be allowed for the Chair's opening comments and the introductory statements of each Minister and that television, film and photographic coverage he allowed at the change of organisational units being examined. = audio and video of the hearing recorded by Parliamentary Service cameras and microphones in the Legislative Council Chamber shall be broadcast by the Parliamentary Service via the Service's website and to receivers throughout the Parliamentary Precinct. On the motion of Mr Foley, seconded by MS Jarratt, the committee resolved that the following conditions and guidelines be adopted for radio and television broadcasting of the hearing: Public Hearing On Conditions for radio and television broadcasting of the public hearing July cont.Friday *Oo9 of Estimates Committee D The following rules shall apply in relation to radio and television broadcasting, including rebroadcasting, of the proceedings of the public hearing for Estimates Committee D on Friday 17 July 2009. 1. Broadcasting of the proceedings shall be for the purpose of making fair and accurate reports of those proceedings, and, in particular: a. shall not be the subject of commercial sponsorship or be used for commercial advertising; and b. shall not be used for electoral advertising. 2. Recording and broadcasting of the proceedings shall not be such as to interfere with the conduct of those proceedings. 3. The committee may report to the House any willful breach of these conditions. Guidelines for Camera Operators The Parliamentary Service is responsible for video broadcasting of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly's committees. The broadcasting of the public hearing of Estimates Committee D must support a dignified, accurate and consistent image of the committee. To achieve this image, camera operators shall comply with the following guidelines: 1. Cameras will only begin to film when the chair declares the hearing open, and will cease filming when the chair declares the hearing closed, adjourned or suspended. 2. Generally, cameras should only focus on the committee member or minister, or to a ministerial advisor to whom a minister has referred a question to answer. Shots should be no closer than 'head and shoulders'. 3. Cameras should never focus on a committee member who is not asking a question or a minister or ministerial advisor who is not giving an answer. 4. Fine tuning or variations to depths of field at the discretion of the operator is acceptable. 5. Sparing use of wide-angle shot may be used at other times. 6. Reaction shots of a committee member, minister or ministerial advisor are not permitted. 7. If an exchange between committee members, a minister and ministerial advisors is too fast to permit normal camera switching, a wider camera shot incorporating those involved in the exchange, including the chair, is permitted. 8. In the event of unparliamentary behaviour or disturbance in the proceeding, the camera is to focus on the chair or a slightly wider angle shot of the hearing which does not show the offending incident. 9. No close-up shots of committee members', ministers' or advisors' papers are permitted. 10. Instructions from the chair in relation to the operation of the vision equipment shall be observed. Ministers' use of ancillary materials The committee discussed the possibility that Ministers might wish to use ancillary materials at the hearing. On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by Mr Foley, the question was put that Ministers be allowed to use ancillary materials during the hearing provided the following guidelines are complied with: m The materials should not be of a size or nature which could create safety or security issues (eg, they impede movement within the Chamber, impede access to and from the Chamber, require power cords to be run across the floor, are difficult to move into and out of the Parliamentary precinct) m If the materials contain or depict information, that information should also be presented to the committee in documentary or other acceptable form. m Advance notice should be given to the research director of the nature of any ancillary materials the Minister proposes using, so that the committee can assess its compliance with the above.

General business Committee agreed to advise the research director of any notice of examination in detail by no later than 5:00 pm Wednesday 15 July 2009. Committee agreed that morning and afternoon tea would be provided and members would arrange their own lunch. Coffee and tea making facilities will be available throughout the day behind the Legislative Council Chamber. Committee agreed that the report adoption meeting would occur at 10:OOam Monday 27 July 2009 with teleconference facilities available. Members were reminded that statements of reservation or dissenting reports are to be sent to the research director 24 hours from the adoption meeting.

Next meeting 8:30 am Friday 17 July 2009 prior to hearing, in Room A.35 Parliament House

Close 1.28 pm

Confirmed: 17 July 2009

Chair

Minutes of Meeting

17 July 2009

Minutes @ Original Held: RD

File No: Est D 2009

Minutes of meeting of Estimates Committee D Held on Friday 17 July 2009 At 8:35 am in Room A.35 Parliament House

MS Grace Grace MP (Chair) Present: MS Fiona Simpson MP (Deputy Chair) Mr Andrew Cripps MP Mr Michael Choi MP Mr Chris Foley MP MS Jan Jarratt MP Hon Dean Wells MP

In attendance: Mrs Helen Bogiatzis, Research Director MS Erin Pasley, Senior Research Officer

Apologies: Nil.

Confirmation of Minutes On the motion of Mr Cripps, seconded by Mr Choi, it was resolved that of previous meeting the minutes of 19 June 2009 be confirmed.

Business arising from The Committee noted the change in the Organisational Unit names the minutes which reflects the machinery of government changes.

On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by MS Jarratt, it was resolved that with respect to the committee's hearing on Friday 17 July 2009, the Organisational Unit names as per attachment 1 be adopted.

Public Hearing Committee noted the following matters with respect to Standing Orders procedures 177, 178, 180and 183: Questions are to be directed to the Minister, not to their advisers. The Minister may refer questions to their advisers to answer. Questions shall be no longer than 1 minute and answers no longer than 3 minutes. The member asking the question may agree to extend the time for an answer, but any extension over 2 minutes must be agreed to by the chair. One bell will sound 15 seconds before the expiration of time limits, and a double bell will sound at the expiration of the time limit. A double bell will also sound 2 minutes afler an extension of time has been given. Questioning will be conducted in 20 minute sessions, rotating between government and non-government members. The first session will be allocated to non-government members. Members of the committee may table documents without the leave of the committee. Documents may only be tabled by a Minister, a witness or non-committee member, with the leave of the committee. Any time expended when committee deliberates in private is to be equally apportioned between government and non-government members. The committee has given leave for non-committee members to attend and ask questions. A Minister may make an opening statement of up to 5 minutes. The committee has agreed that departments are to provide responses to questions taken on notice at the hearing to the research director by 10.00am Tuesday 21 July 2009. Any questions taken on notice at the hearing are to be signed by the member asking the question on pre-printed forms.

Release of inquiry On the motion of Hon Wells, seconded by Mr Cripps, the committee documents resolved that pursuant to section 50(2) of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 the committee authorises the publication of all documents presented to it in the course of its inquiry.

Other business Chair's drafl report will be forwarded to Members by Friday 24 July 2009.

Statements of Reservation or Dissenting Reports are to be sent to the research director by 10:OOam Tuesday 28 July 2009.

Next meeting 10.00 am on Monday 27 July 2009 in Room 5.05 Parliamentary Annexe and by teleconference.

Members to advise the secretariat by 1O.OOam 24 July 2009 of contact numbers if they wish to participate by teleconference.

Close There being no further business, the committee closed at 8:40 am

Confirmed: 27 July 2009 , .--

Minutes of Meeting

27 July 2009

Minutes @ Original Held: RD

File No: Est D 2009

Minutes of meeting of Estimates Committee D Held on Monday 27 July 2009 At 10.00am in Room 5.05 Parliamentary Annexe and via teleconference

Present: MS Grace Grace MP - Chair MS Fiona Simpson MP (Deputy Chair) (by telephone) Mr Michael Choi MP (by telephone) Mr Andrew Cripps MP (by telephone) Mr Chris Foley MP (by telephone) MS Jan Jarratt MP (by telephone) Hon Dean Wells MP (by telephone)

In attendance: Mrs Helen Bogiatzis, Research Director MS Erin Pasley, Senior Research Officer

Apologies: Nil.

Confirmation of On the motion of Hon Wells, seconded by Mr Foley, it was resolved Minutes of Previous that the minutes of 17 July 2009 as amended, be confirmed. meeting

Business arising No business arising from the minutes of the meeting held 17 July 2009. from the minutes

Correspondence On the motion of Mr Foley, seconded by Mr Choi the inwards correspondence was accepted.

Matters arising from The committee agreed to include the correspondence regarding the the correspondence Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme in the volume of additional information.

Release of answers On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by Mr Cripps, it was resolved to questions on that pursuant to s49(2) and 50(2) of the Parliament of Queensland Act notice 2001 and Standing Order 182(3)(e), and further to the resolution passed at its pre-hearing meeting on 17 July 2009, the committee authorises the publication of all remaining documents presented to it in the course of its inquiry. Determination On the motion of MS Jarratt, seconded by Hon Wells, it was resolved that the of additional committee table, together with the report, a file titled "Additional Information", material to be which will contain: tabled with Meeting minutes report(s) and Questions on notice minutes Answers to questions on notice Documents tabled at hearing Questions taken on notice at hearing

Consideration The committee deliberated. of Chair's On the motion of MS Simpson, seconded by Hon Wells the committee resolved draft Report that the Chair's draft as amended be adopted as the report of the committee.

Rese~ation The committee noted that a reservation or dissenting report can be added to the or dissenting committee's report after it is adopted. Dissenting reports, signed by the reports dissenting memberlmembers, are required to be provided to the research director by 10.00am Tuesday 28 July 2009.

Other The committee thanked Helen Bogiatzis, Erin Pasley and Tamara Vitale for their business professionalism and assistance.

Close There being no further business, the committee closed at 10.27am.

Confirmed the 3othday of July 2009

Minister for Main Roads

Documents tabled at hearing

RACQ SUBMISSION TO

INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA

This submission covers: Issues Paper 1 - Australia's Future Infrastructure Requirements; and Issues Paper 2 -Public Private Partnerships.

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited

October 2008 Summary

The RACQ congratulates the Australian Government on the initiative to establish Infrastructure Australia and the undertaking to develop a long-range plan that prioritises infrastructure requirements based on transparent and objective criteria. The intention to establish nationally consistent Public Private Partnership (PPP) guidelines will also reduce bidding costs and encourage competition in the market.

With the high cost of infrastructure, congestion, safety and environmental impacts, it is important that sound policy and project decisions are made. These need to move beyond the current electoral cycle and the debate between roads and public transport, toward a long term vision of a sustainable, integrated and resilient transport system that meets all future needs.

This submission provides comments on policy issues associated with the funding of roads and details the five priority projects that RACQ believes should be implemented by Infrastructure Australia. These include:

1. Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway deviation 2. Toowoomba Bypass 3. North West Motorway 4. Brisbane Rail Upgrade 5. Four-star National Network in Queensland

Introduction

Representing almost 1.2 million Queensland motorists, the RACQ congratulates the Australian Government on the initiative to establish Infrastructure Australia and the undertaking to develop a long-range plan that prioritises infrastructure requirements based on transparent and objective criteria. The intention to establish nationally consistent Public Private Partnership (PPP) guidelines will also reduce bidding costs and encourage competition in the market.

With the high cost of infrastructure, congestion, safety and environmental impacts, it is important that sound policy and project decisions are made. There is a need to move beyond the political constraints of electoral cycles and the debate between roads and public transport, toward a long term vision of a sustainable, integrated and resilient transport system that meets all future needs.

This submission details the RACQ’s priority list of projects for Australian Government contribution and the methodology utilised to derive this list. It also raises a number of policy, planning and funding issues that RACQ believes should be considered during the prioritisation process and establishment of PPP guidelines.

The RACQ welcomes further discussion of strategic transport infrastructure priorities with government, stakeholders and the community and looks forward to the outcomes from Infrastructure Australia’s prioritisation process.

Page 2 of 16 20/10/2008 Audit Framework and Policy Comments

Goal definition

The transport system should be designed and built to provide the highest level of service feasible for all modes (walking, cycling, public transport, cars, freight and commercial vehicles) so that people have real choices that provide safe, convenient and affordable access.

Funding options

The $20 billion Building Australia Fund is a welcome Australian Government initiative to enable delivery of a range of infrastructure projects that have not been supported through other constrained funding mechanisms such as AusLink.

The current global financial crisis places greater urgency on the Building Australia Fund for two reasons. Firstly, it can facilitate early construction of projects to stimulate the economy in a time of declining global demand. Secondly, it can add public equity to projects to replace some of the high debt leveraging that previous toll road projects have utilised, but is unlikely to be feasible with near term credit constraints.

The equity contributions could be further supported and leveraged by Infrastructure Australia through a move to replace toll revenue from new urban roads with a form of congestion charging targeted at inner city areas where bypasses and public transport alternatives are available and significant congestion reduction benefits can be realised. The RACQ would seek to be involved in the design process of such a scheme to ensure it achieves maximum benefits and is more equitable for motorists than toll roads.

The RACQ believes that PPPs can have a valuable role in infrastructure provision and agrees that nationally consistent guidelines are a step forward. However, we do have strong concerns over the inefficiency of placing tolls on our newest and best urban roads and thereby diverting potential users back onto the congested surrounding road network. Nor does the RACQ consider the practice of allocating all traffic projection risk to private proponents as optimal. This effectively places an additional burden on motorists as private proponents have little control over traffic volumes and hence must factor in a risk premium to their toll levels.

The experience of toll roads in Sydney and Melbourne has demonstrated that traffic projections are subject to wide ranges of uncertainty and volumes are significantly impacted by the existence and level of tolls. This is clear evidence that many urban toll roads are not effective in reducing congestion compared with the provision of free roads supported through other revenue streams.

Page 3 of 16 20/10/2008 Problem identification

Mobility and accessibility are important components of our society and contribute substantially to overall economic, social and environmental outcomes. Infrastructure improvements are aimed at achieving the mobility and accessibility goals in the most productive and efficient manner possible while also minimising negative externalities.

The main challenges are to reduce congestion in our urban areas and to minimise crash costs over the whole network. Other economic, social and environmental factors that need to be considered include greenhouse emissions, air and noise pollution, equity, distance between traffic generators and destinations, and quality of life.

Problem assessment and analysis

The productivity and economic contribution of transport infrastructure is best measured using a Net Present Value or Benefit Cost Ratio that compares all the benefits of the infrastructure – primarily through travel time, vehicle operating cost and crash cost reductions – against total construction and maintenance costs.

The nature of transport outcomes is complex, providing rationale for the valuing and inclusion of all recognised externalities into a consistent evaluation framework. This should include social and environmental costs and benefits such as air and noise pollution, amenity, community severance and greenhouse emissions. Without a consistent framework, perverse outcomes may well arise through the prioritisation process. For example, initiatives that increase public transport mode share may decrease the amount of motor vehicle travel and reduce some emissions, but if this results in increased congestion compared with alternative proposals, then the greenhouse impact is likely to be worse as the increases from congestion will swamp the decreases from mode change.

Major infrastructure projects can also open up new geographic areas for industry and residential development. Where these complete missing links in a strategic network, they can support regional land use strategies and provide a more robust or resilient transport network that is more able to adapt to incidents and long term scenario changes.

The RACQ is concerned that some valuable infrastructure proposals are not being properly considered at present due to the expediency of supporting specific proposals that are further advanced in terms of planning processes or political preferences. The quantitative and transparent long-range planning and prioritising approach adopted by Infrastructure Australia is a welcome development.

Page 4 of 16 20/10/2008 Option generation

The RACQ does not generally have access to the modelling data and expertise available to governments and proponents of specific projects. The RACQ does, however, engage in extensive consultation with government, stakeholders and our members to inform our position and priorities.

The five projects proposed by the RACQ for contribution from the Building Australia Fund are based on this broad and informed position. They are in addition to existing commitments and represent the urban and regional projects that RACQ believes are high priorities with regional scale impacts. All projects have also been checked against the following qualitative criteria to ensure their appropriateness for Australian Government contribution:  Improves safety of the national road network;  Adds capacity to reduce congestion;  Completes a logical and strategic missing link in the national road network;  Reduces the need for other road upgrades; and  Improves vehicle travel for trips (eg. cross-city and interregional) that do not compete with public transport systems.

All major new urban roads and upgrades should include high quality bicycle and shared paths to ensure that pedestrian and cycle networks are enhanced. Transport corridors are important public spaces, so local amenity improvements (shade tree plantings, noise amelioration, quality urban design and public spaces) should be incorporated in all upgrades.

The priority projects are not based narrowly on the benefits to private motor vehicle travel; rather they consider road and rail capacity, including public transport and freight impacts.

The RACQ is confident that the proposed projects will perform well in both strategic and economic evaluation and should be supported by the Australian Government.

RACQ Priority Queensland Projects for Infrastructure Australia

1. Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway deviation 2. Toowoomba Bypass 3. North West Motorway 4. Brisbane Rail Upgrade 5. Four-star National Network in Queensland

Page 5 of 16 20/10/2008 Project Details

Project 1: Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway deviation

Description The Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway deviation would be a four-lane duplicated road in a new corridor south of Gympie. It would extend the existing four-lane duplicated road north from the Sunshine Coast and replace a manifestly inadequate two-lane road that caters for about 16,000 vehicles per day.

Total project costs are estimated at $4 billion with feasible completion by 2015.

Immediate Action Infrastructure Australia to allocate funding, with construction to commence within the year.

Dependencies Queensland Government to finalise alignment dependent on decisions related to the proposed Traveston Dam.

Details The Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway has received one of the lowest ratings of all sections of the AusLink network in Australia. It is a single lane in each direction with regular bends within rolling terrain, limited opportunities for overtaking and many intersections with poor sight distance. Despite the constrained road environment, it caters for an average annual daily traffic volume of about 16,000 vehicles.

Table 3 in Project 5 below, shows that there were 27 deaths and 181 casualty crashes in the link of the Bruce Highway from Cooroy to Gympie between 2001 and 2005. This has resulted in it receiving a high individual and collective risk rating under the Australian Road Assessment program (AusRAP).

Many investigations and much planning have been undertaken in response to the numerous serious crashes and the overwhelming and oft-repeated community cries for a solution. As a result, the existing road is subject to many on-going management measures and restrictions that are anticipated to remain until a deviation is completed.

The proposed Traveston Dam is an issue that requires resolution as it impacts the possible corridors. The RACQ expects that the Queensland Government will make a decision on the final alignment of the deviation when the Australian Government allocates funding. The Queensland Government will presumably fund any additional costs associated with preserving the possibility of constructing the dam.

The RACQ understands that the full deviation cost is in the order of $4 billion and design is sufficiently advanced for construction to start in the next year and be completed by 2015. The RACQ supports this timetable based on early notification from the Australian Government of funding availability. The continuing economic

Page 6 of 16 20/10/2008 and population growth both north and south of this national highway link will ensure that the human tragedy and economic cost builds rapidly with each year’s delay.

Project 2: Toowoomba Bypass

Description The Toowoomba bypass would be a four-lane duplicated road and tunnel in a new corridor that links Helidon to the east with Charlton to the west. It would provide a much improved alignment and gradient, particularly for the freight vehicles negotiating the Great Dividing Range crossing, and it would bypass the urban area of Toowoomba.

Total project costs are estimated at $2 billion.

Immediate Action Infrastructure Australia to allocate funding, with construction to commence within the year.

Dependencies Australian and Queensland Governments to agree on Charlton as an appropriate intermodal terminal site for the Melbourne to Brisbane inland rail link.

Queensland Government to prioritise the ‘Southern Missing Link’ rail line linking Toowoomba with Gladstone as the preferred bulk commodity port, rather than an additional rail crossing of the Toowoomba range.

Details About 25,000 vehicles a day drive the Toowoomba range road, including about 5,000 B-doubles and semi-trailers. The existing road through Toowoomba includes at least 16 sets of traffic lights. This is expected to rise to some 25 traffic lights in the near future. The urban area in Toowoomba thus experiences substantial negative safety, amenity and air and noise pollution impacts from a very large number of heavy vehicle movements 24 hours a day. Capacity constraints in the rail alignment up the range are adding to the problem by forcing more freight onto the road. The RACQ understands that QR is carrying only about 35 per cent of the coal from Ackland to Swanbank and the Brisbane port on the rail line. This is a very unfortunate situation, which requires priority resolution.

Table 3 in the Project 5 section, shows that there were 6 deaths and 95 casualty crashes in the short link of the Warrego Highway from Helidon to Toowoomba between 2001 and 2005. This has resulted in it receiving a high individual and collective risk rating under AusRAP.

There has been much planning into improvements in rail capacity and speed along the Melbourne to Brisbane or Gladstone corridor. Clearly a decision is required on how to increase transport capacity between Toowoomba and Brisbane. Another range crossing is required. Both rail and road options have been put forward, yet the volumes are unlikely to support both. The Australian and Queensland Governments

Page 7 of 16 20/10/2008 need to make a decision on which will go forward and move to implement it as soon as possible.

The RACQ believes the proposed road range crossing should be supported as it is the cheaper alternative and delivers many benefits. It also complements the current work on the ‘Southern Missing Link’ rail line that would link Toowoomba with Gladstone, which is a more appropriate port for bulk commodity exports.

The planning for the second road range crossing is complete and land purchases have commenced. Also, a 600-metre pilot tunnel has been drilled through the range to test the geology at the location of the proposed tunnel. It is now time to begin the infrastructure construction task in earnest.

This project has overwhelming community support and strategic benefits by improving linkages between Brisbane, Toowoomba, west of the range and all areas to the south. The extent of travel time saving justifies the imposition of a toll on heavy vehicles to partly fund the crossing. Industrial land estates with good access to the second range crossing and any intermodal rail terminal would experience substantial beneficial impacts to land values. A portion of this should also be captured to contribute funding to the project.

Project 3: Brisbane North West Motorway

Description As envisaged by the RACQ, the North West Motorway would be a limited access and grade-separated facility linking the Western Freeway with the Gympie Arterial Road and Airport Link tunnel in Brisbane. This would provide the full bypass and ring road solution sought for the west of Brisbane for many decades.

Total project costs have not been estimated but are expected to be in the vicinity of $10 billion.

Immediate Action Infrastructure Australia to urgently commission a feasibility study into the North West Motorway in order to compare benefits and costs with the proposed Northern Link tunnel and Northern Busway extensions.

Dependencies This proposal is the preferred alternative to the Northern Link tunnel and extension of the Northern Busway north of Kedron for delivery in the short term.

Details The recent Western Brisbane Transport Network Investigation (WBTNI), undertaken by the Queensland Government, identified a number of projects that, when delivered together, offers a major strategic solution that establishes a well functioning road hierarchy for the Brisbane region.

The projects are identified in WBTNI as Options 3, 6 and 15 – named here as the North West Motorway. WBTNI Option 3 is a tunnel from the Western Freeway to

Page 8 of 16 20/10/2008 Stafford Road, providing north-south transport capacity through this densely settled hilly terrain that is lacking adequate surface corridors. WBTNI Option 6 is the upgrade of Stafford Road to form a strong east-west spine that links the major north- south spines of North West Motorway, Gympie/Lutwyche Road and Gateway Motorway. WBTNI Option 15 is a grade separated motorway link from Stafford Road to Gympie Arterial Road at Carseldine, utilising the preserved North West Transport Corridor adjacent to Trouts Road.

The North West Motorway would provide a limited access and grade-separated facility linking the Western Freeway with the Gympie Arterial Road and Airport Link tunnel. This combination of projects provides the full bypass and ring road solution sought for the west of Brisbane for many decades. By utilising a tunnel, a preserved corridor and an existing arterial road, this major investment in the region’s future could be built with minimal disruption to existing communities and roads relative to the scale of the civil construction task.

Utilising Stafford Road and Airport Link, the North West Motorway also serves an inner orbital function that connects the north and west of Brisbane with the International Airport. An upgraded Stafford Road provides a high order east-west link about seven kilometres north of the CBD to take maximum advantage of the Airport Link east-west connection and associated upgrade of the Airport roundabout.

Subject to construction of the North West Motorway, the RACQ considers that no other western bypass, such as the proposed Brisbane Valley Bypass or West of Mt Coot-tha Bypass, is required in the short term or the long term.

Maps of Freight Priority Routes in South East Queensland highlight the absence of any adequate road hierarchy through the north-west of Brisbane, linking the limited access and grade separated Western Freeway with Gympie Arterial Road.

The additional north-south capacity and east-west link provided by the North West Motorway will take pressure off the Inner City Bypass and allow it to function effectively with the added pressure of the North South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT), Airport Link and Hale Street Link feeding into it. This will also take through traffic off most roads in the north-west of Brisbane, reducing congestion and allowing the lower-order road network to function as originally intended.

The major advantages to freight and the linking of much of Brisbane to the airport, as well as the congestion relief, public transport opportunities and completion of a genuine bypass, combine to provide ample rationale for the Federal Government to devote funding toward the North West Motorway.

Why the North West Motorway is a priority over Northern Link

The Northern Link is a potential solution that could act as an inner west orbital and provide radial capacity to relieve congestion on Milton Road and Coronation Drive. It should be assessed for priority against the North West Motorway. The RACQ believes the North West Motorway with Stafford Road upgrade would emerge as the preferred more immediate solution.

Page 9 of 16 20/10/2008 The Northern Link acts primarily as a duplication of Milton Road with improved connections to the Inner City Bypass rather than a western bypass of the urban area. As such, it will not relieve congestion on any roads to its north and will funnel additional traffic onto the Inner City Bypass and Lutwyche Road – both already struggling with their major roles in the road hierarchy.

Further information on the extent of congestion growth on Brisbane’s roads is available at racq.com in the ‘Travel Time Survey 2007’ document.

These shortcomings of Northern Link are demonstrated in the Northern Link Preliminary Assessment Report of August 2007, which reports a range of most likely net project costs of $672 million to $861 million. These large costs demonstrate that a large public subsidy is required to fund the project, even though motorists would be forced to pay a toll. The figures above include the report’s assumption of traffic funnelling by declaring existing general use lanes as T3 lanes (three or more people/car only) on both Milton Road and Coronation Drive.

The existing Federal government election commitment of $500 million for Northern Link could be diverted to the North West Motorway as the preferred strategic solution deserving of Federal funding support and AusLink national corridor status. Further Australian Government funding would however be required, commensurate with the broader scope and long-term benefits available. Further information is available at racq.com in the ‘RACQ Submission to WBTNI Aug 2008’ document.

Project 4: Brisbane Rail Upgrade

Description The Brisbane Rail Upgrade would be a combination of Phase 1 of the Inner City Rail Upgrade proposed by the Queensland Government to alleviate inner city capacity constraints, with modifications to the northern alignment to link with the Ferny Grove rail line and a new North West rail line along the proposed North West Motorway, providing an alternative corridor north to Bald Hills station.

Total project costs have not been estimated but are expected to be in the vicinity of $10 billion.

Immediate Action Infrastructure Australia to commission a feasibility study for the project as an additional option for consideration in the Queensland Government Inner City Rail Upgrade project.

Dependencies This proposal is dependent on decisions regarding the North West Motorway and the Inner City Rail Upgrade project.

Details The RACQ considers there is a need to improve public transport so that more people have a reasonable alternative to using their cars.

Page 10 of 16 20/10/2008 The Inner City Rail Upgrade proposed by the Queensland Government is recognition of the constrained capacity of the existing rail alignments through the inner city, and the need for additional capacity to cater for a strong Central Business District with growing employment and greater residential densities planned for the inner city.

The RACQ understands that the key inner city rail capacity constraint is the northern end of the Merivale Bridge where the Ipswich rail line intersects with the Beenleigh, Gold Coast and Cleveland rail lines. In addition, the existing network of four lines between Roma Street and Bowen Hills stations does not allow for a significant increase in the number of services, so any long term solution for cross-river capacity should provide additional capacity through the CBD. A separate corridor with several north, south and intermediate links would also add resilience to the rail network and provide flexibility to divert trains following incidents or delays.

Upon initial inspection, the RACQ supports a version of the Phase 1 alignment proposed by the Inner City Rail Capacity Study. However, the RACQ does not support the Phase 2 alignment, as this is not considered necessary once the additional cross-river capacity is provided for Beenleigh and Gold Coast trains.

The RACQ believes several modifications to the Phase 1 corridors should be tested for feasibility.

On the southern end, a link should be provided to the Cleveland line if feasible. This would allow Cleveland passenger trains to access the CBD via the new corridor and would allow freight trains between the port and the north to be directed under the city to reduce noise and other impacts, particularly at night.

An intermediate link to the main line, probably between Central and Brunswick Street stations, would add flexibility and resilience to the rail network and minimise disruptions from any delays or incidents. This would be particularly beneficial if the RACQ’s proposal for the northern alignment were adopted.

The northern end of the new alignment could connect to the Ferny Grove line between Wilston and Enoggera Stations, rather than to the main line north of Bowen Hills. This connection would reduce travel times from the Ferny Grove line and relieve some capacity around Bowen Hills where the northern lines intersect. The major benefit, however, would be to link to the North West rail line, detailed below.

This North West rail line would utilise space between the northbound and southbound lanes of the North West Motorway, similar to the existing rail line from Perth CBD to Joondalup. This new rail line could provide a valuable alternative north-south corridor between Bald Hills and the Ferny Grove rail line with several new train stations to intercept inbound car traffic at ‘Park and Ride’ nodes, adding capacity, resilience and catchment to the rail network.

This proposal represents a major rail upgrade that delivers a strong central hub to ensure the future role of the rail network for Brisbane and surrounds, given the government targets to increase patronage and construct several suburban and outer- urban rail extensions. This option should be considered against other more narrowly focussed upgrades of inner city rail capacity and distribution.

Page 11 of 16 20/10/2008 Busways

The Inner City and North West rail lines provide a major public transport radial capacity expansion and inner city upgrade that would allow the CBD to grow in the long term.

This rail capacity provides the opportunity and rationale to refocus bus spending toward supporting the rail upgrade rather than expanding competing radial capacity. The RACQ supports a range of bus-rail interchange and Park and Ride upgrades in preference to any further expansion of the busway network.

The preferred solution is to have a well functioning road network and rail network. Many of the benefits of busways are available for corridors distant from rail, through upgrades to the existing road network and the provision of bus priority as required in the specific circumstances. The RACQ believes that road upgrades would generally provide greater economic and social returns than busways through cost savings, greater opportunities to stage construction according to need, and additional benefits to motorists, who usually constitute a large proportion of the total passenger movement through a corridor.

For example, the proposed North West Motorway would reduce traffic levels substantially along Gympie Road north of Stafford Road, as much of the through traffic would prefer the new faster corridor. This would allow space in the existing Gympie Road corridor for bus priority to achieve much of the potential benefits of the extended Northern Busway proposal at a small fraction of the price.

Project 5: Four-star National Network in Queensland

Description The national network links in Queensland need to be upgraded to four-star AusRAP status to improve the standard and the safety of rural and regional roads. This process could be planned and implemented over the next 10 years with approximately $5.5 billion in additional funding.

Immediate Action Infrastructure Australia to establish a 10-year funding program for safety countermeasures on National Network links. Construction can commence within months in numerous locations across Queensland.

Dependencies To maximise cost-effectiveness, safety countermeasures are to be implemented during road maintenance treatments.

Details The RACQ supports the Australian Automobile Association submission to Infrastructure Australia and believes that the National Network links in Queensland need to be upgraded to four-star AusRAP status. Details on how AusRAP Star

Page 12 of 16 20/10/2008 Ratings are determined are contained in reports available for download at www.ausrap.org.

The Queensland component of the AusLink National Network requires substantial funding support for maintenance and upgrading to cater for population and economic growth. The RACQ believes that planned AusLink funding is insufficient to prevent further deterioration of the road asset and does not cater for many urgently needed improvements to safety and capacity. The upgrade could be planned and implemented over the next 10 years with approximately $5.5 billion in additional funding from the Australian Government. The Queensland Government should implement a similar upgrade program for other state-controlled roads to achieve a minimum three star rating.

This submission has put forward two specific regional projects that address existing priority problems through the provision of totally new road corridors with higher capacity near Gympie and Toowoomba. The majority of the National Network in Queensland will not attract this level of investment, yet traffic levels continue to increase.

The $5 billion estimated cost is based on using a range of cost-effective road safety countermeasures. The guiding principles are: . The most cost-effective road safety countermeasures should be given priority in the cost estimate model. . Since AusRAP is designed primarily as a high-level awareness-raising tool, the cost estimate model should not attempt to provide a project-by-project level of detail — that is the role of road authorities. The finest level of detail should be for whole highways in each State and Territory. . The AusRAP star ratings reports and software provide the necessary guidance to AAA and state and territory motoring organisations on locations where road safety countermeasures might be implemented. . While the ideal rating is five stars, the focus of this research is to determine the cost of making an intermediate step of lifting a significant proportion of the network to four stars.

This submission complements an AusRAP report, Comparing Risk Maps and Star Ratings, which was published in April 2008 and found that the crash cost on a four- star road is about half that of a three-star road; and the crash cost on a three-star road is about half that of a two-star road.

The cost estimates used in the model are listed below in Table 1. These countermeasures were prioritised according to cost effectiveness, and no further measures were implemented once the four-star threshold was reached. Duplication was considered only where traffic volumes exceeded 10,000 vehicles per day. Given these constraints, some roads were not able to achieve four-star status.

The changes in star ratings for National Network links in Queensland, based on the proposed countermeasures, are shown below in Table 2. The traffic and crash details of the existing AusLink National Network in Queensland are included for reference on the following page in Table 3, taken from the ‘How safe are Queensland roads?’ December 2007 AusRAP report.

Page 13 of 16 20/10/2008 The improvement in star ratings results in a 13% reduction in crash costs across the Queensland component of the National Network. This provides a substantial benefit stream to weigh against the costs of the proposal. Other benefits in reduced congestion and future maintenance needs will add to the crash cost savings. All of these benefit streams are expected to grow exponentially rather than linearly as they relate more to the number of potential traffic conflicts than the rate of economic and population growth.

The implementation cost to upgrade each of the Queensland links of the National Network to four stars where feasible is shown below in Table 4. The total cost for Queensland is approximately $5.5 billion over the 10-year cycle. This is in addition to the cost for the Cooroy to Curra and Toowoomba Range deviations.

Table 1 Countermeasures and cost estimates Countermeasures Unit Cost Duplication per km $25,000,000 Overtaking lane (both directions) per km $2,000,000 Formation and pavement widening per km (both sides) (0.4m lane widening, 0.8m for both directions) $200,000 Sealed shoulder width (both sides) per km (0.6m shoulder widening, 1.2m for both directions) $300,000 Delineation: (3 of edgelines, centrelines, RRPM, guide post) per km $6,000 Wire rope barriers per linear km $250,000 Intersection realignment per site $450,000 Intersection sight distance (clear and grub) per site $20,000 Protected right turn provision at intersection per site $500,000 Left turn provision at intersection per site $300,000 Rail crossing type per site $1,000,000

Table 2 Changes in Star Ratings on National Network due to countermeasures Length (km) Percentage State Star Rating Before After Before After QLD 1 0 0 0% 0% 2 29 0 1% 0% 3 3061 1921 59% 37% 4 2078 3248 40% 63% 5 0 0 0% 0% QLD Total 5169 5169 100% 100%

Page 14 of 16 20/10/2008 Table 3 Traffic and crash details of National Network links in Queensland From - to Type Length Traffic Casualty Deaths Collective Risk Individual Risk crashes Rating Rating km Vehicles 2001-05 2001-05 Annual average Annual average per day casualty crashes per casualty crashes per km 100m veh-km Bruce Highway (AusLink national network) Bald Hills to Caloundra Dual 61 52300 614 15 2.00 High 10.50 Medium Caloundra to Cooroy Dual 41 24500 226 12 1.11 High 12.45 Medium-high Cooroy to Gympie Single 40 12700 181 27 0.91 High 19.57 High Gympie to Childers Single 138 6700 232 26 0.34 High 13.73 Medium-high Childers to Miriam Vale Single 152 2900 177 8 0.23 Medium-high 21.84 High Miriam Vale to Rockhampton Single 164 4000 163 12 0.20 Medium-high 13.62 Medium-high Rockhampton to St Lawrence Single 165 2300 120 9 0.15 Medium 17.63 High St Lawrence to Sarina Single 118 2500 80 8 0.14 Medium 15.05 Medium-high Sarina to Mackay Single 25 8100 58 6 0.46 High 15.36 Medium-high Mackay to Proserpine Single 118 3700 127 17 0.22 Medium-high 15.92 Medium-high Proserpine to Ayr Single 160 2800 130 19 0.16 Medium 16.07 Medium-high Ayr to Townsville Single 74 5200 88 9 0.24 Medium-high 12.68 Medium-high Townsville to Ingham Single 100 5800 153 6 0.31 High 14.34 Medium-high Ingham to Innisfail Single 137 3500 134 16 0.20 Medium-high 15.24 Medium-high Innisfail to Cairns Single 60 4800 102 5 0.34 High 19.45 High Flinders Highway (AusLink national network) Townsville to Charters Towers Single 122 1800 64 4 0.10 Medium 15.78 Medium-high Charters Towers to Hughenden Single 245 600 40 1 0.03 Low-medium 15.06 Medium-high Hughenden to Richmond Single 117 300 12 0 0.02 Low 16.57 High Richmond to Julia Creek Single 148 300 22 1 0.03 Low 23.89 High Julia Creek to Barkly Hwy Single 123 300 21 3 0.03 Low-medium 29.84 High Gore / Leichhardt Highway (AusLink national network) Toowoomba to Yandilla Single 64 2700 48 6 0.15 Medium 14.99 Medium-high Yandilla to NSW border Single 155 1400 82 1 0.11 Medium 21.22 High New England / Cunningham Highway (AusLink national network) Ipswich to Willowbank Dual 18 17000 58 2 0.65 High 10.40 Medium Willowbank to Kalbar Single 37 4900 39 6 0.21 Medium-high 11.66 Medium Kalbar to Warwick Single 68 4200 93 10 0.27 Medium-high 17.85 High Warwick to Stanthorpe Single 57 3300 47 8 0.16 Medium 13.50 Medium-high Stanthorpe to NSW border Single 36 2500 36 5 0.20 Medium-high 22.22 High Pacific Motorway (AusLink national network) Gateway Motorway to Logan Motorway Dual 15 102200 365 5 4.94 High 13.25 Medium-high Logan Motorway to Smith Street Fwy Dual 35 99500 364 7 2.07 High 5.71 Low Smith Street Fwy to Gold Coast Dual 29 66900 443 10 3.10 High 12.72 Medium-high Warrego / Landsborough / Barkly Highway (AusLink national network) Cunningham Hwy to Gatton Dual 55 19200 279 16 1.01 High 14.43 Medium-high Gatton to Helidon Single 20 10700 41 4 0.41 High 10.44 Medium Helidon to Toowoomba Dual 16 16400 95 6 1.16 High 19.39 High Toowoomba to Dalby Single 74 5400 66 7 0.18 Medium-high 9.16 Low-medium Dalby to Roma Single 262 1600 87 7 0.07 Low-medium 11.71 Medium Roma to Morven Single 175 600 33 5 0.04 Low-medium 16.83 High Morven to Barcaldine Single 413 300 34 2 0.02 Low 14.04 Medium-high Barcaldine to Winton Single 285 400 24 0 0.02 Low 10.42 Medium Winton to Flinders Hwy Single 334 300 28 1 0.02 Low 17.19 High Flinders Hwy to Mt Isa Single 131 1000 39 1 0.06 Low-medium 15.75 Medium-high Mt Isa to NT border Single 195 200 38 2 0.04 Low-medium 44.51 High

Page 15 of 16 20/10/2008 Table 4 Estimated cost to upgrade Queensland National Network links to 4 star AusRAP t t h

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QLD Barkly Highway 305 $45 $27 $1 $36 $0 $4 $0 $0 $4 $2 $0 $119 Bruce Highway 1,695 $3 $202 $0 $83 $3,383 $93 $16 $2 $262 $165 $0 $4,209 Cunningham Highway 155 $2 $14 $0 $1 $417 $6 $0 $0 $8 $5 $0 $453 Flinders Highway 762 $50 $126 $1 $18 $0 $12 $0 $0 $1 $3 $1 $212 Gateway Arterial Road 76 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13 Gore Highway 197 $7 $27 $0 $7 $0 $4 $0 $0 $24 $14 $3 $86 Ipswich Motorway 23 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $10 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $10 Landsborough Highway 1,018 $32 $61 $1 $25 $0 $6 $0 $0 $14 $8 $0 $148 Leichhardt Highway 14 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 New England Highway 94 $6 $12 $0 $0 $0 $6 $0 $0 $15 $7 $1 $47 Pacific Highway 156 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Warrego Highway 674 $4 $23 $0 $6 $182 $11 $0 $0 $15 $7 $2 $251 QLD Total 5,169 $149 $492 $2 $176 $3,982 $165 $16 $2 $343 $212 $7 $5,548

Page 16 of 16 20/10/2008 FUNDING THE PLAN Table 2 Transport Expenditure by Authority The Transport Plan for Brisbane identifies funding needs of $16.6 billion over 15 years. This includes all capital, operating and maintenance costs that are Council, State, and Federal Government respansibilities, and potential investment by the private senor. Table 1 shows the proposed allocation of expenditure by mode in Brisbane.

Council proposes that public transport should receive 51% and the road network (including bikeways) 49% of all spending on the transport system in Brisbane. This even spending split is indicative of the balanced transport system proposed in the Transport Plan for Brisbane. Under the Plan, a minimum of 80% of all government spending will be used to improve public transport infrastructure and se~ices,road maintenance end minor road upgrades. All figures are expressed in ZW2 dollars.

It is passible to fund the Transport Plan from existing Table 1 funding sources if: Transport Expendiure by Mode Council and State Government maintain the very high level of annual spending on transport that has occurred over the past four years the North South Bypass tunnel is delivered and financed predominantly by road tolls new infrastructure charges schedules are faaored into Council's revenue base.

All figures are expressed in 2002 dollas.

Table 2 identifies the investment by each of the responsible agencies for transport in arisbane. Exduding the $2.1 billion for the North South Bypass tunnel funded predominantly by road user tolls, $970 million each year will need to be sourced from government revenues. On the basis of past funding, the level of investment • lobbying the State Government to remove the proposed in the Transport Plan is not unrealistic. 8c/litre fuel subsidy in Brisbane with GST However, this high level of investment in Brisbane’s revenue used for transport investment transport is unlikely to be maintained in future. The • lobbying for additional Federal funding to State Government’s Transport 2007 – An action plan address the defi ciencies in national highways for SEQ (2001) identifi es a reduction in expenditure in and need for major intermodal infrastructure South East Queensland from $1.8 billion in 2000-01 • seeking funding for major private benefi t to an annual average of $1.6 billion over the seven- infrastructure from the benefi ciaries year timeframe of the plan. Most of this reduction is • introducing Private-Public Partnership (PPP) for expected to occur in Brisbane. major road and public transport infrastructure tied to government payment stream and access charges for commuters • maintaining Council’s high level of local road funding supported by infrastructure charges on development.

Hard decisions must be made, and it is vital that all levels of government and the community understand the complex choice that will shape the future of the city we live in. We can either:

There are signifi cant environmental, social and 1. Continue to invest in lower cost solutions and economic implications if the Transport Plan for travel behaviour education within available Brisbane is not implemented. The competing funding, without achieving a signifi cant change priorities for existing government funding mean in travel behaviour, continuing deterioration of Council and the State Government will need to the road network and ultimately imposing greater generate $250 million per annum in new revenue costs on future Brisbane residents, or for the Transport Plan for Brisbane. This could be achieved through: 2. Deliver the Transport Plan for Brisbane by • increasing user charges on transport activity maintaining high funding levels or implementing • partnering with the private sector new funding options tied to transport activity, including tolls on major new roads, premium • introducing taxes or levies related to private fares for quality public transport services, vehicle use partnerships with the private sector and • gaining a greater share of the Federal removing the fuel subsidy. Government’s transport-related revenue.

The costs to the community, in terms of congestion, New funding options include: operating costs, accidents, noise and air pollution, and energy consumption, of Option (1) will be far • delivering North South Bypass tunnel and greater than the out-of-pocket public costs of Gateway Bridge duplication as toll road projects implementing the new funding options and with assistance from private sector providing a major upgrade to Brisbane’s transport • introducing a parking space levy in the CBD and system (Option 2). city frame of $400 each year to be used for public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure to the levied area • implementing tolls on a series of cordons in the City to manage peak demands and provide additional revenue for transport investment

PAGE 54 TRANSPORT PLAN FOR BRISBANE 2002-2016 A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

A PLAN FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE and more detail around the public transport services and infrastructure needed to provide for a sustainable The city’s transport system is coming under increasing future. It also does not advocate increasing the price pressure as more people choose to live and work of fuel, introducing congestion charges, cordon in Brisbane. The lifestyle and transport investment tolling or a parking space levy. choices we make now will have long-term implications for our health, natural environment and quality of life. Any limitation on our city’s mobility also has significant implications for our economy. Brisbane must invest in Traffic congestion threatens Brisbane’s economic its transport system to remain competitive with other viability and livability. The extra time spent in Asia-Pacific cities. congestion reduces available leisure time. The Federal Government Bureau of Transport and We must create an environment that increases the Regional Economics’ report “Estimating urban traffic viability of the full range of sustainable travel choices. and congestion cost trends for Australian cities” The Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008–2026 outlines suggests the social costs of congestion will rise from the critical background information required for an $1.2 billion in 2005 to $3 billion in 2020. understanding of the transport challenges facing the The Transport Plan for Brisbane 2002–2016 had city and presents transport options. It extends the a number of deficiencies such as unrealistically planning horizon to 2026, while summarising and costed road projects and lacked detail on the public assessing the options through reference documents transport resources required to achieve its mode and by coordination with the findings of Council’s share targets. This update has a longer-range focus Neighbourhood Planning process.

The city’s transport system is coming under increasing pressure as more people choose to live and work in Brisbane.

Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008 – 2026 2 It should be stressed that all costings are preliminary estimates and have not been subject to detailed cost estimation. This update to the There are significant environmental, Transport Plan reflects changes in construction costs and also acknowledges that cost estimates social and economic implications in the Transport Plan 2002–2016 may have been substantially under estimated. if the Transport Plan for Brisbane It is possible to fund the Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008–2026 from existing funding sources if: 2008–2026 is not implemented. ƒƒ Council and Queensland Government maintain the very high level of annual spending on transport that has occurred over the past four budgets ƒƒ TransApex Projects are delivered and Council has considered and agreed to reject financed predominantly by road tolls congestion charges, cordon tolling or a parking levy. ƒƒ new infrastructure charges are factored into Council’s revenue base. IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN There are significant environmental, social and The Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008–2026 is a economic implications if the Transport Plan for practical policy document rather than a binding Brisbane 2008–2026 is not implemented. The legislative instrument. Its implementation will competing priorities for existing government funding be achieved through providing soundly based, mean Council and the Queensland Government will timely guidance on actions to best address future need to fund transport through new options. These transport problems. A successful plan relies on the options may include: full support of public sector agencies involved in ƒƒ partnering with the private sector transport delivery and the ability to demonstrate real progress towards an improved transport system. ƒƒ innovative funding solutions Implementation arrangements include the following: ƒƒ gaining a greater share of the Federal ƒƒ coordination and liaison involving all levels Government’s transport related revenue. of government, the private sector and New funding options include the following: community to ensure accelerated investment ƒƒ lobbying for additional Federal Government places Brisbane in a position to cope funding to address the deficiencies in national with growth, without loss of livability highways and need for major intermodal ƒƒ gaining community support through ongoing infrastructure community consultation during the planning ƒƒ seeking funding for major private benefit and design phase of projects identified by infrastructure from the beneficiaries the Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008–2026 ƒƒ continuing with Private-Public Partnership ƒƒ the monitoring of progress towards achieving (PPP) for major road and public transport planning goals annually through a series of infrastructure tied to government payment indicators to measure progress and focus stream and access charges for commuters on new initiatives and emerging issues. as has been applied with the NSBT ƒƒ increasing Council’s transport funding supported by infrastructure charges on development.

51 Brisbane City Council

Minister for Main Roads

Answers to Government Questions on Notice

Question on Notice 1

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS GRACE GRACE MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-172 of the Service Delivery Statement notes that one of the service delivery priorities of the Department of Transport and Main Roads is to manage the impact of urban traffic growth. Can the Minister outline for the Committee what his Main Roads portfolio is doing to manage this impact in South East Queensland?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Brisbane Central for the question.

The department is taking an integrated approach to managing urban traffic growth and congestion in collaboration with the Queensland Police Service, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, the Department of Community Safety, TransLink, local government, Queensland Motorways Limited and commercial operators.

The Queensland Government is in its second year of a congestion management programme, which aims to provide a transport system that is efficient, reliable and productive, thereby improving the economy and protecting jobs.

The programme includes a range of measures which are aimed at promoting walking and cycling, altering travel behaviour to spread peak hour demand, enhancing network reliability, improving incident management and providing real-time trip planning information.

The programme is designed around the following five themes: land use planning, pricing and travel demand management, travel options and increasing capacity and includes the following practical examples of managing congestion:

Land use Planning

The new Department of Transport and Main Roads is the government’s lead agency for strategic transport planning. Through plans such as the Connecting SEQ 2031: An Integrated Transport Plan for South East Queensland, the TransLink Network Plan and the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program the department will work closely with other organisations to achieve coordinated outcomes.

Pricing and Travel Demand Management

The government has invested $624,000 in the Flexible Workplace Program which promotes the uptake of flexible hours, compressed work weeks and telecommuting, with the aim of changing travel behaviour and helping to manage congestion. A successful pilot was run in June 2009.

Efficiency

$12.3 million is being invested in the implementation of a Fast Incident Response Plan to speed up responses to incidents on the SEQ network which includes two new heavy vehicle response units; new incident response depots located on major arterials; and police presence in the Brisbane Metropolitan Traffic Management Centre.

Open Roads legislation came into effect on 30 April 2009. This will support two Heavy Vehicle (Truck) Response Units, which have the ability to reposition a disabled, rolled, damaged truck/trailer or its load, into a suitable recovery position so that it can be moved off to the side of the road, therefore clearing the roadway.

Travel Options

$22.6m has been invested over four years to expand the very successful TravelSmart Communities program, which has been shown nationally, and internationally, to achieve significant mode shifts and reduce travel demand.

Capacity

The strategies outlined above build on the record capital works program underway to improve travel capacity, as part of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program and the Roads Implementation Program.

Other

Other initiatives to manage the impact of urban traffic growth include traffic signal synchronisation, local engineering improvements for better use of road space and management of kerbside parking and turning movements on critical roads, in partnership with local governments.

The department will be implementing Variable Speed Limits on motorways and using dynamic ramp signalling to provide safe operation at maximum throughput. These, and other actions and strategies, demonstrate that we are committed to managing urban traffic growth and delivering a more effective transport system.

Question on Notice 2

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MR DEAN WELLS MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-173 of the Service Delivery Statement makes reference to continuation of the Houghton Highway Bridge duplication project. Can the Minister advise the Committee of progress with this project?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Murrumba for the question.

Construction of the new Houghton Highway Bridge is advancing well, across Bramble Bay.

Once fully completed in mid-2011, the $315 million Houghton Highway Duplication Project will reduce peak hour travel time between Redcliffe and Brighton by providing three lanes in each direction.

Half of the 78 concrete spans now stand off the Brighton foreshore, stretching almost 1.4 kilometres over the water towards Clontarf. These spans are being progressively fitted with concrete barriers and guardrails, with another five new spans currently under construction, in various stages of completion.

Work on the new Pine River Fishing Platform in the middle of Bramble Bay is also advancing, with the platform being built next to the main channel into the Pine River, on the seaward side of the new Houghton Highway Bridge. A wheelchair-accessible walkway will connect the platform to the shared pedestrian/cycle path that runs along the length of the new bridge.

Roadworks for the new southern approaches to the Houghton Highway are continuing at Brighton. These works currently involve reconstructing the Hornibrook Highway between Deagon Deviation and 25th Avenue.

Works for the new northern approaches to the Houghton Highway are also continuing along Elizabeth Avenue and Hornibrook Esplanade at Clontarf as are roadworks along the northern embankment of the new bridge at Clontarf Point.

On 13 July 2009 I announced the new bridge will be named the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge. This name commemorates the spirit of the ANZACs by acknowledging Ted Smout, Queensland’s last surviving World War I digger—a legend not only in the Brighton/Sandgate area, but the whole of Australia.

The new Houghton Highway Bridge is currently on schedule and due to be open mid-2010, weather permitting. At this time, traffic will be switched to the new bridge and the existing Houghton Highway Bridge will be upgraded and resurfaced. Both bridges are expected to be open to traffic mid-2011, weather permitting.

The new bridge will be the first coastal bridge in Australia made climate-change proof under design standards developed after Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern United States in 2005.

These changes to the original specifications of the bridge duplication, announced when detailed plans were released in 2007, increased the total cost of the project to $315 million, compared with a $149 million estimate in 2004.

Question on Notice 3

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MR DEAN WELLS MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-173 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to the upgrade of the Bruce Highway between the Gateway Motorway and Caboolture. Can the Minister advise the Committee when this project is expected to be completed?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Murrumba for the question.

Construction of the Bruce Highway upgrade between the Gateway Motorway and Caboolture is expected to be completed by September this year, weather permitting.

This project is part of the federal government’s $361.3 million commitment to upgrade the highway from four to six lanes.

The upgrade is being delivered in three phases: Gateway Motorway to Boundary Road, Boundary Road to Uhlmann Road and Uhlmann Road to Caboolture.

The final phase, the $183 million upgrade from Uhlmann Road to Caboolture, is being constructed in two stages.

Stage 1 included the construction of a new interchange connection to the Caboolture bypass with work starting in September 2006 and finishing in December 2007.

Stage 2 involves an upgrade to the Bruce Highway from four to six lanes including: • widening the Captain Whish bridges over the Caboolture River from two to four lanes in each direction • a major upgrade of the existing Caboolture-Bribie Island Road interchange • improvements to highway access at the interchanges at Buchanan and Uhlmann roads, as well as the BP service centres.

It should be noted that the Caboolture area has experienced unprecedented amounts of rainfall during the construction period. Since construction Work on Stage 2 in December 2007, there has been over 100 days of wet weather, equating to over five working months of rain during the upgrade. It is a credit to the construction team that they have been able to program and continue working during the ongoing wet weather. Question on Notice 4

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MR MICHAEL CHOI MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to projects directly targeting South East Queensland population growth demands. I understand that key amongst these is the $1.883 billion Gateway Upgrade Project, referred to on page 121 of the Capital Statement. Can the Minister inform the Committee of the expected timing of completion of the different sections of this project?

ANSWER:

I am pleased to advise that the Gateway Upgrade Project - including 12 kilometres of motorway upgrades south of the Brisbane River through to Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road, construction of a second Gateway Bridge and 7 kilometres of new motorway north of the Brisbane River - is being delivered ahead of schedule and under budget.

Queensland Motorways Limited is continuing to deliver the $1.883 billion Gateway Upgrade Project on behalf of the Queensland Government.

The Gateway Motorway corridor is critical for the efficient movement of freight into and out of the Australia TradeCoast area, including Brisbane airport and the Port of Brisbane, as well as inter-regional passenger and freight traffic.

To deliver benefits to motorists sooner, the project is divided into five contract delivery dates, known as separable portions.

The first of these separate portions, near Wynnum Road and the Port of Brisbane Motorway, is already complete.

In mid July 2009, the next Separable Portion (B), providing a more direct route north of the Gateway Bridge to Nudgee Road, will be opened to traffic. This will provide seven kilometres of new road infrastructure along the Gateway Motorway, and will eventually provide a second access to Brisbane airport through a major interchange connected to Brisbane Airport Corporation’s new northern access road, which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2009.

Diversion of significant traffic volumes to the new section of motorway is expected to reduce traffic on the existing Gateway Arterial between Eagle Farm and Toombul by up to 40 per cent. All construction work on the upgraded Gateway Motorway to the north and south of the river is forecast for completion by early 2010.

The separable portions providing additional lanes between Lytton Road and Mt Gravatt- Capalaba Road are scheduled to open to traffic in early 2010.

Opening of the second Gateway Bridge with six southbound lanes is scheduled for mid 2010. The existing bridge will then be refurbished including resurfacing, new lighting and safety screens, during which time at least three northbound lanes will remain open to traffic.

Final completion of the Gateway Upgrade Project is scheduled for 2011.

Contact Officer: Neville Silvester Approved: Ph: 3306 7175 Michael Mailloux ______Ph: 3306 7116 Director (Commercial Governance) / / Endorsed: ______Executive Director (Roads Business Strategy) / / Question on Notice 5

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS JAN JARRATT MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement makes mention of the Townsville Port Access Road project in the Minister’s home region. Can the Minister outline for the Committee the details of this project and of other work underway or recently completed in the Townsville district?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Whitsunday for the question.

Construction on the first stage of the $190 million Townsville Port Access Road, known as the Stuart Bypass is well underway and is expected to be complete by early 2010.

This 2.5km stretch of road links the Bruce and Flinders Highways to stage two of the road, known as the Eastern Access Corridor.

This 7.5 km Eastern Access Corridor will provide a link between the Bruce Highway and the Port of Townsville. It will also include a new bridge over the Ross River.

As part of the construction of the Eastern Access Corridor, a 585ha environmental reserve has been created at the mouth of the Ross River to help preserve the unique environmental values of the area.

The Townsville Port Access Road will provide a dedicated heavy vehicle route to the port of Townsville. This will improve the speed and efficiency with which goods can be delivered to the port, which will help strengthen the local economy. It will also help reduce the number of heavy vehicles travelling through residential suburbs to reach the port.

Other key projects in Northern Region that will be progressed in 2009-10 include:

• $110 million duplication from two to four lanes of the Douglas Arterial on the Bruce Highway (Ayr-Townsville) between University Road and Upper Ross River Road. • $98.95 million upgrade of the northern side of Cardwell Range. • $59.4 million North Ward Road upgrade (scheduled for completion in August 2009). • $13.573 million widening of Gregory Developmental Road (Charters Towers-The Lynd) from Fletcher Creek to 2km south of Bluff Downs Road. • $43.75 million major rehabilitation of the Burdekin River Bridge on the Bruce Highway (Home Hill-Ayr). • $5million for the planning of the $110m duplication from two to four lanes on the Bruce Highway (Ayr-Townsville) from Vantassel Street to Flinders Highway. • $1.679 million for planning of the $50 million realignment with improved flood immunity on the Bruce Highway (Ayr-Townsville) between Sandy Corner and Collinsons Lagoon. • $1 million for planning of the $25 million road safety improvement projects on the Bruce Highway (Ayr-Townsville) between Graham Street and Jones Street in Ayr and between the industrial area and the Motorcycle Club in Brandon.

The work scheduled for the Northern region during 2009-10 will build on the large amount of work recently completed. Projects in the region completed in the last twelve months include:

• $119 million Townsville Ring Road. • $52 million Bruce Highway upgrade (Woodlands to Veales). • $172.4 million Bruce Highway upgrade at Tully.

Question on Notice 6

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MRS JAN JARRATT MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to a project to replace the Don River Bridges on the Leichhardt Highway. Can the Minister advise the Committee about the details and expected timing of this project?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Whitsunday for the question.

The Leichhardt Highway is an important strategic inland freight route and local community connector between Rockhampton and Central Queensland regional towns such as Dululu, Banana and Theodore. The rural highway also provides an alternate tourist route and heavy vehicle freight access from as far south as Goondiwindi and Melbourne (Victoria).

The $65 million Don River Bridges Project is an integral part of the state’s $150 million Bowen Basin funding package. The project, to be delivered over the next two years, will upgrade and realign a 13km section of the Leichhardt Highway at Rannes and replace the existing timber bridge crossings at Don River with a new concrete structure and upgrade the structures at Windmill Creek and Log Creek to provide improved flood immunity.

The project scope for the Leichhardt Highway (Don River Bridges) project includes:

• providing a nine metre sealed Leichhardt Highway within the project boundaries • improving highway flood immunity • replacement of timber bridges at Don River and construct new crossings at Windmill Creek and Log Creek • assessing access to Rannes with the aim of providing a safer intersection solution • assessing rest and stopping areas, including bus stops

Over the last four months, departmental representatives have undertaken focused community engagement with the small township of Rannes and local landowners. In April, a community meeting was held in Wowan to outline the project and discuss with the community Main Roads preferred realignment options.

A number of landholder meetings have proceeded in recent weeks to settle on a final Leichhardt Highway alignment which meets both Main Roads and local landowner expectations. The agreed alignment for the upgraded Leichhardt Highway at Rannes is expected to be announced in coming weeks. All alignments which remain under investigation however are to the east of the existing flood-prone highway.

Following the decision on the new alignment for the highway, Main Roads will immediately commence full survey, land resumptions, road design and bridge design. These activities will continue for up to 12 months. Project construction is expected to commence in late 2010, with the upgraded highway open to traffic in 2012. Question on Notice 7

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MR MICHAEL CHOI MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-176 of the Service Delivery Statement gives an indication of several of the major SEQIPP projects underway in the Western Corridor region. Can the Minister provide the Committee with details of the key projects and the number of jobs associated with those projects?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Capalaba for the question.

The Western Corridor, which extends from Wacol through Ipswich to Amberley, is one of the key growth areas in South East Queensland and a primary zone for future development. The Queensland Government is responding to the region’s traffic needs with a coordinated plan to improve transport infrastructure in the Western Corridor. There is a range of transport projects underway that will transform the Western Corridor, including some of the most complex and challenging projects ever undertaken in Queensland. Never before have so many projects been under construction in such close proximity while such high volumes of traffic are being maintained.

Once completed, the Western Corridor transport projects will improve connectivity and access for all transport users, improve community and road safety, support Queensland’s economic development, support and improve quality of life and environmental sustainability, and meet the future requirements of people living in a growing state.

The program of works in the corridor is ambitious and I am delighted to advise that work is proceeding very well on all projects.

One of the major transport arteries in the corridor is the Centenary Highway and the first of the Western Corridor projects to be completed was the Centenary Highway Extension. The Centenary Highway Extension project is an 18 kilometre extension of the two-lane Centenary Highway from Springfield to join the Cunningham Highway at Yamanto. Construction began on this $366 million Queensland Government funded project in December 2006 and the new section of road was opened by the Queensland Premier on time and within budget on 29 June this year.

The Centenary Highway Extension services the transport needs of the growing Springfield and southern Ipswich areas, providing better connectivity to the Cunningham Highway and Ipswich Motorway routes, and linking the two key Ipswich urban centres of Springfield and Yamanto.

The Queensland Government is also delivering the Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor, including a new passenger rail line from Darra to Springfield and duplication of the Centenary Highway between Richlands and Springfield. This is the first major integrated road and rail project for South East Queensland and will be built in stages.

Work began on Stage 1 in July 2008 and is due for completion in 2011 at an estimated cost of approximately $800 million. Stage 1 includes constructing a new passenger railway line from Darra to a station at Richlands and duplicating the Centenary Highway from two to four lanes from Richlands to meet with the existing Logan Motorway Interchange at Carole Park.

The balance of the project, planned for delivery by 2015, will include continuing the Centenary Highway four lane duplication and extending the railway line to Springfield. The Logan Motorway interchange will be upgraded and a new railway station built at Springfield near the Orion Springfield Town Centre. Provision will be made for future stations at Ellen Grove and Springfield Lakes. This timing is in accordance with the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program.

The other major transport artery in the corridor is the Ipswich Motorway, which links us nationally and plays a major role in freight movement in South East Queensland. The upgrades to this motorway are being delivered in packages according to priority. Three upgrades are currently underway between Darra and Dinmore, with a planning study underway for the remaining section between Darra and Rocklea.

These Ipswich Motorway upgrades will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, increase safety and reliability, reduce travel times, improve local access, enhance pedestrian and cyclist facilities and separate local and regional traffic movements.

Starting at the western end of the motorway, start of construction was officially announced on 30 June this year for the much anticipated upgrade of the 8 kilometre section between Dinmore and Goodna. Preliminary works are continuing, including the relocation of public services, ongoing technical investigations, installation of concrete barriers along the project corridor, mine remediation and vegetation clearing. The project is expected to be finished at the end of 2012.

Moving east, the next project underway involves upgrading a 2.2 kilometre section of the motorway between Goodna and Gailes and the Ipswich/Logan Interchange. This project began in early 2007 and is due to finish in late 2009. The project team has achieved a number of key milestones over the life of the project to date, the most recent being the Logan Motorway traffic travelling on the second underpass connecting the Ipswich and Logan Motorways at Gailes.

The upgrade between Wacol and Darra began in March 2008 and is well advanced and on track to finish in late 2010. The project recently completed a major milestone with the replacement of the former Centenary Highway and Ipswich Motorway signalised roundabout with a multi-level, free-flowing interchange in mid July.

As part of the Australian and Queensland governments’ commitment to upgrading the full 19 kilometres of the Ipswich Motorway, the Department of Transport and Main Roads is currently reviewing the previous 2003 concept planning for the motorway upgrade between Darra and Rocklea. A business case is expected to be completed by mid to late 2010 and a decision will be made regarding the upgrade, subject to available funding and competing priorities.

These Western Corridor projects are contributing to Queensland’s economic growth by providing more than 10,500 jobs. The Centenary Highway Extension project sustained 1038 direct and indirect jobs on average over the life of the project, and the Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor will sustain an average 947 direct and indirect jobs over the life of the project. The Ipswich Motorway Upgrade projects will collectively on average provide around 8639 direct and indirect jobs over the life of the projects. This consists of 4245 jobs on the Dinmore to Goodna section, 2498 jobs on the Wacol to Darra section and 1896 jobs on the Logan interchange upgrade.

The road projects in the Western Corridor are connecting Queenslanders and providing a safe road system that will service the state well into the future. But it is important to note that transforming the Western Corridor is about more than just building roads. It is about a bigger vision of the way we travel, with improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport facilities already well underway.

Question on Notice 8

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS GRACE GRACE MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-177 of the Service Delivery Statement indicates that the Bligh Government has recently secured substantial Federal funding under the Nation Building Program. Can the Minister detail to the Committee the projects that will be funded as part of this program?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Brisbane Central for the question.

Nation Building Program

The Bligh Government has secured $5.939bn in federal funding over six years (including 2008-09) for the National Network under the Nation Building Program. This funding is being directed to major road infrastructure projects across Queensland, including:

• Ipswich Motorway (Wacol to Darra – Stage 1) – upgrading to six lanes between the Logan Motorway interchange and Jervis Street, Darra. This project will include a significant upgrade of the Centenary Highway interchange and new service roads adjacent to the motorway. The project is divided into two stages, with Stage 1 including works east of Sandy Creek bridges. Stage 2 funding will be provided for works between Sandy Creek and the Logan Motorway Interchange under the Building Australia Fund.

• Ipswich Motorway (Dinmore to Goodna) – upgrading to six lanes between Dinmore and the Ipswich/Logan interchange upgrade at Goodna. This project will also provide enhanced access to rail stations, improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as delivering extensive service roads and local connector roads.

• Pacific Motorway – The upgrade will be delivered across two sections – Nerang to Tugun and between the Gateway and Logan Motorways.

– The Nerang and Tugun section includes interchange upgrades at Nerang south, Mudgeeraba, Varsity Lakes and Robina, as well as widening of the motorway between Nerang south and Worongary.

– The project between the Gateway and Logan Motorways is broken in to three sections: Section A (Gateway Motorway to Springwood South, Section B (Springwood South to Daisy Hill) and Section C (Daisy Hill to the Logan Motorway).

This project will make the best use of the road space by encouraging alternative and sustainable modes of transport within the road corridor.

• Cardwell Range Realignment – This project will provide for the reconstruction of the top and northern sections of the existing highway over the Cardwell Range on a new high speed alignment. When completed, this project will improve transport efficiency, primarily by reducing queuing on the range and improve safety.

• Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) Section B – The federal government has allocated $488m for the full construction of a 12km section of the highway between Sankeys and Traveston Roads. The state government is also contributing $125m.

• Townsville Ring Road (Douglas Arterial) – This project includes duplication of the existing Stage 1 (Douglas Arterial) from a two-lane, two direction road into a median divided two-lane dual carriageway.

• Southern approach to Cairns - The project provides for the Bruce Highway to be upgraded to a grade-separated standard between Sheehy Road and Kate Street.

• Townsville Port Access Road – The project will improve access to the Port of Townsville by directly linking the Flinders and Bruce Highways to the port. The project is being constructed in two sections.

– Section 1 (Stuart Bypass) – 2.5km road to link the Flinders Highway to the Bruce Highway.

– Section 2 (Eastern Access Corridor) – 7.5km eastern access corridor linking Stuart Bypass and Townsville State Development Area to the port (including Ross River Bridge).

• Southern approach to Mackay – This project includes the duplication of the Bruce Highway from Temples Lane to Boundary Road to address the traffic demands on the National Network resulting from a growing economic and community base.

• Bruce Highway (Caboolture to Cairns) – Funding has been allocated for safety initiatives which aim to address both known and potential crash sites with fatalities and hospitalisations.

Building Australia Fund

A further $884m in funding has been secured under the federal government’s Building Australia Fund, with $484m being provided in 2008-09. The projects which have benefitted from the Building Australia Fund are:

• Dinmore to Goodna – Additional funding to continue the upgrading to six lanes between Dinmore and the Ipswich/Logan interchange upgrade at Goodna. This project will also provide enhanced access to rail stations, improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as delivering extensive service roads and local connector roads.

• Ipswich Motorway (Wacol to Darra – Stage 2) – funding will be provided for works between Sandy Creek and the Logan Motorway Interchange.

• Darra to Rocklea planning – Undertake planning for the upgrading of the Ipswich Motorway in this section.

Question on Notice 9

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MRS GRACE asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-179 of the Service Delivery Statement notes the role the Main Roads portfolio plays in providing employment opportunities across the State. Can the Minister inform the Committee of how many jobs his Main Roads portfolio will support in 2009/10 and outline the key projects and the number of jobs associated with each?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Brisbane Central for the question.

As outlined within the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ Service Delivery Statement, the 2009-10 investment in the road network is estimated to sustain employment for over 30,000 people in roads and related industries.

This covers both new infrastructure projects and those activities designed to preserve and maintain an ageing network.

Key highlights include:

Far North Region

Far North’s $181 million roads program for 2009-10 is estimated to sustain employment for 1444 workers in the region. Key major projects include:

• $22 million to commence the realignment of the Bruce Highway at the Cardwell Range • $11.3 million to construct a new bridge over the Endeavour River and approaches on the Endeavour Valley Road west of Cooktown, at a total estimated cost of $15 million • $9 million in 2009-10 towards the $31.5 million upgrade of the Kennedy Developmental Road between Three Ways and The Lynd.

Northern Region

The Northern Region’s 2009-10 $172 million roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 1470 people. Key major projects include:

• $47.3 million to continue construction of the joint state/federally funded Townsville Port Access Road, at a total estimated cost of $190 million • $16.7 million towards upgrading the Gregory Developmental Road between Charters Towers and The Lynd, at a total estimated cost of $23.3 million • $11 million to complete the two-lane sealed construction of the Abbott Street Deviation between Oonoonba Road-River Boulevard in Townsville, at a total estimated cost of $11.6 million • $10.6 million to continue repairing and strengthening the Burdekin River Bridge on the Bruce Highway, at a total estimated cost of $43.8 million.

North West Region

North West Queensland’s $75 million roads program in 2009-10 is estimated to sustain employment for 707 people. Key projects include:

• $10 million for Higher Mass Limit upgrades of sections of the Flinders Highway • $4.9 million for the upgrading of Box Creek and Holy Hoe Creek floodways along the Flinders Highway between Julia Creek and Cloncurry, as part of the Sustainable Resource Communities initiative.

Mackay/Whitsunday Region

Mackay-Whitsunday’s 2009-10 $149 million roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 1576 people. Key projects include:

• $37.6 million to continue the duplication of Forgan Bridge and construction of approaches on Barnes Creek Road in Mackay, at a total estimated cost of $148 million • $8.7 million in Australian Government funding to commence four-laning works on the Bruce Highway southern approaches to Mackay, between Temples Lane and Farrelly’s Lane, at a total estimated cost of $33.3 million • $8 million to continue construction of the Joint Levee Road between Sams Road and Barnes Creek Road in North Mackay, at a total estimated cost of $20 million.

Central West Region

In 2009-10, a $68 million roads program in Central West Queensland is estimated to sustain employment for 614 people. Key projects include:

• $5.4 million to provide multiple safety and pavement improvements to the Diamantina Developmental Road, at a total estimated cost of $4.7 million • $3.6 million to pave and seal sections of the Blackall-Jericho Road at various locations, at a total estimated cost of $4.7 million.

Fitzroy Region

Fitzroy Region’s 2009-10 $152 million roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 1490 people. Key major projects include:

• $36 million to construct a new Calliope Range alignment on the Dawson Highway, at a total estimated cost of $70 million as part of the $150 million Bowen Basin funding package • $11.3 million to replace bridges across the Don River on the Leichhardt Highway south of Wowan, at a total cost of $65 million as part of the $150 million Bowen Basin funding package • $4 million to complete pavement reconstruction work on the Dawson Highway between Meteor Creek North and Three Chain Road, at a total estimated cost of $8.5 million.

Wide Bay/Burnett Region

Wide Bay-Burnett’s $430 million roads program for 2009-10 is estimated to sustain employment for 3541 people. Projects include:

• $236 million to commence the upgrading of the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra (Section B – Sankeys Road to Traveston Road), at a total estimated cost of $17.1 million • $16 million to commence duplication from two to four lanes on the Maryborough-Hervey Bay Road from the Torbanlea turn-off to Dundowran Road, at a total estimated cost of $17.1 million • $15 million to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Pine Street and Kidgell Street, Gympie, at a total estimated cost of $70.8 million • $12.1 million to complete the Bundaberg Ring Road, at a total estimated cost of $100 million.

Metropolitan Region

Metropolitan Region’s 2009-10 $2 billion roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 13 045 people. Key major projects include:

• $650 million to continue construction of the Ipswich Motorway upgrade (Dinmore to Goodna) • $259.2 million to continue construction of the second Gateway Bridge river crossing and to increase capacity on the Gateway Motorway, between Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Nudgee Road • $142.4 million to construct the new Brisbane Airport roundabout as part of the Airport Link project • $130 million to continue construction of stage one of the Ipswich Motorway upgrade (Sandy Creek, Wacol to Jarvis Street, Darra) • $119.7 million to continue construction on stage one of the Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor project

South West Region

In South West Queensland, a $63 million roads program for 2009-10 is estimated to sustain employment for 627 workers. Major projects include:

• $8.8 million towards the upgrade of the Warrego Highway from Mitchell towards Roma to allow Type 2 Road Train access • $4 million to widen and seal an 8.5 kilometre section of the Carnarvon Highway, north of Injune, at a total estimated cost of $8 million • $3.8 million to construct a bridge and approaches on the Carnarvon Highway at the Barwon River, Mungindi, at a total estimated cost of $8 million.

North Coast Region

North Coast Region’s 2009-10 $358 million roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 2980 people. Key major projects include:

• $125 million to continue construction of the new Houghton Highway Bridge between Brighton and Redcliffe • $28.6 million to complete the duplication of Steve Irwin Way between Landsborough and the Bruce Highway • $22.6 million to continue the duplication of Caboolture-Bribie Island Road between Aerodrome Road and Pasturage Road, at a total estimated cost of $37.9 million.

Darling Downs Region

A $115 million roads program for 2009-10 for the Darling Downs Region is estimated to sustain employment for 1153 people. Major projects include:

• $5.8 million to widen and seal the New England Highway from Munro Road to Pioneer Road, at a total estimated cost of $9.5 million • $5.7 million for intersection improvements at Ruthven and Jellicoe streets, at a total estimated cost of $9.7 million.

South Coast Region

South Coast Region’s 2009-10 $461 million roads program is estimated to sustain employment for 3820 people. Key major projects include:

• $93.5 million towards the first stage of the Pacific Motorway Upgrade (Gateway Motorway to Logan Motorway) between Springwood South and Daisy Hill, • $35.2 million for construction of the Varsity Lakes Interchange (Exit 85) and planning for the future upgrade of the Robina Interchange • $32 million to begin widening of Olsen Avenue between Melia Court and Smith Street Connection Road to provide access to the future Gold Coast University Hospital. Question on Notice 10

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MRS JAN JARRATT MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Page 2-180 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to works undertaken on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community access improvement projects. Can the Minister inform the Committee of how his department is acting to improve road infrastructure servicing Indigenous communities and how this is helping to create employment opportunities in these communities?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Whitsunday for the question.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads is committed to enhancing the social and economic well-being of Indigenous Queenslanders by delivering projects that provide training and employment opportunities and improve road access for Indigenous communities.

The department’s Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme, or TIDS, provides funding to local governments for the purpose of transport related infrastructure development. Current state-wide TIDS funding is $63 million per annum, of which $13 million per annum is allocated to Indigenous councils.

This $13 million per annum is allocated state-wide for works that improve access to Indigenous communities. Access related projects are fully-funded with no matching requirement from councils. They are specifically managed to assist the development of community capability in road construction, maintenance and management activities.

Within this $13 million, consideration is also given to providing funds on a 50/50 basis to seal local council streets. For example, $2 million joint state and federal funding has been allocated to the Torres Strait Island Regional Council to seal town streets at Mabuiag Island. These works are due to be complete in September 2009 and will significantly improve access and conditions for residents on Mabuiag Island.

The department, through the Roads Alliance partnership with Local Government, is implementing a process to increase Indigenous councils’ involvement in Regional Road Groups. This increased participation ensures Indigenous leaders are involved in making local decisions for road infrastructure needs in their communities.

This process has been facilitated through an Indigenous Reference Group meeting held in November 2008 and an Indigenous Roads Forum held in Cairns on 27 February 2009.

Involving Indigenous councils in the Roads Alliance process empowers Indigenous communities to take ownership of the management, construction and prioritisation of projects in their respective communities.

The department’s Remote Communities Service Unit in Cairns supports and trains local workforces to carry out their own infrastructure activities. The unit works with local communities to provide valuable work experience in plant maintenance and operation, road maintenance activities and other civil construction skills.

In south-east Queensland, the department has joined forces with other government agencies and industry groups to develop a unique training program to improve employment prospects for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Constructive Mob: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Construction Skills Training Program is an accredited training program where trainees complete a Certificate II in Civil Construction, while gaining job-skills on major road infrastructure projects in the Brisbane and Ipswich area.

A total of 14 trainees are currently taking part in the program which will provide them with valuable work experience and increase their future employment potential.

The provision of employment and training opportunities is also continuing in north-west Queensland. $2.85 million is allocated in 2009-10 for projects to support the continuation of Myuma’s Group Training and Construction Program based in Camooweal.

This funding includes $2 million from the state’s Sustainable Resource Communities Initiative and $875,000 state funding for works to improve access and flood immunity on the Gregory Downs – Camooweal Road, north of Camooweal.

These projects will provide 22 trainees with job skills in road construction while they work on improving essential road infrastructure to connect their communities.

These initiatives I have mentioned align with the department’s Roads to Reconciliation Action Plan, which is a blueprint for achieving our vision of reconciliation.

They demonstrate our department’s commitment to enhancing the economic and social capacity of Indigenous communities and improving their quality of life through the delivery of essential road infrastructure.

Minister for Main Roads

Answers to Non-Government Questions on Notice

Question on Notice 11

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS2-188 – Road system seal age – Please advise by region (including road name if practical) and length the sections of the state-controlled road network that exceed the optimal seal age.

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

I am pleased to advise that an allocation of $145 million has been provided in the 2009-10 State Budget for programmed maintenance, comprising bitumen reseals and asphalt overlays.

The department is always working to get an increasingly detailed understanding of the state- controlled road network’s condition, so that it can make best use of available funding. This includes investing maintenance funding where it is most needed.

The optimal seal age is the estimated point in time when it would be best to carry out re- surfacing work, but a number of factors affect seal life, including temperature extremes. It is never the sole criterion used in decision-making about whether to re-seal and therefore does not pinpoint exactly which locations are most in need of priority investment. Physical inspections are essential to confirm when re-surfacing work is needed so that judgement can be exercised and maintenance funding invested well. If seals are still performing well at a particular location, the department would not carry out re-surfacing work unnecessarily but would re-prioritise funding elsewhere on the network.

The optimal spray seal age across the state varies from 8 to 10 years, depending on the climate and other conditions. Similarly, the optimal asphalt age varies from 10 to 14 years.

As there is an operational lag between the completion of road works and the entry of the relevant details into the database, it is not possible to give up-to-date, detailed figures for lengths and locations of the road network that exceed the optimal seal age. However, allowing for work completed late in 2008-09 that is yet to be entered into the system, it is expected that the overall length exceeding the optimal seal age will be in line with the estimated SDS figure of 17.7%.

While the Service Delivery Statement shows that the percentage of the state-controlled road network exceeding the optimal seal age has increased slightly, many seals or road surfaces continue to perform at a satisfactory level beyond the optimal seal age.

Currently, there is an emphasis on re-sealing or re-surfacing work to ensure that road surfaces are as waterproof as possible. This, in turn, protects the underlying pavements from damage. However, despite this emphasis, there was marginally less re-sealing work done in 2008-09 than planned – some 251 lane-kilometres less than planned – because of extensive wet weather.

This is reflected in the 4500 lane-kilometres planned for re-sealing in 2008-09 (shown in the Service Delivery Statements, 2-189 and Note 33, 2-192), compared to the 4249 lane- kilometres that were actually re-sealed.

This is because the wet season had a big impact on re-sealing work across the state. Dry conditions are essential for re-sealing work to be carried out successfully. The 2009-10 re- sealing program will continue to make best use of the $145 million invested in programmed maintenance, by combining data analysis and physical inspections in decision-making about the optimal timing of re-sealing works.

Question on Notice 12

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS 2-179 – Road System Planning – Please list all planning documents by status (that is, draft/ongoing [including anticipated finalisation date] or final [date finalised]) and cost, undertaken by the Department of Main Roads in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

The Department of Main Roads carries out road system planning in accordance with the National Guidelines for Transport System Management, which have been endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The following major pieces of road system planning work were done in 2007-08 and 2008-09:

• Input to the updated South East Queensland Integrated Transport Strategy (draft/ongoing).

• Provision of integrated land use and transport planning advice in the development of the South East Queensland Regional Plan (SEQRP) 2009-2031. (Input finalised 2008- 09).

• Update of the roads component of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program (2009-2026). (Input finalised 2008-09)

• Input to Integrated Regional Transport Plans and Regional Plans across Queensland (various, including the Far North Queensland Regional Plan, 2009-2031. (Input finalised 2008-09)

• Analysis of network needs to support mining development in Queensland, to help develop and assess submissions for funding under the Queensland Government’s Sustainable Resource Communities initiative. (Finalised 2008-09)

• Development of network-level investment cases to secure federal funding for the National Network in Queensland, through the National Building Program and Infrastructure Australia. (Finalised 2008-09)

• Development of the AusLink Network Forward Strategy (ANFS) 2009-10 to 2013-14. (Finalised 2007-08) (The ANFS provided the foundation for the 2008-09 submission, which secured significant federal funding for Queensland: some $5.94 billion under the Nation Building Program and a further $884 million under the Building Australia Fund.)

• Update of the roads component of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program (2008-2026). (Input finalised 2007-08)

• Development of AusLink Corridor Strategies for AusLink corridors in Queensland, in conjunction with the former Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services (the AusLink network is now the National Network and includes the former national highway system). (Finalised 2007-08)

Funding provided for Road System Planning activities was $6.9 million in 2007-08 and $8.7 million in 2008-09.

Question on Notice 13

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MISS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS2-189 – Please advise how many bridges, reported by region, have been assessed as requiring rehabilitation or replacement in the next five years and how many will be undertaken this year.

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

In 2009-10, 24 bridges are scheduled to be replaced while, between 2010-11 and 2013-14, the Department of Transport and Main Roads plans to replace a further 21 bridges.

The department has programmed eight bridges for rehabilitation in 2009-10 and a further seven between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

In addition to the numbers of bridge projects I have just outlined, the state government has provided a bulk allocation of some $127m over the next five years for bridge and culvert rehabilitation. This funding will be allocated to specific projects based on priorities and strategic needs.

In the 2009-10 State Budget, the government has also allocated $117m over five years for bridge inspections and servicing to monitor and manage these important state assets.

With 7 000 major structures, it is vital for inspections to be conducted at regular intervals. Mandatory bridge inspections that include condition rating of structures and components in accordance with the department’s "Bridge Inspection Manual" (BIS) were implemented in 1998. Every component of each bridge and major culvert is inspected by the department’s accredited bridge inspectors at regular intervals depending on their construction material type and previous condition rating. Typically, non-timber bridges and timber bridges in good condition are inspected at five year and two year inspection cycles respectively and after any major flooding event or bush fire that could cause damage.

Effective routine and preventative maintenance programmes are essential to maximise the useful service life of assets and to minimise costly and disruptive reactive maintenance interventions. Given the multi-dimensional nature of the bridge management task, the department has adopted a relative risk framework for setting and monitoring vision/performance standards and determining funding priorities and allocations. “Whichbridge” is a multi-criteria analysis software that analyses the data held in the BIS and other road information systems to produce bridge and culvert priority rankings and is regarded as the department benchmark in road system element management practice.

Regular servicing reduces the need for future rehabilitation, while improving the long-term performance of these structures across the state.

As well, the department undertakes preventative maintenance to ensure the bridges remain in a good condition. These tasks include site maintenance; timber preservation (with termite preventative treatments); cleaning of structural components; maintaining fastener tightness; minor pavement or structural repairs (including the replacement of components); repainting of components; and maintenance of waterways.

A table detailing proposed bridge works by region is below.

2010-11 to Number of bridges for replacement 2009-10 2013-14 Central West Region 1 1 Darling Downs Region 4 5 Far North Region 3 0 Fitzroy Region 0 2 Mackay Whitsunday Region 2 2 Metropolitan Region 1 0 North Coast Region 5 1 North West Region 0 0 Northern Region 1 0 South Coast Region 3 3 South West Region 1 1 Wide Bay Burnett Region 3 6

24 21 2010-11 to Number of bridges for rehabilitation 2009-10 2013-14 Central West Region 0 0 Darling Downs Region 3 1 Far North Region 1 0 Fitzroy Region 0 0 Mackay Whitsunday Region 0 0 Metropolitan Region 0 2 North Coast Region 0 0 North West Region 0 0 Northern Region 1 0 South Coast Region 0 0 South West Region 2 0 Wide Bay Burnett Region 1 4

8 7

Question on Notice 14

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS 2-193 – Note 55 Please provide detailed reasoning why these measures are being discontinued and advise what measures they will be replaced by (reported separately)

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads has indicated its intention in the 2009-10 Service Delivery Statement (SDS) to replace or discontinue several Main Roads’ performance measures. Each of these was flagged with Note 55, which states “This measure has been reviewed and it is considered that the measure should either be replaced with a more meaningful measure or discontinued. Subject to approval by the Cabinet Budget Review Committee, this measure will not appear in the 2010-11 Service Delivery Statements.”

The Main Roads SDS performance measures were reviewed for the following reasons:

• It is a part of best practice performance management to regularly review measures for relevance. • The Service Delivery Performance Commission (SDPC) identified that the former Department of Main Roads had too many measures, and that they were not the most appropriate measures to guide effective decision making. Therefore, Main Roads reviewed the performance measures (and outputs) that appear in the SDS. • The Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) proposed a change from Outputs and Performance Measures to Services and Service Standards as part of the Towards Q2 initiative and also encouraged agencies to use this opportunity to review their performance measures.

A number of improvements were identified during this review to make the measures more relevant for informed decision-making. A significant number of measures were regarded as being “inventory” measures, which are useful for internal operational purposes, but not for strategic decision making or external reporting.

These factors mean that the new Department of Transport and Main Roads has an opportunity to improve the quality and usefulness of performance measures in the 2010-11 SDS.

To enable the department to implement the changes identified during its review process, it was necessary to “flag” (in the 2009-10 SDS) any measures that may change in the following year. Therefore, while not committing to specific changes, inserting Note 55 enabled the department to make the necessary changes to the 2010-11 SDS if needed.

The proposed changes and performance measures are being reviewed again following the integration of Main Roads and Queensland Transport into the Department of Transport and Main Roads. I expect to be in a position to soon announce the new more effective and accountable measures that will be reported in the 2010-11 SDS.

While some of the measures identified by Note 55 will not be reported in the 2010-11 SDS, they will still be collected for internal operational purposes by the department. I can confirm for the Committee my previous statement that I will ensure that these measures are released publicly in at least the first year of the changes, to allow appropriate comparisons to be made.

Question on Notice 15

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

BP3 - How much has been spent on the Port of Brisbane Motorway project to date, with inclusion of government employees as well as consultants and contractors expenses reported separately, funding source (Federal, State, Port of Brisbane or private sector reported separately) and what is the status of the project?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

The Port of Brisbane Motorway upgrade project will complete a high quality road link to the Port of Brisbane (the port). It is essential to the continued economic prosperity driven by the port and the industries that rely upon it.

In 2006 Main Roads renewed planning for upgrading of the motorway. This has included a range of studies to reinvestigate earlier works and conduct appropriate options analysis and project planning. The focus for the options analysis was updating the ultimate motorway design and the incorporation of current engineering and environmental standards and practices.

The current business case phase has been developed in line with the Queensland Government’s value-for-money framework. It seeks to: • determine whether the project should proceed in terms of priority and affordability • identify the project delivery option most likely to provide the best “value for money” outcome, and • provide information regarding the available project delivery options.

The project is currently finalising the draft value-for-money business case.

The total funding allocation for this project is $13.94 million. The Queensland Government contribution is $12.74 million, and the Federal Government contribution has been $1.2 million.

The total expenditure to 30 June 2009 is $10.15 million (pending Gateway financial roll over). The estimated final cost for the project is $11.3 million.

The breakdown of cost spent to date between contractors and consultants and Main Roads costs are $8.35 million and $1.8 million respectively.

Description Total amount (000) Total $ allocation for project 13,944 Funding Split - Federal 1,200 Funding Split - State 12,794 Total spent to date including 08/09 End of year accrual 10,150 Total spent on contractors 8,364 Total cost 1,786

Question on Notice 16

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

BP3 p 138 – What plans are being investigated to extend tolling on the Brisbane road network, in particular as a result of the Queensland Motorway asset sale and/or on new or existing roads?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

The Treasurer is best positioned to respond to detailed issues on the asset sales program. However, I note that consideration of the various options for the sale of Queensland Motorways has no direct implications for the Queensland Government’s commitment to maintain Queensland’s economic competitiveness and ease congestion around South East Queensland.

In this regard, my Department remains committed to exploring the potential for new and innovative congestion management measures for South East Queensland roads.

As the Member would be aware, investigation work looking at innovative congestion management measures, such as high-occupancy vehicle lanes and combined transit and bus priority lanes, has been undertaken by the Department.

Investigation of the operation of these types of measures is one example of the transport planning studies that my Department prudently undertakes to determine optimal transport outcomes for South East Queensland.

However, I can advise the Committee that the Department has not finalised modelling of these innovative congestion management measures for any of our roads, nor has any decision been made to recommend implementation of any of these measures on new or existing South East Queensland roads.

Question on Notice 17

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS 2-182 – In the last financial year, how much has been spent on domestic and overseas travel and accommodation (separately identified) with a breakdown for Main Roads employees as well as consultants and contractors reimbursed for travel and what is budgeted for this year?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

The cost of Main Roads’ domestic travel and accommodation of $20.1 million in 2008-09 is a small cost (0.67 per cent) in comparison to the infrastructure program of work that it supports ($3.07 billion). Overseas travel is minor ($200 000) and helps to position Queensland as a leader in transport capital infrastructure solutions.

Department of Transport and Main Roads officers also hold key roles with the World Road Association (PIARC), which brings together 117 road authorities worldwide. This membership involves officers travelling to international conferences and technical committee meetings to share techniques and experiences.

Main Roads staff travel as part of their day-to-day job. Surveyors carry out major pre- construction work in all areas of the state. Regional staff travel between offices to relieve peak pressure points. Engineers, project managers and superintendents continuously travel between jobs they supervise.

RoadTek, the commercial business unit of Main Roads, operates a large transitionary workforce that move from construction project to project around the state.

In times of natural disaster Main Roads must quickly respond and relocate workers to address the community needs. In the recent flooding they have shown to do this effectively and have strongly supported the community. Main Roads staff in non-flooded areas, volunteer to relieve in flood zones and flew to critical areas to support the community and the emergency clean-up operations.

Main Roads has an excellent relationship with local government which is well supported with the face-to-face meetings Main Roads staff have with council officials.

Main Roads has had to engage contractors to ensure the roads program has been delivered. Many of these contractors are regionally based and must travel between the projects they supervise.

The attached table (Attachment 1) provides a breakdown on domestic and overseas travel and accommodation for Main Roads employees as well as consultants and contractors for the last financial year, 2008-09. The second table (Attachment 2) provides a breakdown for the budgeted 2009-10 financial year.

While appropriate travel to support delivery of the record Main Roads capital program is important, the Department is working to minimise the costs involved. Attachment 2 shows that a 20% reduction in the Main Roads portfolio travel costs has been budgeted for 2009-10

ATTACHMENT 1

ESTIMATES - PRE- HEARING QUESTION ON NOTICE SDS2-182

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (MAIN ROADS) ACTUALS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 2009 FOR DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND ACCOMODATION FOR MAIN ROADS EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS

MAIN ROADS EMPLOYEES CONTRACTORS & CONSULTANTS

Domestic Overseas Domestic Overseas Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Travel and Accommodation 9,887,780 7,952,262 208,185 - 2,279,737 28,136 - -

Total 9,887,780 7,952,262 208,185 - 2,279,737 28,136 - -

Total Main Roads Employees Domestic Travel 17,840,042

Total Main Roads Employees Overseas Travel 208,185

Total Contractors & Consultants Domestic Travel 2,307,873 Total Contractors & Consultants Overseas Travel -

Grand Total 20,356,100 ATTACHMENT 2

ESTIMATES - PRE- HEARING QUESTION ON NOTICE SDS2-182

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (MAIN ROADS) BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 2010 FOR DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS TRAVEL AND ACCOMODATION FOR MAIN ROADS EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS

MAIN ROADS EMPLOYEES CONTRACTORS & CONSULTANTS Domestic Overseas Domestic Overseas Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek Corporate RoadTek $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Travel and Accommodation 7,910,224 6,361,810 166,548 - 1,823,790 22,508 - -

Total 7,910,224 6,361,810 166,548 - 1,823,790 22,508 - -

Total Main Roads Employees Domestic Travel 14,272,034

Total Main Roads Employees Overseas Travel 166,548

Total Contractors & Consultants Domestic Travel 1,846,298 Total Contractors & Consultants Overseas Travel -

Grand Total 16,284,880

Question on Notice 18

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

BP3 p133 – Federal Government 2009-10 budget papers included an announcement that in 2008-09 Queensland would be paid $448 million for work on the Dinmore to Goodna upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway and $176 million for the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway. In light of Budget Paper No 3 p133’s indication much less will be expended on these projects in 2008-09, what funds earmarked for these projects will Queensland receive in 2008-09 from the Federal Government, and if additional funds are received how will they be accounted for?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

(1) Ipswich Motorway

$884m of funding was announced by the Rudd Government under the Building Australia Fund in the 2009-10 Federal Budget for the Ipswich Motorway: Dinmore to Goodna section $750m, Wacol to Darra (Stage 2) section $124m and planning for the Darra to Rocklea section ($10m). Of this $884m funding allocation, Queensland received $484m in 2008-09.

(2) Cooroy to Curra

The federal government also announced $488m in funding under the Nation Building Program for the Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra Section B [Sankeys Road to Traveston Road]) project. Of this amount, $176m was received in 2008-09.

(3) Funding arrangements

Queensland is proceeding with these projects in 2009-10. Funding not spent in 2008-09 will be invested by the state government. Any interest earned from the invested funds will be used on National Network projects in Queensland, subject to agreement with the federal government.

Question on Notice 19

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

Ms FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (Mr WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

Main Roads Staffing – Please list staffing (FTEs) Unit, including for Government Owned Corporations (reported separately by business unit) and advise the number of employees involved in Human Resource activities by business unit.

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

This answer is based on the “2009-10 Queensland State Budget - Service Delivery Statements” in particular the Staffing table at 2-181 for the Department of Transport and Main Roads. As Minister for Main Roads, this response refers only to “Main Roads Outputs”.

The Service Delivery Statements do not relate to Government Owned Corporations hence the staffing figures only relate to government departments.

Full-time equivalents expressed in the Service Delivery Statements reflect the full-time equivalents option under the Treasury Financial Reporting Requirements which is a year to date average. It includes all worked and leave hours.

Main Roads differed from Queensland Transport prior to amalgamation in that it did not allocate Human Resources staff across business units. Instead it had a centralised human resource function which allowed it to deploy its human resources staff flexibly and efficiently on an as needs basis to business units.

As at June 2009, Main Roads had 80 Human Resource staff located in Corporate Capability Division.

The department’s investment in the corporate human resources function reflects both operational and strategic professional services provided in-house.

In particular, to support Main Roads in attracting and developing capable technical and professional staff, corporate HR has implemented a number of retention, attraction and capability development strategies. These include developing technical competency through Grow Our Own strategies, workforce planning, career pathing and leadership development.

Main Roads Outputs/Business Units 2008/09 FTE Road System Planning 306 Road Program Development and Delivery 2559 Road Corridor and Network Operations 749 Community Transport Access Support 86 RoadTek 1708

TOTAL Main Roads FTE 5408

Note: 2008/09 FTE’s sourced from DS 2-181

Question on Notice No 20

Estimates Committee D

Asked on 2 July 2009

MS FIONA SIMPSON MP asked the Minister for Main Roads (MR WALLACE) -

QUESTION:

SDS 2-172 – Following the merger of the departments of Transport and Main Roads please advise what staffing and cost savings are anticipated to be achieved.

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Maroochydore for the question.

Following the election, the Premier announced a substantial reform program to consolidate similar functions and improve our services to Queenslanders.

As part of these changes, Queensland Transport and Main Roads have merged to form a single department known as the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The new department is 9,054 people strong, bringing together 3,619 full-time equivalents from Transport and 5,435 from Main Roads.

Benefits of the new integrated agency include:

• maintaining and enhancing our focus on the customer • grouping “like” activities and identify synergies wherever possible • reinforcing the integration of planning functions across the agency in accordance with Government priorities • building on and enhancing existing partnership and co-operation.

An initial phase of the department’s integration has established a business model and high-level functional structure. Work is ongoing with respect to a detailed organisational structure.

The Queensland Government has developed public sector savings targets for agencies in 2009-10. The Department of Transport and Main Roads’ target in 2009-10 is $25 million. Savings will be found through a combination of efficiencies in corporate overheads and operating structures and a reduction in expenditure across a number of categories.

Areas for savings include:

• reducing corporate travel expenditure by 20 per cent • reducing advertising expenditure to contribute to a whole-of-government 25 per cent reduction of 2008-09 expenditure • achieving savings in the procurement of products and services via entering into whole-of-government purchasing arrangements • a negotiated reduction in the rates of temporarily employed external contractors • a reduction in the number of temporarily employed contractors • further savings through corporate services process efficiencies • contribution of $6.25 million in savings in other operating expenses such as consultancies, communications and marketing, publications, office equipment and supplies and agency contract staff.

Savings measures will be consistent with the Government’s employment security policy and will not impact on service delivery. There will be no forced redundancies – we are committed to employment security for our staff as we look to realign the agency to deliver on community expectations at the front-line service level and in terms of our infrastructure network.

Minister for Main Roads

Government Questions on Notice

MINISTER FOR MAIN ROADS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Government Members

QUESTION 1

GRACE GRACE MP Page 2-172 of the Service Delivery Statement notes that one of the service delivery priorities of the Department of Transport and Main Roads is to manage the impact of urban traffic growth. Can the Minister outline for the Committee what his Main Roads portfolio is doing to manage this impact in South East Queensland?

QUESTION 2

DEAN WELLS MP Page 2-173 of the Service Delivery Statement makes reference to continuation of the Houghton Highway Bridge duplication project. Can the Minister advise the Committee of progress with this project?

QUESTION 3

DEAN WELLS MP Page 2-173 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to the upgrade of the Bruce Highway between the Gateway Motorway and Caboolture. Can the Minister advise the Committee when this project is expected to be completed?

QUESTION 4

MICHAEL CHOI MP •Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to projects directly targeting South East Queensland population growth demands. I understand that key amongst these is the $1.883 billion Gateway Upgrade Project, referred to on page 121 of the Capital Statement. Can the Minister inform the Committee of the expected timing of completion of the different sections of this project?

QUESTION 5

JAN JARRATT MP •Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement makes mention of the Townsville Port Access Road project in the Minister's home region. Can the Minister outline for the Committee the details of this project and of other work underway or recently completed in the Townsville district?

Page 1 of 2 MINISTER FOR MAIN ROADS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Government Members

QUESTION 6

JAN JARRATT MP Page 2-174 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to a project to replace the Don River Bridges on the Leichhardt Highway. Can the Minister advise the Committee about the details and expected timing of this project?

QUESTION 7

MICHAEL CHOI MP Page 2-176 of the Service Delivery Statement gives an indication of several of the major SEQIPP projects underway in the Western Corridor region. Can the Minister provide the Committee with details of the key projects and the number of jobs associated with those projects?

QUESTION 8

GRACE GRACE MP Page 2-177 of the Service Delivery Statement indicates that the Bligh Government has recently secured substantial Federal funding under the Nation Building Program. Can the Minister detail to the Committee the projects that will be funded as part of this program?

QUESTION 9

GRACE GRACE MP Page 2-179 of the Service Delivery Statement notes the role the Main Roads portfolio plays in providing employment opportunities across the State. Can the Minister inform the Committee of how many jobs his Main Roads portfolio will support in 2009/10 and outline the key projects and the number of jobs associated with each?

QUESTION 10

JAN JARRATT MP • Page 2-180 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to works undertaken on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community access improvement projects. Can the Minister inform the Committee of how his department is acting to improve road infrastructure servicing indigenous communities and how this is helping to create employment opportunities in these communities?

Page 2 of 2

Minister for Main Roads

Non-Government Questions on Notice

MINISTER FOR MAIN ROADS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Non-Government Members

QUESTION 1

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-188 – Road system seal age – Please advise by region (including road name if practical) and length the sections of the state-controlled road network that exceed the optimal seal age.

QUESTION 2

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-179 Road System Planning – Please list all planning documents by status (i.e, draft/ongoing [including anticipated finalisation date] or final [date finalised]) and cost, undertaken by the Department of Main Roads in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

QUESTION 3

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-189 – Please advise how many bridges, reported by region, have been assessed as requiring rehabilitation or replacement in the next five years and how many will be undertaken this year.

QUESTION 4

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-193 – Note 55 Please provide detailed reasoning why these measures are being discontinued and advise what measures they will be replaced by (reported separately).

QUESTION 5

Fiona Simpson MP BP3 – How much has been spent on the Port of Brisbane Motorway project to date, with inclusion of government employees as well as consultant and contractor expenses reported separately, funding source (Federal, State, Port of Brisbane or private sector reported separately) and what is the status of this project?

QUESTION 6

Fiona Simpson MP BP3 p 138 – What plans are being investigated to extend tolling on the Brisbane road network, in particular as a result of the Queensland Motorway asset sale and/or on new or existing roads?

Page 1 of 2 MINISTER FOR MAIN ROADS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Non-Government Members

QUESTION 7

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-182 – In the last financial year, how much has been spent on domestic and overseas travel and accommodation (separately identified) with a breakdown for Main Roads employees as well as consultants and contractors reimbursed for travel and what is budgeted for this year?

QUESTION 8

Fiona Simpson MP BP3 p133 – Federal Government 2009-10 budget papers included an announcement that in 2008-09 Queensland would be paid $448 million for work on the Dinmore to Goodna upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway and $176 million for the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway. In light of Budget Paper No. 3 p133’s indication much less will be expended on these projects in 2008-09, what funds earmarked for these projects will Queensland receive in 2008-09 from the Federal Government, and if additional funds are received how will they be accounted for?

QUESTION 9

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-181 Main Roads Staffing – Please list staffing (FTEs) Unit, including for Government Owned Corporations (reported separately by business unit) and advise the number of employees involved in Human Resource activities by business unit.

QUESTION 10

Fiona Simpson MP SDS 2-172 – Following the merger of the departments of Transport and Main Roads please advise what staffing and cost savings are anticipated to be achieved.

Page 2 of 2

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Documents tabled at hearing

Disability Service Plan whole-of-government annual progress report 2008 ©The State of Queensland (Department of Communities) 2009

Copyright protects this publication. Excerpts may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the State of Queensland (Department of Communities).

Department of Communities GPO Box 806 Brisbane Q 4001 www.disability.qld.gov.au 2 Foreword In 2003 there were an estimated 834 000 people I am pleased to announce that the Queensland with a disability in Queensland. This constitutes Government Disability Service Plans Annual Progress 22.1 per cent of Queensland’s total estimated Report highlights significant achievements by population of 3 775 000 people. Assuming that the departments in the first year of implementation. age specific disability prevalence rate remained constant, the number of people with a disability was It is important that the momentum of this work projected to reach 950 500 people by the end of continues to be supported across government so 2008 — a growth of 14 per cent over the five years that changes documented in the first annual report from 2003. are built on and become embedded in the way government operates. The Disability Services Act 2006 requires every Queensland Government department to develop a The continual improvement of programs and Disability Service Plan (DSP) to provide increased services to provide seamless access to and inclusion responsiveness and gradual improvement of in government services for people with a disability government services to people with a disability, places us in a strong position to realise the ultimate including more coordinated whole-of-government vision of ensuring that people with a disability have responses. DSPs were implemented from July 2007. the same opportunity for civil, political, cultural, legal, social and economic participation as any other Each DSP is unique, reflecting the size, scope and member of society. activities of the department to which it relates. When implementing DSPs departments examined their existing service delivery, identified ways to improve access for people with a disability and nominated priority areas to progress. Annastacia Palaszczuk

These are progressive plans and express the Minister for Disability Services intention for continuous action over time — to and Multicultural Affairs ensure people with a disability have equal access to July 2009 government services, like any other member of the Queensland community.

3 Contents

Introduction 5 Six common areas 6 Introduction Responses by department 7

Achievements 8

Partnerships developed 9

2008 achievements 10

Policies and procedures...... 10

Information and communication...... 14

Attitude and awareness of employees...... 15

Physical access...... 17

Recruitment and retention...... 19

Complaints...... 21

Other significant changes...... 22

Departments 24

4 5 Introduction

The Disability Services Act 2006, which required all buildings. In addition to this, the report also features Queensland Government departments to implement specific departmental initiatives. a Disability Services Plan (DSP), encourages all Queenslanders to promote inclusive principles Initiatives related to better access demonstrated within their own communities. improvements on two fronts: access to information, and physical access to buildings. Improvements to People with a disability have an equal right information provision included enhancements to to services available to other members of the websites and online services to meet information Queensland community. The service delivery accessibility standards. In addition, departments principles encourage service providers to consider reported upgrades to existing facilities and the needs of people with a disability when they refurbishments to ensure compliance with building design and deliver services. legislation and codes to ensure that structural designs are easily accessible for people with a This first Queensland Government DSP annual report disability. demonstrates that the DSPs implemented across government from July 2007 are supporting positive Departmental policies and procedures were changes in services for people with a disability. reviewed to ensure that people with a disability Departments identified the most significant changes have equitable access to departmental services. that had taken place in the agency over the past year Approximately 70 per cent of departments reported in the implementation of the DSPs and provided amending their complaint management system a description of the progress made in common to enable complaints to be lodged in a range of areas as well as in specific departmental initiatives. communication formats. Strategies were also The progress could be in initiatives a department developed to reduce barriers to recruiting and currently implements or proposes to implement retaining people with a disability in the workplace. including changes or improvements to ensure that people with a disability have access to the services All agencies reported that they either have and facilities that are available to the broader developed or are developing orientation programs community. for staff that include awareness of the needs of people with a disability. Many agencies also Of particular note in the report are the initiatives provided specific disability awareness training that promote equal access to government services including establishing reference groups or promoting for people with a disability. The initiatives chosen in diversity events. this report represent significant change in services for people with a disability in six common areas: This important work will also be evaluated to assist policy and procedures; complaints procedures; in identifying the outcomes and benefits of DSPs recruitment and retention; attitudes and awareness across the Queensland Government and help to of employees (staff training); information and inform the development and implementation of communication; and physical access — public future DSPs.

5 Six common areas

Six areas of common interest across government • Staff training will now include disability identified during the development of DSPs form awareness sessions to build on the the key focus for most departments’ DSPs and organisational culture where equity and have been the basis for coordinated work across diversity are valued, understood and actively Government during implementation. These are: pursued. • Policies and procedures will be reviewed to • Information and communication to ensure equitable access to departmental department’s services will now be accessible, services. inclusive, and allow equitable opportunity for participation from people with a disability. • Complaints mechanisms will be developed to ensure people with a disability can lodge a • Building access will also be developed complaint in a range of communication formats. according to a standard set of requirements to ensure that the structural designs of all services • Recruitment and retention services will be are easily accessible for people with developed to ensure recruiting and retention a disability. strategies are inclusive and equitable for all.

6 7 Responses by departments

In responding to the common areas as well as other • 19 departments enhanced recruitment and individual initiatives: retention strategies to be more inclusive and equitable. • 18 departments reported enhancements to policies and procedures to ensure that they are • 18 departments undertook activities to ensure inclusive of people with a disability. that complaints managements systems are accessible to people with a disability. • 22 departments took steps to ensure information and communication is accessible. • Six departments reported 23 activities in the other significant changes category. • 20 departments reported actions to increase the awareness of staff to the needs of people with a disability.

• 17 departments reported improvements in access to public buildings.

7 Achievements

Common themes emerged from the analysis across • Many agencies provided specific disability the 23 government agencies that provided input into awareness training, including establishing this report. These themes are: reference groups or promoting diversity events.

• New policy documents and frameworks were • Most agencies reported upgrades to existing developed or existing ones updated to ensure facilities and refurbishments to ensure people with a disability receive a better service. compliance with building legislation and codes for improving building access for people with a • New systems were implemented that build disability. capacity in agencies and community groups that provide support and services to people • The majority of departments enhanced with a disability. recruitment and retention using the following strategies: update of equity plans, induction • Disability-specific projects or programs to material and recruitment processes to ensure reform services to better assist people with increased awareness of employing people disability were developed. with a disability, including options for flexible • Strategic partnerships were developed working arrangements, action plans to increase across government (such as memoranda of the number of employees with a disability; and understanding and protocols) to progress similar strategies to reduce barriers to recruiting projects and programs that contribute to and retaining people with a disability in the improved outcomes for people with a disability. workplace.

• Major progress was noted in information and • Approximately 70 per cent of agencies and communication services with most agencies departments have reported amending their improving websites and online services to meet complaint management systems to ensure accessibility standards. accessibility to people with a disability.

• All agencies either have developed or are developing improvements to their orientation programs for all staff that include awareness of the needs of people with a disability in relation to equitable access, Auslan courses and ongoing educational strategies to increase staff and community awareness.

8 Partnerships developed

The development of the DSPs has provided an • Children with a disability who are at risk from opportunity for departments to form strategic harm memorandum of understanding — partnerships. This work will be built on in the future a memorandum of understanding between in order for DSPs to form part of a coordinated Disability Services Queensland and the approach to government service delivery for people Department of Child Safety to promote effective communication and collaboration to achieve with a disability as required under the legislation. services for children and young people with a Some examples of projects in which two or more disability who are at risk of harm or in need of agencies have worked together to achieve positive protection. outcomes for people with a disability are: • Protocol for notifications about children • Housing and Support Program — a collaborative with a disability — a protocol between the partnership between Disability Services Department of Child Safety and Disability Queensland, Queensland Health and the Services Queensland outlining the respective Department of Housing, which supports people roles and responsibilities, and actions of staff with a psychiatric disability to transition from a with respect to children with a disability whose Queensland Health facility or acute care to live guardians wish to relinquish care of their child. within the community.

• Evolve Interagency Services — a partnership • Ed-LinQ — Queensland Health and the between the Department of Child Safety, education sector have established a Queensland Health, Disability Services collaborative partnership to improve Queensland and the Department of Education, prevention, early detection and intervention Training and the Arts to provide coordinated for school-aged children and young people support for children in care who require experiencing a mental illness or psychiatric significant therapeutic and behavioural disability. support.

• Housing with Shared Support — an agreed policy framework to bring about better service delivery to the mutual clients of the Department of Housing and Disability Services Queensland to facilitate the sustainability of their support services.

8 9 2008 achievements

Highlights of each department’s significant Introduced a financial assistance package for achievements towards improving services for specialised smoke alarms people with a disability during the first year of (Department of Emergency Services) implementation of the DSPs have been identified Queensland Fire and Rescue Service introduced as follows: a financial assistance package to help Deaf and hearing impaired people make their homes more fire Policies and procedures safe. The Queensland scheme is the first in Australia to offer beneficiaries the opportunity to choose from Introduced Australian Sign Language (Auslan) a range of systems to ensure that the one installed into schools is best suited to individual circumstances. Under (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) the scheme applicants who meet the criteria may A total of $30 million over four years (2007–11) receive up to $800 to purchase specialised smoke was committed to transition to the use of Australian alarms. The introduction of a new voucher system Sign Language (Auslan) for those students who from 1 January 2009 will make the scheme even require or request access to schooling via signed more accessible by reducing the requirement for communication. The project provides funds for applicants to make up front payments through the educational interpreting support for Deaf/hearing rebate system. impaired students as required for access and participation in the curriculum. It also aims to assist Increased accessible taxis for Queensland staff to develop proficiency in Auslan and bilingual (Queensland Transport) pedagogy and practices. The Transition to Auslan Queensland Transport provided one-off financial project will bring Queensland into line with national assistance for the provision of a Wheelchair and international practice in the area of education Accessible Taxi (WAT) in rural and regional for the Deaf. communities that do not have a WAT service. This initiative is part of the Queensland Government’s Professional development opportunities have been commitment to increasing transport accessibility provided to advisory visiting teachers, teachers and for persons with a disability and achieving teacher aides across the state. These workshops compliance with the Disability Standards for will form a vital part of the rollout of the transition to Accessible Public Transport 2002. The program has Auslan. New staff working as teacher aides/Auslan an allocated budget of $4.8 million spread over language models have been provided with a three- two years from December 2006. The Accessible day face-to-face training package to induct them Taxis for Queensland (ATQ) program grew out of into the specifics of this newly created position. the work of the Disability Discrimination Act Taxi Deaf people are discovering new employment Reference Group. This reference group is chaired by opportunities in these positions. Queensland Transport and includes representatives of disability groups and industry.

10 The ATQ initiative is one of the most significant As at 31 May 2008, there are approximately 890 recent achievements in ensuring that people with clients (in approximately 340 households) living in a disability have access to reliable, responsive social housing under this arrangement. and accessible passenger transport services throughout Queensland. This initiative has been Developed Accessible Queensland Guide highly successful in meeting its objectives. During (Department of Tourism, Regional Development 2008, 54 wheelchair accessible taxis will be and Industry) introduced into regional areas as geographically and The Accessible Queensland Guide has been demographically diverse as Boonah, Cunnamulla, developed to provide information to support Mount Isa, Horn Island and Mossman. At present, accessible tourism in Queensland. The guide the overall proportion of the Queensland taxi fleet provides up-to-date information on extensive that is wheelchair accessible is 18.1 per cent. support services available to people with a disability Queensland now has the highest percentage in who may be travelling to Queensland tourist Australia of WATs in its statewide taxi fleet (ACT 9.1 destinations, including information, transport, per cent, NSW 10.6 per cent, Victoria 8.1 per cent, insurance and personal care. Details of equipment SA 8.5 per cent, Tasmania 5.1per cent and WA 5.1 suppliers and various infrastructure services (such per cent). as hospitals and libraries) are also provided with a view to making travel as comfortable as possible for Implemented Housing with Shared Support visitors. The Accessible Queensland Guide has been (Department of Housing) updated and is available at During 2007–08, a new framework for Housing www.accessiblequeensland.com with Shared Support (HwSS) was implemented. HwSS assists mutual clients of the Department Tourism Queensland, in collaboration with Tourism of Housing and Disability Services Queensland to Australia and other State Tourism organisations, is live successfully in the community with ongoing working with the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse support. Support services are provided for social to develop a solution, in partnership with industry housing clients who have significant support needs and key stakeholders, to increase the representation and who share accommodation with people with of accessible information for tourism consumers. similar support requirements. Complementary Continued enhancement of Evolve Services procedures and tools were implemented to support (Department of Child Safety) the framework during the first half of 2008. The Evolve Therapeutic and Behaviour Support Key changes implemented as part of the policy Services are for children in care who have complex to framework include: extreme support needs and who require significant 1. alignment with Disability Services Queensland’s therapeutic and behavioural support. In 2007–08, policies, such as incorporating trial periods for Disability Services Queensland Evolve teams prospective tenants and flexibility in sourcing commenced additional functions of Specialist housing solutions that adequately cater for Disability Assessments and established a time clients’ support requirements limited program with temporary staff to provide a Transition from Care program for young people 2. provision of clearer guidance around who were identified as needing future disability communicating with clients and their families services support as an adult. The Transition from and substitute decision makers, to ensure their Care program aims to assist young people who are involvement in decision-making and consent to leaving out-of-home care, prior to turning 18 years arrangements made in relation to their housing of age, and who are significantly disadvantaged in, 3. agreed processes for resolving difficulties that and face barriers in, accessing suitable education, may arise in relation to tenancies under this training, employment support, income support, initiative between the departments, and with housing, health and other social, family and clients. personal challenges. 11 Developed Growing Stronger reforms more specifically tailored to the needs of people (Disability Services Queensland) with a disability. With the assistance of disability In 2007–08 Disability Services Queensland invested community representatives in the Townsville area, $52 million over four years in Growing Stronger to QFRS has commenced the development phase improve access to specialist disability services in of the Fireable Project. This project aims to equip Queensland. This initiative focuses on four priority firefighters who conduct Safehome visits with the areas: necessary information and skills to work with people with a disability to resolve their home fire safety 1. introducing a simpler, fairer and more issues. The advice and procedures being developed transparent access to services will become standard practice in the delivery of QFRS 2. introducing tailored service responses for community safety programs. individual needs Enhanced policy coordination 3. improving service management across the state (Queensland Police Service) The Queensland Police Service (QPS) Disability 4. enhancing information and technology Service Plan provides a central coordination and infrastructure to allow staff to better manage reference point for the development and review of client services. policies and procedures related to service delivery to clients and members with a disability, their families Implemented Investing in Positive Futures and carers. (Disability Services Queensland) In association with the Growing Stronger reforms, The launch of the Disability Service Plan was $113 million was allocated over four years in the accompanied by a marketing campaign aimed Investing in Positive Futures initiative. This initiative at all QPS employees and the establishment of responds to the recommendations of the 2006 an Implementation Working Group comprised of report Challenging Behaviours and Disability — A representatives of those police regions, commands Targeted Response by the Honourable W. J. Carter and divisions responsible for the implementation QC. The initiative will provide a positive model of of the various strategies and actions documented care for people with an intellectual and/or cognitive in the plan. Progress reports considered at disability who exhibit challenging behaviour. the implementation working group meetings indicate that the strategies and actions are being Developed a Disability Skilling Action Plan implemented according to the timings specified in (Department of Education Training and the Arts) the plan. The Equity and Diversity Unit and Mental Health Intervention Project are now represented on Under the Queensland Skills Plan, a Disability the Disability Service Plan Implementation Working Skilling Action Plan was developed to achieve Group to promote shared understanding of scope, better outcomes in education and training for objectives and activities. Queenslanders with a disability. The strategy will deliver a five-year Disability Skilling Action Plan for Contributed to the national framework for Disability the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector Parking Permits in Queensland. A number of key projects are already (Queensland Transport) underway for completion in 2008, funded under the Australian Welfare to Work initiative. Queensland Transport’s policy review of the Queensland Disability Parking Permit Scheme Enhanced the Safehome program has greatly informed the development work for (Department of Emergency Services) the implementation of a nationally harmonised parking scheme by 2011. The national framework Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) is will address some of the inconsistencies between working to enhance its flagship Safehome program jurisdictions to deliver a parking permit with so that it includes service provision which is reciprocal entitlements, uniform eligibility criteria 12 and parking permit design across all states and the international World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) territories. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Established greater access to JPs program Acted on audit of internet sites (Department of Justice and Attorney General) (Department of Infrastructure and Planning — action The ‘JPs in the Community’ program has been also undertaken by the majority of departments) established at more than 115 signing locations Many agencies are implementing actions as a across Queensland, including shopping centres, result of internet site audits to ensure accessibility court registries, hospitals, public libraries and to people with a disability. For example, the universities. This has enabled greater access to Department of Infrastructure and Planning has now Justices of the Peace (JP) services for people with achieved compliance with standards including W3C, a disability as they now have greater choice in whole-of-government Consistent User Experience regard to JP facilities. Since this service has become (CUE) and Information Standard 26. Ongoing available in the last year, especially in hospitals, work continues to minimise reliance on Portable feedback received has been extremely positive. Document Formats (PDFs) through more thorough communication planning and development of Training seminars and refresher courses conducted web-specific content. by the Justices of the Peace Branch for Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations focus on Provided departmental publications and materials increasing awareness of different disability services in alternative formats available in the community. As Justices of the Peace (Department of Natural Resources and Water — and Commissioners for Declarations are provided action also undertaken by majority of departments) with greater awareness of disability services available in the community, they have been able Many agencies have implemented changes to their to provide a higher level of service to people with a publications to improve accessibility of information disability. for people with a disability. For example, from July 2007, all publications of the Department of Natural Resources and Water promote the availability of Information and communication alternative formats (including large print, CDs, computer disks and audiotape) on request and Established streamlined points of contact for provide a contact telephone number or email information and referrals address in large font. All requests for alternative (Department of Communities) formats are centrally coordinated to ensure ease of Smart Service Queensland established a central access and consistency of information provided. All contact point for information and referrals for people service delivery areas/offices have a generic email with a disability, their families and carers. To offer address for clients to access. All correspondence is the best possible service to callers, all disability processed in accordance with the service standards related information was reviewed and updated as outlined in the Department of Natural Resources and necessary. Water Service Charter.

Complied with website accessibility across Considered the needs of people with a disability departments when conducting meetings, forums and workshops (Department of Public Works) (Department of Communities) The Department of Public Works made officers who To promote social inclusion and involvement of are responsible for departmental websites aware people with a disability in policy development and of the compliance requirements for the whole-of- service planning, Department of Communities’ Government Information Standard IS26 (Internet). functions and events are conducted in a way that is The standard requires state government websites to inclusive of people with a disability. This includes comply with the Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints from ensuring venues are accessible and suitable support

13 is offered, presentation materials consider the Established Disability Reference Group communication needs of people with a disability, (Queensland Police Service) and interpreters are engaged where appropriate. A The Queensland Police Service (QPS) Disability review of the existing departmental checklist for the Reference Group comprised of representatives preparation of meetings, forums and workshops was from the QPS Office of the Commissioner, Disability also completed. Services Queensland, the Queensland Alliance, Carers Queensland, National Disability Services Made accessible information available to industry and Queenslanders with Disability Network has (Department of Tourism, Regional Development and been established. This group meets to address Industry) issues affecting police interaction with people with Business management development products and a disability, their carers and family. It develops services are available via a comprehensive website advice and suggestions for consideration by dedicated to providing information and resources the Commissioner. The government agency and to all clients who are considering and/or starting an advocacy bodies contributing to the membership accessible business. All products and services are of the group ensure that the quality of advice interactive and provide a self-paced program suited is of the highest possible standard. Prior to the to individual learning requirements. The department establishment of the QPS Disability Reference Group, also has a CD resource (free of charge) containing the QPS did not have access to a standing advisory information for operators who are considering body of this type. and/or starting a business. A DVD was produced in 2007–08 and included the products and services Established training database provided by Business Information Services. It (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) included open captions to cater for people with A new database system designed to assist TAFE a disability. institute Disability Service Officers in the recognition and learning support management of learners with Assisted people with a disability through the a disability is in the early stages of implementation Gambling Community Benefit Fund at TAFE institutes. This database will provide (Queensland Treasury) information about vocational education and training A percentage of revenue raised from taxes placed learners with a disability at state level. Data can then on Golden Casket lotteries, wagering, keno and be used to inform strategies to improve the success gaming machines is returned to the community of individuals. via the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. The fund awards project-based grants to support the Established an external standing reference group capacity of not-for-profit community organisations (Department of Main Roads) to provide services, facilities and opportunities The Department of Main Roads has taken steps to for Queenslanders. In the 2007–08 financial year, establish an External Standing Reference Group 135 projects from organisations and associations to guide the development of major projects. The representing people with a disability received group is made up of disability service providers, funding to the amount of $2 947 581. An example of other government departments and relevant the significant benefit that groups and associations internal stakeholders. The reference group provides representing people with a disability receive from Main Roads with a more coordinated approach to the fund is as follows. The Motor Neurone Disease consultation which would otherwise need to occur Association of Queensland received a grant of on a project-by-project basis. $26 964 to purchase patient aids, a photocopier and provide a much needed upgrade to the association’s kitchen.

14 Provided support and guidance through technology modifications will be implemented on Disability Champion a case-by-case basis with reference to Treasury’s (Department of Main Roads) Reasonable Adjustment Policy and Guidelines. An additional recommendation of the review was that The Department of Main Roads has established a consideration needs to be given to incorporating Disability Service Plan Champion for the agency. W3C guidelines into future ICT applications. The champion has provided support and guidance to the Diversity team. His senior position as well as Improved access to interpreter services his relationship with stakeholders in the department (Queensland Treasury) raises the status and knowledge of the plans across the department. Queensland Treasury customer service points are audited annually to ensure signs advising of the Built community capacity to support people availability of interpreters for people with a disability with a disability are visible. Treasury’s Language Services Policy (Disability Services Queensland) provides for translator and interpreter services to clients who require assistance with communication. Disability Services Queensland continued to build To ensure that clients with communication needs community capacity and promote access to generic receive information appropriate to their needs, the services for people with a disability by sharing policy and guidelines and translator/interpreter information, engagement, and communication booking arrangements are regularly communicated with the Regional Disability Councils. Learning and to all staff. Client booking arrangements have been development activities supported the capacity of established with Deaf Services Queensland and Regional Disability Council members to fulfil their the Treasury intranet has been updated to provide roles in providing advice on the views of Queensland instruction on how to access Auslan interpreters. communities on disability issues. All Regional Disability Council members have participated in an induction program to identify learning and Attitude and awareness of development requirements and this informed subsequent development activities. employees

Increased marketing of disability issues Promoted disability awareness (Queensland Police Service) (Environmental Protection Agency — disability awareness was conducted by a majority of The launch of the Disability Service Plan has departments) contributed to increasing awareness of disability issues when reviewing and improving policing Many agencies increased or provided awareness- services. ‘Marketing’ action is required to maintain raising activities. For example, the Environmental momentum and build on this awareness. A Protection Agency (EPA) ensured new employees marketing plan involving periodic information receive information about agency structure, values, releases in internal publications, nomination of culture and functions by attending a comprehensive the plan for an internal recognition award, and orientation program. All permanent employees and promoting the plan through networks with relevant temporary employees working with the agency for areas of the service is currently being considered. 12 months or longer are required to attend this program and in 2008 there were 208 employees Audited assistive technologies in attendance. The program includes a session on (Queensland Treasury) equal employment opportunity (EEO) principles and includes people with a disability as one of the target Queensland Treasury audited external and groups. This aims to ensure that all EPA employees internal client accessible ICT applications and are aware of the needs of people with a disability developed a paper reporting the findings of and that equitable access is provided to EPA services the audit to ensure the needs of people with a and products. disability were being met. Requests for assistive 15 Disability awareness training has been made disability (People with Disabilities Working Group). available on the EPA staff intranet. The training The group was established officially during Disability includes information on working with people with Action Week 2007. The reference group serves as diverse abilities including effective communication, a point of contact for consultation on a range of guidelines and suggested solutions to barriers issues relating to employment equity and diversity experienced by people with a disability in the for people with a disability. The reference group is workplace. The EPA communicates information responsible for developing an annual improvement relative to EEO issues, such as the disability or action plan which contributes to the overall awareness training in a variety of ways, including diversity and equity program for the department. through the internal newsletter. The People with Disabilities Working Group has Enhanced disability awareness doubled its membership through a very successful (Queensland Health) recruitment drive, and is planning implementation of the group’s 2008–09 work plan. The major initiative Queensland Health’s Equity and Diversity Reference for this year’s work plan has been the creation of Group contributed to increasing the department’s an internal newsletter distributed to all staff on a responsiveness to disability issues. This includes bi-monthly basis. The purpose of the newsletter improving disability awareness among staff; is to educate staff, raise awareness and provide ensuring buildings, publications, materials and information on what services are accessible for meetings are accessible to people with disabilities people with a disability, as well as carers and family and their carers; and the development and review members of people with a disability. of departmental administrative policies and procedures that are responsive to the needs of Improved process to build awareness and support people with a disability. (Department of Public Works)

Organised Job application and interview workshops The Department of Public Works implemented (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) Human Resource Monthly Theme sessions, through which equity and diversity information sessions were The Department of Education, Training and the Arts delivered to staff in the central business district, organised two two-day workshops to assist people metropolitan and regional offices. This provided with a disability to write job applications and to an opportunity to re-invigorate the department’s enhance their interview skills. Twelve members of ‘Network Supporting People with a Disability’ and the department’s People with a Disability Network promote disability issues, disability legislation (PWDN) participated in the workshops. This and departmental policies. Information kits and initiative was planned to assist PWDN members fact sheets were developed and distributed and all to increase their skills and confidence in the key information is available on the department’s Human processes involved in securing a new position within Resources Intranet site. During 2007, disability government. Feedback from participants suggested information sessions, with guest speakers from that they had gained greater confidence in applying external organisations in the disability sector, were for jobs and promotion opportunities. This training held in six regions to promote the employment of also raises awareness of the needs of people with a people with a disability and to provide information disability in the recruitment and selection process. on working with people with a disability.

People with Disabilities Working Group established The department was a sponsor of a Disability Action (Department of Local Government, Sport and Week award ‘Building Accessible Housing and Recreation) Environments’ in 2008, and celebrated the week The Department of Local Government, Sport and with a number of activities that promoted and raised Recreation Diversity Forum includes representation awareness of disability issues. Disability Action of staff from each equal opportunity target group, Week aims to encourage positive attitudes towards including a reference group for people with a people with a disability, improve access and make

16 our community a better place for everyone. The are able to experience the scent of plants, feel the department also celebrates the International Day texture of particular plants and materials, listen to of People with Disability. Support for people with the different sounds of moving water, as well as feel disability is also promoted through a bi-monthly the different terrain and surfaces underfoot. online newsletter, introduced during the year to promote diversity objectives in the department. The walks are specifically designed to improve quality of life for people with a disability. These Promoted Child Safety Research Strategy walks illustrate a commitment to promoting the (Department of Child Safety) rights of people with a disability and encourage participation in outdoor activities. The Roma Street The Department of Child Safety’s Child Safety Parkland staff have received excellent feedback from Research Strategy 2006–09 has identified disability the public. as a priority area for research, as part of an increased focus on social science research that contributes to Designed walking tracks at Wongabel State Forest Queensland Government priorities. Local researchers for walkers who have vision impairment are encouraged to undertake PhD research through (Environmental Protection Agency) the government’s Growing the Smart State initiative in areas of child protection, which is inclusive of The Wongabel State Forest walking tracks are a disability, mental health, education and domestic Queensland first with walking tracks designed for violence issues. The Department of Child Safety walkers who have vision impairment. There are Research Strategy 2008 update has outlined child rocks lining the walking track to serve as a guide for protection interventions with children or parents, walkers using canes, and textured concrete panels who have a disability, including relinquishment act as tactile indicators, identifying changes in track of children, as a research priority. A child safety direction and condition. Textured concrete panels research forum on ‘Disability and Child Protection act as tactile maps and audio headsets can be Practice’ was held in November 2007 which was provided from the Atherton Tableland Information open to all staff, and other government and non- Centre, with whom an agreement to distribute these government agencies. This research forum featured items has been established. The initiative received guest speakers from Griffith University and Disability an award for Innovation in Service Delivery at the Services Queensland. Disability Action Week Awards in 2007. Taking the diverse needs of all people into Physical access consideration when planning for new facilities across the agency will improve accessibility of Built Sensory Walk and Auslan Interpreter some of Queensland’s most beautiful aspects for Walk in Roma Street Parkland all people, including those with a disability. These (Department of Public Works) changes aim to improve the quality of life of people with a disability. They may also contribute to setting A new Sensory Walk and an Australian Sign a precedent for accessibility options in other public Language (Auslan) Interpreter Walk has been built areas to ensure all people have an opportunity to in the Roma Street Parkland. The Auslan Interpreter enjoy Queensland’s natural environment. Walk follows the path of the parkland’s traditional guided walk, providing people with an overall Increased focus on people with a disability at active appreciation of the parkland, including some of recreation centres its horticultural, artistic and historical highlights. (Department of Local Government, Sport and Department of Public Works staff liaised with Vision Recreation) Australia to train volunteer guides to conduct the During 2007–08, Currimundi Recreation Sensory Walk which focuses on the gardens and Centre, widely used by schools and community rainforest areas, but makes use of all the elements organisations, purchased activity equipment, in the parkland including plants, artwork, water including high ropes, specialist harnesses and features and built materials. People with a disability 17 beach or all terrain wheelchairs suitable for people Framework. In particular, the department advises with a disability. Currimundi staff undertook stakeholders that newly constructed or substantively disability awareness training in preparation for a trial refurbished Queensland Government buildings activity program specially developed for participants should be designed to the current non-compulsory with a disability. Currimundi Special School Australian Standard AS1428 Part 2, and that action participated in a free pilot program conducted plans should be developed to address disability over an eight-week period. The pilot program was issues in existing buildings. considered an ideal tool in assessing and adapting the suitability of activities and facilities to meet Department of Public Works is committed to the needs of children with a disability. Since the meeting the needs of people with a disability and pilot program, several special schools now utilise is progressively reviewing existing refurbished the Currimundi Recreation Centre for both day and Queensland Government office premises in terms residential programs. of their provision of reasonable access for people with a disability. Examples in 2008–09 will include Ensured disability services issues are considered new government buildings being built at Zillmere, in infrastructure planning Maroochydore and Cairns that include accessible (Department of Infrastructure and Planning) toilets, tea rooms and lifts. The Department of Infrastructure and Planning is Most departments reported increased measures to responsible for disability access outcomes in the ensure existing facilities and new premises meet areas of infrastructure planning, building codes and legislative requirements for disability access. This coordination of significant projects. The department has been achieved in consultation with Department now maintains close association with Disability of Public Works and QBuild. Service Queensland (DSQ) on major infrastructure project proposals. For each terms of reference Endorsed Wayfinding signage systems for people developed for major projects, consideration is given with a disability to inclusion of DSQ as an advisory agency. This has (Queensland Health) also resulted in future regional planning considering Wayfinding is the process individuals use to mechanisms for ensuring social infrastructure and navigate unfamiliar surroundings to reach the planning guidelines incorporate disability issues. desired destination. Wayfinding extends beyond signage to include elements of site design, Supported implementation of building codes site layout, and written and verbal information. (Department of Public Works) Wayfinding is linked to the concept of access by To further progress building-access issues, the all persons who use and work in a facility and the Department of Public Works (DPW) implemented principles of universal design. Some of the physical a process during 2007–08 to ensure that newly and structural requirements to support Wayfinding constructed or refurbished Queensland Government are part of the regulations relating to signage and office premises, whether owned or leased, are the Building Code of Australia. reasonably accessible to people with a disability. This action ensures that buildings comply with In February 2008, Queensland Health endorsed the at least the minimum standards in the Australian development of evidence-based, practical guidelines Building Code. An action plan was developed to for effective Wayfinding and signage systems. These identify shortcomings in the accessibility of existing principles are reflected in the Wayfinding tools DPW office premises, either owned or leased, as published by the Cooperative Research Centre for they relate to equitable access. Construction Innovation and Disability Services Queensland in 2007. The Wayfinding Policies and Department of Public Works Queensland Guidelines are available in the Australasian Health Government Accommodation Office and Building Facility Guidelines for use by a broad audience of Policy Unit promotes equitable access through the facility developers and managers. whole-of-government Capital Works Management 18 The guidelines reflect an approach that understands In addition, departments undertook a number of the needs of facility users with a disability. The specific activities to increase the representation of advent of evidence-based guidelines will assist people with a disability in the workforce. project teams and facility managers to develop and maintain effective Wayfinding and signage systems Extended the Wide Bay Burnett Region Employment in health facilities, and support patients and Pilot Program staff to find their way safely and effectively to the (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) appropriate point of service. A 12-month trial was held in selected state schools in the Wide Bay Burnett Region to employ seven Promoted Wayfinding Guidelines people with a significant disability during the 2006 (Department of Public Works) school year. The trial was conducted in partnership Wayfinding Guidelines, which won a Disability with Jobmatch Employment Agency from Gympie. Action Week Award in 2007, were developed to People were employed in selected schools as raise awareness and a need for more inclusive assistants to the school librarian, cleaners and and accessible approaches to design principles janitors/groundspersons. A support worker from across the building and construction industry. Jobmatch trained and assisted each person until the Promotion and implementation of the guidelines person was able to work independently. occurred in 2008. People were employed under a Supported Wage Created a disability action plan for System and paid a productivity-based wage that Arts Queensland properties was supplemented by an Australian Government (Department of Education, Training and the Arts) scheme. The trial was extended to two years and, in July 2008, was extended for a further two years. Arts Queensland created a Disability Action Plan Seven employees remain on this program, although in 2007–08 for properties owned by the agency in in some cases they may not be the original trial accordance with the department’s Disability Service participant. Those employees involved in this Plan. The action plan lists nine key actions. One program have displayed a willingness to learn and of these is to implement the mandatory inclusion an enthusiasm for the work environment. They have of disability access consultants during the design acted as role models for students with a disability and documentation phase of major infrastructure within schools. The program has been highly projects. The nine key actions will be introduced or successful in this region. completed over 2008–09 with appropriate ongoing review and implementation. Established work experience pilot (Department of Natural Resources and Water) Recruitment and retention In 2007–08 the Department of Natural Resources and Water participated in a work experience pilot A number of departments improved access and with the Endeavour Foundation’s Latch-on program, equity in recruitment and retention processes a literacy and technology program for young people through the development, implementation and with an intellectual disability. The participant worked review of human resource policies and practices, with buddies from four different business areas. the introduction of reasonable adjustment policies Several regions are exploring similar opportunities, and guidelines, the review of recruitment and with North Region due to commence a work selection guidelines and practice, and provision experience placement in 2009. of work experience and ongoing employment opportunities to clients of the Commonwealth Implemented of Skilling Queenslanders for Work Rehabilitation Service. (Department of Employment and Industrial Relations) People with a disability often experience difficulties in obtaining secure and sustainable employment. 19 The Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative (one of Explored and established solutions to attract and the key components of the Queensland Skills Plan) retain people with a disability was fully implemented on 1 July 2007 replacing (Department of Main Roads) the highly successful Breaking the Unemployment In order to explore and establish contemporary Cycle. Skilling Queenslanders for Work focuses solutions to attract and retain people with a on maximising workforce participation levels and disability, the Department of Main Roads attended improving the skills and productivity of people who the Brisbane Schools Expo (for students with want to work. The initiative provides assistance a disability) to provide information about Main to enable eligible groups of Queenslanders who Roads’ career options and identify needs of job are disadvantaged in the labour market to secure seekers from this market. The expo provided a good sustainable employment outcomes. The initiative opportunity for the agency to establish contact consists of a suite of strategies to support clients with service providers who are able to assist with to develop the skills and experience they need to investigations into entry-level positions. compete in the labour market. During the 2007–08 financial year, Main Roads Overall, under Skilling Queenslanders for Work and provided two work experience places to clients of programs closely aligned to the initiative, more than the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service, one in 1500 people with a disability received some form engineering and the other in computer-aided design. of employment and training assistance in 2007–08. This provided positive experiences for both the Assistance under the initiative is varied with some participants and supervisors. people gaining a traineeship under the First Start program, others receiving customised assistance Developed strategies to increase the number of staff and many undertaking community literacy training. with a disability (Department of Mines and Energy) Ensured equitable access was reflected in people policies and procedures The Department of Mines and Energy has initiated (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries) strategies to promote the agency as an employer of choice including a structured approach to the The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries recruitment of students with a disability, through (DPIF) ‘people policies’ have incorporated a the School-Based Apprenticeships Scheme and new number of equity performance indicators into the trainee and cadetship initiatives. Senior Executive Team (SET) Resource Agreements, Workforce Planning Strategies, Corporate Established employment initiatives Development Strategy 2008–13 and DPIF (Department of Public Works) People Strategy 2008–13. The Department of Public Works delivered Underpinning these initiatives, DPIF will continue recruitment and selection information sessions to to enhance external and internal websites profiling staff across Queensland. A package of resources, the department as an employer of choice committed such as fact sheets, policies and directives and to promoting equitable access and employment information on employing people with a disability, opportunities to all members of Queensland’s has been made available on the Human Resources community, promoting the department’s flexible intranet which is readily accessible by all staff. The work practices and corporate standards — Human Resources intranet site was upgraded in specifically ‘Reasonable Adjustment for Staff with early 2008 providing easy access to recruitment a Disability’ (HR.8.10) — engaging workplace information and all relevant documents. rehabilitators across the state to develop return-to- Disability information sessions (with guest speakers work plans and assist staff when returning from an from external organisations in the disability sector) extended periods of leave (sick) and through staff were held in six regions in 2007 to promote the engagement initiatives increasing staff awareness of employment of people with a disability and to DPIF’s workforce diversity, including EEO groups. provide information on working with people with a disability. 20 The department’s Equity and Diversity Plan information to the Disability Service Plan liaison 2007–08 requires that all business areas develop officer network. The department established a actions within their own business plans to increase project under Treasury’s Workforce Strategy to the number of employees in the department with increase ‘attraction’ to the department and is a disability. ensuring that Disability Service Plan action items are incorporated into any products that are developed. Changes have been made to the delivery of diversity sessions at corporate inductions with a greater focus on employing people with a disability. Complaints

The department’s Workforce Plan includes strategies Developed accessible complaints management to address overall attraction and retention issues. (Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation) Implemented recruitment and selection initiatives (Department of Tourism, Regional Development The majority of departments reviewed Complaints and Industry) Management Policies and Procedures. Actions undertaken by the Department of Local Government, Recruitment and selection guidelines and a training Sport and Recreation provide an example of package were implemented by the Department of activities taken across government to improve Tourism, Regional Development and Industry and access to complaints processes for people with a web pages were updated to include information disability. In March 2008, the department conducted about removing barriers for people with a a self-audit of its complaints management practices, disability. An electronic recruitment and selection based on the Queensland Ombudsman’s guide, kit was developed, which included information identifying areas of good practice to be built on on recruitment and selection for people with a and areas of system deficiency. The Complaints disability, and information was incorporated into Management policy now includes a section on selection panel training rolledout in August– access and visibility. The policy provides for September 2008. accessibility to the complaints management process The development of an electronic recruitment and through allowing complaints to be submitted in a selection kit was one of the strategies developed range of communication modes. after consultation with established focus groups, represented by management and employees, Promoted accessible complaints mechanisms including employees from EEO target groups. (Department of Infrastructure and Planning) Any significant impact will be seen after the The Department of Infrastructure and Planning implementation of the selection panel training that promoted accessible complaints mechanisms to the is to be held in August–September 2008. Different community via the departmental internet site. The ways to promote the recruitment of people with department’s Complaints Management Policy and a disability are being considered. This includes associated forms are available on the department’s considering promotion opportunities during internet and a complaints electronic mailbox is Disability Action Week 2008. also operational. The development of a Complaints Management policy and complaint application form, Progressed accessible recruitment practices along with publishing the policy on the internet and (Queensland Treasury) conducting internal training, is reported to have had Queensland Treasury established networks and an immediate impact on client service culture. As contacts with community groups and specialised the procedures for managing a complaint have direct employment agencies to provide advice on links with the procedures for reviewing services, it departmental vacancies. Queensland Treasury is expected the complaints process will eventually are exploring opportunities for increasing the have a direct impact in improving services. representation of people with a disability in the departments’ workforce and then conveyed this 21 Established protocol for notifications about children design features that make them highly valued by with a disability people with mobility impairment. The trial is a key (Department of Child Safety) initiative of the Home Access Strategy 2003–08 The Department of Child Safety and Disability and was launched by the Minister for Public Works, Services Queensland established a protocol to Housing and Information and Communication establish the respective roles and responsibilities, Technology on 7 June 2007 to address the growing in cases where guardians of children with a disability need for homes with accessible features. This wish to relinquish care of their child. The protocol, benefits both property managers and property Responding to notifications by DSQ regarding seekers by reducing the number of unsuccessful children with a disability whose guardians indicate viewings. The trial has been embraced by health they are unwilling or unable to care for their child, is association groups and community organisations significant, as it seeks to assist families to maintain representing the interests of seniors and people with the care of children within the family home. a disability.

Developed protocol for investigations into the Established Mild Traumatic Brian Injury Proceedure residential services sector (Queensland Health) (Department of Communities) The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Procedure in the During 2007–08 the Department of Communities Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service operationalised the Department of the Premier (QPRS), Royal Children’s Hospital has been and Cabinet’s protocol for the coordination of established to improve clinical efficiencies and investigations into allegations of abuse, neglect to ensure that all children admitted to the Mild and exploitation of people with a disability in Traumatic Brain Injury unit are provided with the residential services sector. A draft protocol appropriate education and follow-up services. has been developed in consultation with the QPRS has addressed the growing demand for the Residential Services Senior Executive Group. This Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Procedure by improving protocol establishes the role and responsibilities waiting times and accessibility. of government agencies in responding to instances Queensland Hearing Loss Family Support Service of alleged abuse and neglect of residents residing (Queensland Health) in the residential services sector. These changes are considered significant as they demonstrate the The Queensland Hearing Loss Family Support Service department’s commitment to providing equitable provides a statewide service to the families of infants access to government services for people with a and children who are Deaf or have permanent hearing disability and responding to complaints of alleged loss until the child has completed Year 1. The service abuse and neglect of residents residing in the offers families support, advocacy, assistance in residential services sector. coordinating the different services they access, and counseling. All children following diagnosis of permanent hearing loss in a public-hospital or Other significant changes Queensland Health-funded audiology service are In addition to the highlights associated with the six identified and offered a service of family support by common areas a number of departments highlighted Queensland Hearing Loss Family Support Service. specific departmental activities that improved During 2007–08 coordination and monitoring of service delivery to people with a disability. referral pathways both within government and non- Government sectors have been enhanced to support Implemented Home Access Information trial better engagement, tracking of patients and early (Department of Housing) intervention responses. The Home Access Information Trial was implemented with the aim to encourage real estate agents to identify and promote residential properties with

22 Hanen ‘It Takes Two to talk’ or Hanen ‘More than Young Disabled Project Words’ (Queensland Health) (Queensland Health) The Young Disabled Project aims to promote The Hanen ‘It Takes Two to Talk’ Parent Program is and/or maintain the maximum level of physical used by Queensland Health speech pathologists ability for people who live in the Bayside area, with parents of children with receptive and/or who are between the ages of 18 and 45 years old expressive language delays, which may be due to a and have a permanent physical and/or intellectual range of disabilities, including cognitive impairment, disability. The Young Disabled Project team consists developmental delay or hearing impairment. The of an occupational therapist, physiotherapist Hanen ‘More than Words’ Parent Program is used by and leisure therapist. The Young Disabled Project Queensland Health speech pathologists for parents is unique in that it promotes and/or maintains of children with diagnosed or suspected Autistic the physical abilities of its members through Spectrum Disorder or other related significant rehabilitation therapies which combine physical language disorders and social communication activities and a social atmosphere. disorders. In addition, this program highlights the importance of affect, predictability, structure and the use of visual supports to enhance learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Community Rehabilitation (Queensland Health) The Gold Coast Health Service District has been funded to establish a Community Rehabilitation Program in 2008–09 that will provide ambulatory services to clients with a disability in a centre and at home.

Initiated ED-LINQ (Queensland Health) Funding was approved to plan and establish Ed-LinQ, a collaborative partnership with the education sector to improve the prevention, early detection and evidence-based interventions for school-aged children and young people experiencing mental health problems. The collaboration will seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of the intervention and support provided through school — based student support services. Queensland Health has appointed a statewide Ed-LinQ coordinator for a 12-month period to develop an operational model for collaboration with key stakeholders. The final evaluation and progress report of the Ed-LinQ service development model is due in mid-2009 which will highlight challenges and provide recommendations.

23 Departments

The following departments reported to Disability Services Queensland on the achievements in the first year of implementation of Disability Service Plans.

• Department of Child Safety • Department of Public Works

• Department of Communities • Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Department of Education, Training and the Arts • Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry • Department of Emergency Services • Disability Services Queensland • Department of Employment and Industrial Relations • Environmental Protection Agency

• Department of Housing • Queensland Corrective Services

• Department of Infrastructure and Planning • Queensland Health

• Department of Justice and Attorney-General • Queensland Police Service

• Department of Local Government, Sport • Queensland Transport and Recreation • Queensland Treasury • Department of Main Roads

• Department of Mines and Energy

• Department of Natural Resources and Water

• Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries

24 1601-09 QG Jul09

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Answers to Government Questions on Notice

Question on Notice

No. 1

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION: MS GRACE GRACE MP — Would the Minister please outline the Queensland Government’s expenditure on disability services, as mentioned on page 3–5 of the Service Delivery Statement? ANSWER: This year, we have announced another significant budget for the Disability Services portfolio of $1.399 billion. This includes $926.2 million for the provision of disability services, $446.8 million for home and community care services and $26.1 million for mental health services.

Over two years, $1.1 million will be used to pilot a self-directed funding initiative for children with a disability six and younger, their families and carers and for young people between 20 and 35 years. This initiative will introduce timely and appropriate strategies for young people with a disability and their families as well as foster confidence and capacity in young adults.

Over three years, $6.5 million will be used to pilot two Community Residential Programs to assist young people aged between 15 and 25, showing early signs of mental health issues.

Increased funding of $5 million per year will assist vulnerable people with a disability and their families to develop sustainable service responses.

In 2009–10, $26.8 million will continue the Specialist Response Services across the State to support adults with an intellectual or cognitive disability who exhibit severely challenging behaviour and the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Support. A further $21.7 million is allocated to purchase land and to design and construct purpose-built accommodation as part of a targeted response for people with severely challenging behaviours.

Over three years, $3 million will be allocated to provide support for younger people with a disability to live in a new Youngcare complex on the Gold Coast, meeting a Bligh Government election commitment.

The Bligh Government is investing in a better service system through a suite of reforms being developed under the Growing Stronger initiative. In 2009–10, $15.3 million is allocated to test, refine and develop all the components required for the new service system. These components will put in place a new service pathway for disability services in Queensland. Implementation is scheduled to commence from early 2010 and will be completed mid 2011.

An additional $44 million, including $28.5 million from the Australian Government, will provide increased services across Queensland to support the needs of the frail aged, people with a disability and their carers under the Home and Community Care Program.

Over three years, $16 million will provide capital upgrades to the department’s infrastructure at its Wacol site to create purpose-designed positive environments. Planning of the infrastructure project has commenced, with major works scheduled for 2009–10.

Question on Notice

No. 2

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION: MS JAN JARRATT MP — Page 3–13 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to Non- Government organisations receiving funding from Disability Services: Would the Minister please detail amounts of these grants and the number and locations of service outlets that operate throughout Queensland? ANSWER: Disability services Funding is provided to a range of disability services programs including Adult Lifestyle Support, Post School Services, Housing and Support and Respite. In 2008–09, The Bligh Government allocated approximately $475.6 million to an estimated 301 non-government organisations (NGOs) providing disability services through an estimated 755 individual service outlets across Queensland. The 2008–09 funding level represents an increase of 17.5 per cent compared to 2007–08. In 2009–10, approximately $523.4 million is allocated to NGOs to provide disability services. This is an increase of $47.8 million compared to 2008–09. The number of Disability Service funded service outlets are detailed by region in the following table: Number of non-government Disability Service Region/Mental Health Region service outlets Darling Downs/South West Queensland 64 Far North Queensland/Cape/Torres 42 Fitzroy/Central West Queensland 41 Gold Coast 53 Greater Brisbane 234 Mackay/Whitsunday 28 Moreton 45 North Queensland 62 Sunshine Coast 74 Wide Bay-Burnett 70 Statewide Services 42 Total 755

Question on Notice

No. 3

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

THE HONOURABLE DEAN WELLS MP — Would the Minister relate to the Committee how the Queensland and Australian Governments are working together through the National Disability Agreement, as mentioned on page 3–14 of the Service Delivery Statement?

ANSWER: As described in the Service Delivery Statement, the new National Disability Agreement came into effect on 1 January 2009, replacing the previous Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement. Queensland is working with the Commonwealth and other States and Territories to implement the National Disability Agreement which aims to enhance the quality of life of people with a disability, their families and carers and support their participation as valued members of the community. To achieve this, the agreed policy directions are: • Improve provision of the skills and opportunities to enhance the capability of people with a disability to participate in social, economic and community activities; • Identify, plan and respond to the development and support needs of people with a disability at an early stage and at key transition points; and • Support the role of families and carers including strengthening their informal support networks. The areas identified as reform priorities include better understanding of the nature and level of need for disability services; early intervention approaches; and more consistent access to aids and equipment. In addition, the reforms will also aim to improve services to vulnerable groups such as older parent carers and Indigenous Australians with a disability. Other commitments include a national approach to the harmonisation of rules for accessible parking and the establishment of a National Companion Card Scheme which will complement the Queensland scheme launched in March this year.

Question on Notice

No. 4

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

MR MICHAEL CHOI MP — Page 3–13 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to Investing in Positive Futures. Can the Minister please explain how Disability Services is working towards this in relation to capital works?

ANSWER: The Queensland Government is responding to the need for new capital infrastructure to support the recommendations arising from Justice Carter’s report, Challenging Behaviours and Disability – A Targeted Response. Providing appropriate support for adults with an intellectual or cognitive disability and severely challenging behaviours is a complex challenge that this Government has recognised and planned for. Part of the challenge is to provide accommodation environments that support positive behaviour change. This is an important element of the State’s Positive Futures initiative.

The capital works program comprises the development of a range of purpose designed accommodation options, including redevelopment of the Wacol site, the refurbishment of some existing dwellings at Wacol, and the design and construction of a number of purpose built dwellings at Wacol and in regional locations.

The program of works commenced with the refurbishment of existing ‘villas’ on the Wacol site. The refurbished units will support people with an intellectual or cognitive disability who exhibit severely challenging behaviours and who require a purpose designed environment. Stage one of the refurbishment has been completed and stage two has commenced. The units will provide 16 beds for the Specialist Response Service and the general disability sector.

The 2009-10 estimated budget for the capital works component of Investing in Positive Futures initiative is $25.15 million.

Question on Notice

No. 5

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

MS JAN JARRATT MP — Building accommodation support is referred to on page 3-13 of the Service Delivery Statement. Will the Minister please outline to the Committee the role that purpose designed housing plays in providing service to people with a disability?

ANSWER: Purpose designed housing is a State Government response to the high demand for suitable accommodation for people with an intellectual disability who have a range of complex support needs. The role of purpose designed housing is to enable people with a disability to access specialised accommodation options. Without these options, people with disabilities remain in hospital for long periods, live with ageing carers or are at risk of homelessness or entering a nursing home.

The accommodation being provided is based on universal design principles to ensure that the houses are adaptable, accessible and functional. The designs also consider the changes experienced by everyone as they age. A range of long term accommodation options are required to meet the support needs of people across the State.

The role of purpose designed housing is evident in the construction of six houses in the suburb of Hillcrest. These houses provide accommodation for people who have high and complex support needs and who also have an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment. The houses at Hillcrest are modern, spacious and contemporary homes designed to meet the significant healthcare support needs of each individual and provide the necessary specialised equipment. The houses are homely and have space for family visits so these important relationships can be maintained.

A further example of the options being provided in purpose designed housing is in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. The response in this region has been to purchase and modify housing to meet the shortage of affordable accommodation suitable for people with a disability.

Purpose designed housing options are also being developed on the Sunshine Coast. This accommodation and support service is being developed in partnership with a non- government service provider.

Purpose designed housing provides people with a range of accommodation options that are affordable and offer long term tenancy. This enables people with a disability to live as independently as possible in their local community.

Question on Notice

No. Government 6

DEAN WELLS MP ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— As mentioned on page 3-14 of the Service Delivery Statement, what are the details on the use of the additional recurrent funding allocated to the Home and Community Care Program for both 2008-09 and 2009-10? ANSWER: The Home and Community Care (HACC) Program is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments. It provides basic support and maintenance services designed to optimise the capacity of frail aged and younger people with a disability to remain living independently in their homes and communities. In 2008-09, additional recurrent Home and Community Care (HACC) Program funding of $39.2 million, together with funding from 2007-08, was allocated for the ongoing delivery of additional services in the eight HACC service groups as follows. $14.5 million for additional Home Support Services (which include services such as domestic assistance, personal care, home maintenance and social support) $1.7 million for additional Coordinated Care (including services such as client care coordination and counselling/support, information and advocacy) $6.4 million for additional Clinical and Specialist Care (nursing care and allied health care) $3.1 million for additional Centre-Based Day Care $1.6 million for additional Home Modifications services $82,825 for additional Meals $4.9 million for additional Transport services $1.5 million for additional Information and Education services The allocation of the additional funding available in 2008-09 also provided for cost supplementation of $8 million to cover increased costs in service delivery. The Home and Community Care Queensland Triennial Plan 2008-2011 outlines plans for the allocation of expected additional funding of $44 million in 2009-10, on top of the additional $39.2 million in 2008-09, to enable further increases in HACC service delivery. Planned allocations of this expected funding are as follows. $11.3 million for additional Home Support Services $7.7 million for additional Coordinated Care $4.8 million for additional Clinical and Specialist Care $2.3 million for additional Centre-Based Day Care $560,000 for additional Home Modifications services $3.3 million for additional Transport services $1.6 million for additional Information and Education services $11.5 million for cost supplementation

Question on Notice

No. 7

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

JAN JARRATT MP ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— Will the Minister provide a breakdown of HACC service provision expenditure in 2008-09 compared to 2009-10, separated into regions? ANSWER: A breakdown of Home and Community Care (HACC) Program 2008-09 service provision expenditure, by HACC Planning Area, is provided below. 2009-10 planned expenditure is also included, as outlined in the Home and Community Care Queensland Triennial Plan 2008-2011. • Brisbane North: 2008-09 expenditure was $47,036,474; planned expenditure in 2009- 10 is $56,800,275 • Brisbane South: 2008-09 expenditure was $54,001,296; planned expenditure in 2009- 10 is $66,079,122 • Central: 2008-09 expenditure was $15,255,449; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $18,612,325 • Central West: 2008-09 expenditure was $2,411,857; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $2,798,548 • Darling Downs: 2008-09 expenditure was $21,043,534; planned expenditure in 2009- 10 is $25,441,719 • Mackay: 2008-09 expenditure was $10,192,147; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $12,601,588 • Northern: 2008-09 expenditure was $18,975,638; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $23,660,548 • Peninsula: 2008-09 expenditure was $19,556,408; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $24,562,458 • South Coast: 2008-09 expenditure was $38,140,559; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $49,274,929 • South West: 2008-09 expenditure was $3,360,000; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $3,825,360 • Sunshine Coast: 2008-09 expenditure was $46,827,241; planned expenditure in 2009- 10 is $57,539,065 • West Moreton: 2008-09 expenditure was $36,274,203; planned expenditure in 2009- 10 is $42,576,799 • Wide Bay: 2008-09 expenditure was $20,796,120; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $24,984,731 • Statewide services: 2008-09 expenditure was $11,550,223; planned expenditure in 2009-10 is $13,826,222

Question on Notice

No. 8

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION:

THE HONOURABLE DEAN WELLS MP — Would the Minister detail the Bligh Government's capital and recurrent expenditure on programs to assist people with a mental illness transition to remain living in their communities, as mentioned on Page 3–6 of the SDS?

ANSWER: In the 2007–08 State Budget, the State Government committed an unprecedented $528.8 million over four years to build a better mental health system in Queensland. Of this, $98.09 million was committed to providing support to people with mental illness to live independently and to actively participate in their community.

Of these funds $40 million was allocated to provide up to 160 social housing places and $22.45 million was allocated to provide personal support to consumers moving into social housing through the Housing and Support Program (HASP). In addition, $35.64 million was allocated to Disability Services for new transitional programs through the non-government sector.

This financial year $6.6 million in recurrent funds and $4.9 million in capital has been committed across three programs to assist people with a mental illness to transition back into the community.

These programs include the Transitional Recovery Program, Housing and Support Program and Consumer Operated Services, which provide innovative responses for people with a mental illness to access specialised and community supports that will assist a successful return to community life.

The 2009-10 State Budget has outlined a $1 million increase to recurrent funding, and a $1 million capital allocation for the Transitional Recovery Program. Increased funding of $2.1 million has been allocated to HASP to provide non-clinical support for people with a psychiatric disability. In 2009–10, $800,000 has been allocated for Consumer Operated Services to provide short term accommodation and support for people with a mental illness in need of respite.

In addition, the State Budget has also allocated $2.2 million to pilot a new initiative called Young People in Residential Community Care. This initiative will provide safe and supportive community-based care focused on early intervention for young people aged between 15 and 25 years who are experiencing the early signs and symptoms of mental illness. It will include outreach support in the community for up to three months following an individual’s stay in residence. This funding will support up to 100 young people at each site.

Through planning, support and skill building, people with a mental illness will have the best possible chance of recovery, longer-term wellbeing and inclusion in their communities.

Question on Notice

No. 9

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION:

MR MICHAEL CHOI MP — What are the successful organisations and three-year funding arrangements under the Local Area Multicultural Partnerships (LAMP) and Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) programs as stated on Page 3–7 of the SDS?

ANSWER: The Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMP) and Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) programs are key strategies in delivering the Queensland Government multicultural policy, Multicultural Queensland – making a world of difference. The Bligh Government has committed funding of over $5.9 million over three years to fund these statewide programs from 1 July 2009. The LAMP program is a unique partnership strategy between the State Government, 14 local councils and the Local Government Association of Queensland. The following successful councils are funded to promote inclusive and accessible policy and service delivery for everyone, regardless of their cultural background: • Dalby Regional Council • Brisbane City Council • Toowoomba Regional Council • Mackay Regional Council • Cassowary Coast Regional Council • Ipswich City Council • Cairns Regional Council • Lockyer Valley Regional Council • Rockhampton Regional Council • Logan City Council • Gladstone Regional Council • Townsville City Council • Gold Coast City Council • Moreton Bay Regional Council

Three-year cost-share arrangements under the LAMP program reflect and strengthen the partnership which has marked the program’s success over the past decade. The Local Government Association of Queensland has been funded to coordinate the LAMP program. Under the CAMS program, a total of 20 community workers will be employed in the following 17 organisations to support Queenslanders from culturally diverse backgrounds: • Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland • Brisbane City Council • Multicultural Development Association • George Street Neighbourhood Centre • Mackay Regional Council Association • Multilink Community Services Inc • Spiritus Ipswich • Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors • Townsville Multicultural Support Group of Torture and Trauma • Nambour Community Centre • Centacare Cairns • Caboolture Neighbourhood Centre • Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast • Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre • Queensland Council of Social Services • Bundaberg and District Neighbourhood • ACCES Services Centre

This includes targeted worker positions to focus on the needs of refugees, Pacific Islanders and Australian South Sea Islander communities, and a Grants Access Worker position to work with diverse communities to access funding sources. Funding has been allocated to the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland for a CAMS program coordinator.

The LAMP and CAMS programs are wonderful examples of the way this Government works in cooperation with local agencies to build stronger multicultural communities for the benefit of all Queenslanders.

Question on Notice

No. 10

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION: MS GRACE GRACE MP — What organisations were funded under the 2008–09 Multicultural Assistance Program from page 3–16 of the SDS, and what measures are in place to ensure it delivers value for money and better outcomes for Queenslanders from a culturally and linguistically diverse background? ANSWER: A total of 76 organisations received funding under the Multicultural Assistance Program in 2008-09.

The amounts granted ranged from $2,450 to $50,000 and the funded organisations are detailed in Attachment 1.

On completion of the funded events or projects, those organisations funded under the Multicultural Assistance Program are required to provide a project report that includes information about the level of achieved community participation, a financial report showing a breakdown of income and expenditure, community feedback, what project materials were produced and any other outcomes that were achieved.

The events and projects funded under the Multicultural Assistance Program range from major multicultural festivals to cultural celebrations and community capacity building projects that make positive impacts to improving community cohesion as well as the personal wellbeing of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The funded events and projects attracted tens of thousands of Queenslanders from across the State who interacted in positive multicultural environments and had opportunities to gain improved understanding about different cultures.

Most importantly the funded events and projects demonstrate the Government’s recognition of Queensland’s rich cultural diversity. The Multicultural Assistance Program, as part of the Government’s commitment to multiculturalism, will ensure that all Queenslanders, regardless of their cultural and religious backgrounds, have equal opportunities to participate in all kinds of activities and are encouraged to work collectively to build a better Queensland.

Attachment 1

Organisations funded through the Multicultural Assistance Program 2008–09

1. AL-Nisa' Youth Group 2. Assisting Collaborative Community Employment Support Services 3. Australian-Italian Festival Association Inc 4. Australian South Sea Islander United Council - Independent Rockhampton and District 5. Brazilian Association of Queensland 6. Buddha's Light International Association Queensland 7. Bundaberg and District Neighbourhood Centre 8. Cairns and District Chinese Association 9. Cairns Multicultural Community 10. Central Highlands Regional Council 11. CO.AS.IT Italian Australian Welfare Association 12. Community Living Association Inc 13. Community Praxis Co-op Ltd 14. Crescents of Brisbane Inc 15. Cultural Star Gazers Inc 16. Eritrean Community Association in Queensland 17. Ethnic Communities' Council of Queensland 18. Festuri - A Multicultural Celebration Inc 19. Fiji Senior Citizens' Satsang Association of Queensland Inc 20. Fraser Coast Cultural Festival Inc 21. Gereja Kristus Brisbane Inc 22. Glad Tidings City Church 23. Gladstone Multicultural Association Inc 24. Gold Coast Multicultural Festival Association Inc 25. Greek Orthodox Church of St George Brisbane 26. Green Ant Inc 27. Griffith University - Centre for Public Culture and Ideas 28. Griffith University - Multi Faith Centre 29. Hazara Association of Australia Inc 30. Hindu Society of Queensland Inc 31. Into People Inc 32. Ipswich Events Corporation Inc 33. Iranian Society of Queensland Inc 34. Kurdish Association of Queensland 35. Leroy Loggins Foundation Trust Company Ltd 36. Linking Disability Pacifica Queensland Organisation Inc 37. Mackay Regional Council 38. Mareeba Multicultural Festival Committee 39. Mater Misericordiae Health Services Brisbane Ltd 40. Multicultural Association of Caboolture Shire 41. Multicultural Development Association 42. Mundubbera Community Development Association Inc 43. Murweh Shire Council 44. North East Community Support Group 45. Pacific Youth Association of Queensland 46. Pan Pacific Oceania Inc 47. Polonia - Polish Association of Queensland 48. Queensland Eidfest Association Inc 49. Queensland Folk Federation Inc 50. Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association, Biloela Branch Inc 51. Redcliffe Multicultural Community Association Inc 52. Rockhampton Regional Council 53. Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Townsville, Good Shepherd Parish 54. Rotary Club of Bundaberg Sunrise Inc 55. The Romero Centre

56. Saule Ltd 57. Sinhala Association of Queensland Inc 58. South Western Districts Basketball Association Inc 59. Jugglers Art Space Inc 60. STEPS Disability Qld Inc 61. Sudanese Community Association of Queensland Inc 62. TAJ Association of Australia Inc 63. Tamil Association (Qld) Inc 64. Te Korowai Aroha Inc 65. The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, Grovely Parish 66. The Ethiopian Community Association of Queensland 67. Together for Humanity Foundation Ltd 68. The Australian Asian Society of Toowoomba Inc 69. Total Health and Education Foundation 70. Townsville Intercultural Centre Ltd 71. Shire of Tara Development Association Inc 72. Vietnamese Community in Australia (Qld Chapter) Inc 73. Vulcana Women's Circus Inc 74. Woodridge-Rodelu (Uruguay) Sports and Social Club Inc 75. Wynnum District Soccer Club Inc 76. Zillmere Multicultural Festival Association

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Answers to Non-Government Questions on Notice

Question on Notice

No. 1

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMTTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION:

MR ANDREW CRIPPS MP — With reference to the Capital Statement p 26 and 33–35, will the Minister highlight all capital expenditure in Disability Services that is targeted towards (a) people with disabilities aged less than 18, and (b) young people with disabilities, both in amounts spent in 2008–09 and amounts budgeted in 2009–10?

ANSWER: The Disability Services’ capital program is not age specific.

In 2008-09, $43.2 million of the Disability Services’ total capital budget has been spent.

In 2009-10, the total capital program is $108.7 million comprising $66.8 million in built assets (including $1.1 million for equipment replacement); $8.8 million to continue the development of information systems to support Disability Services system reform; and $33.2 million in capital grants to the non-government sector.

Question on Notice

No. 2

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

MR ANDREW CRIPPS MP—With reference to the Department’s accommodation support, community and respite services, (p3–25 to 3–27 of the Service Delivery Statements), can the Minister please outline expenditure from 2008–09 and budgeted amounts for 2009–10 for these services (listed separately), breaking down expenditure into Commonwealth funds and State funds by type of expenditure?

ANSWER: Expenditure from 2008–09 and budgeted amounts for 2009–10 for each service (as shown on p3-25 to 3-27 of the Service Delivery Statements or SDS), broken down according to Commonwealth funds and State funds for each type of expenditure, is as follows:

Accommodation Support Services: 2008-09 Estimated Actual – $355.582 million state funded and $73.379 million Commonwealth funded. 2009-10 Estimate – $384.200 million state funded and $107.286 million Commonwealth funded.

Community Support Services: 2008-09 Estimated Actual – $255.749 million state funded and $52.720 million Commonwealth funded. 2009-10 Estimate – $276.311 million state funded and $77.081 million Commonwealth funded.

Respite Services: 2008-09 Estimated Actual – $59.939 million state funded and $12.364 million Commonwealth funded. 2009-10 Estimate – $ 64.761 million state funded and $18.077 million Commonwealth funded.

Community and Home Care: 2008-09 Estimated Actual – $135.902 million state funded and $263.039 million Commonwealth funded. 2009-10 Estimate – $181.335 million state funded and $283.725 million Commonwealth funded.

Question on Notice

No. 3

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK) - MR ANDREW CRIPPS - With reference to page 3-18 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide a further breakdown of the number of staff employed within the Department to match the performance headings (i.e. including accommodation support, community services, respite and community and home care)?

ANSWER: 98.7% of Disability Services employees are front line staff. The following table highlights the staffing breakdown of the Disability Services output against the prior output structure. This allocation is based on staffing surveys.

Staffing1 2008–09 2008–09 2009–10 Disability Services Queensland Notes Est. Budget Estimate Actual OUTPUTS Accommodation Support Services 1,431 1,618 1,650 Community Services 1,004 1,078 1,090 Respite Services 235 269 269 Community and home Care 99 153 153

Total Disability Services Output 2,769 3,118 3,162

Question on Notice

No. 4

Asked on Thursday, 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

MR ANDREW CRIPPS MP — With reference to the $414 million fund announced on page 3–3 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide an itemised list of which agencies will distribute this money to disability service providers (including amount per agency), target group, and the basis for priority of allocation?

ANSWER:

The Bligh Government is meeting our commitment to the non-government sector which delivers valuable support to a diverse range of Queenslanders, many of whom have critical needs. The State Budget announced new funds of $414 million over four years to contribute to the sustainability of the non-government community services sector. These funds translate to $65 million in 2009–10, increasing to $125 million recurrently from 2012–13. Relevant agencies will be allocated funds to distribute on a prioritised basis to assist non- government community service organisations continue the provision of services to dependant and vulnerable clients. Those agencies are the Departments of Communities; Community Safety; Employment, Economic Development and Innovation; Education and Training; the Department of Justice and Attorney-General; and Queensland Health. The exact allocation to each department is yet to be confirmed. The priority target group for this funding is people whose needs are such that they are assisted by and/or fully dependent on service provision for their health, well-being and safety.

Question on Notice

No. 5

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

MR ANDREW CRIPPS MP — With reference to the Service Delivery Statement pages 3–25 to 3–27, would the Minister provide a list, separated by performance heading (i.e. accommodation support, community services, respite and community and home care), of the number of NGOs receiving funding, the total amount of funds given to NGOs, and the amount spent on Government service delivery under the same performance headings?

ANSWER: Number of Number of Number of Funding to Expenditure on NGOs NGOs NGOs NGOs Government Performance receiving receiving receiving 2008–09 Service headings funding for funding for funding for Est. Actual Delivery disability mental Home and $'000's 2008–09 services health Community Est. Actual services Care services $'000's Accommodation Support Services 270,420 94,593 Community Support Services 169,282 105,002 Respite Services 47,460 12,174 Community and Home Care 280,339 87,4001 Total 301 55 313 767,501 299,169

1 Direct delivery by government agencies only. This includes grants to Queensland Government departments (including Queensland Health) and local government agencies.

Question on Notice

No. 6

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION: MR ANDREW CRIPPS MP — Will the Minister provide an itemised breakdown for both 2008–09 and 2009–10 of the expenditure on the Targeted Response to Severely Challenging Behaviour, as listed on p 34 of the Capital Statement?

ANSWER: In 2008-09, Disability Services planned to spend $6.81 million as part of the targeted response for people with severely challenging behaviours with an actual spend for the year of $7.53 million. In 2009-10, expenditure of $25.15 million is planned to purchase land and design and construct purpose-built variable secure and forensic accommodation, as well as undertake capital upgrades to the infrastructure at the Wacol site.

Question on Notice

No. 7

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION: MR CHRIS FOLEY MP — Minister, a wheelchair for a high needs user may be funded for $5,000 but could cost $14,000. As these chairs can only be replaced every five years (but may last only 2–3 years) what will you do to ensure that pensioners and other low income earners are not disadvantaged financially? ANSWER: The provision of wheelchairs is a matter for consideration through the Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme, which is operated by Queensland Health. The Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme provides access to endorsed aids and equipment to eligible Queensland residents via subsidies, including wheelchairs and wheelchair modifications. This scheme aims to assist people with a disability to live at home and avoid premature or inappropriate residential care or hospitalisation.

One-off funding is available for wheelchairs for eligible people through Disability Services’ Family Support Program, where that aims to increase or maintain an individual’s capacity to participate in their social and economic life of their community and where the equipment cannot be provided through other schemes (such as the Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme). Also, if an item is available through other schemes, Disability Services may provide additional funding to meet the gap in the full cost of the item.

In addition, from time to time, Disability Services provides one-off funding through other initiatives for the purchase of aids and equipment, including communication devices and mobility aids.

Question on Notice

No. 8

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION: ANDREW CRIPPS MP — With reference to the expenditure on multicultural affairs, on page 3-30 of the Service Delivery Statement, could the Minister list all groups who received Multicultural Assistance grants in 2008–09, and list those who received a grant in 2007–08 but did not receive a grant in 2008–09? ANSWER: The events and projects funded under the Multicultural Assistance Program range from major multicultural festivals to cultural celebrations and community capacity building projects that make positive impacts to improve community cohesion as well as the personal well-being of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The funded events and projects attracted tens of thousands of Queenslanders from across the State who interacted in positive multicultural environments and had opportunities to gain improved understanding about different cultures. Most importantly the funded events and projects demonstrate the Government’s recognition of Queensland’s rich cultural diversity. The Multicultural Assistance Program, as part of the Government’s commitment to multiculturalism will ensure that all Queenslanders regardless of their cultural and religious backgrounds, have equal opportunities to participate in all kinds of activities and are encouraged to work collectively to build a better Queensland. 76 organisations received grants from the Multicultural Assistance Program annual funding round in 2008–09 and are listed at Attachment 1. This includes 42 organisations that were not funded in 2007-08.

The organisations which received funding in 2007–08 but did not receive funding in 2008–09 are listed at attachment 2.

Attachment 1

Organisations funded through the Multicultural Assistance Program 2008–09 which did not receive funding in the 2007-08 annual grants round

1. Central Highlands Regional Council 2. Co.As.It. – Italian-Australian Welfare Association Inc 3. Rockhampton Regional Council 4. Shire of Tara Development Association Inc 5. Total Health and Education Foundation 6. The Australian Asian Society of Toowoomba Inc 7. Australian South Sea Islander United Council Independent Rockhampton and District Inc 8. Brazilian Association of Queensland Inc 9. Fiji Senior Citizen Satsang Association of Queensland Inc 10. Gereja Kristus Brisbane Inc 11. Hazara Association of Australia Inc 12. Hindu Society of Queensland Inc 13. Iranian Society of Queensland Inc 14. Kurdish Association of Queensland 15. Linking Disability Pacifica Queensland Organisation Inc 16. Mundubbera Community Development Association Inc 17. Murweh Shire Council 18. Pan Pacific Oceania Inc 19. Queensland Police-Citizens Youth Welfare Association, Biloela Branch Inc 20. Sudanese Community Association of Queensland Inc 21. Taj Association of Australia Inc 22. The Ethiopian Community Association of Queensland 23. The Romero Centre 24. Vietnamese Community in Australia (Queensland Chapter) Inc 25. Woodridge Rodelu (Uruguay) Sports and Social Club Inc 26. The Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland 27. Together for Humanity Foundation 28. Griffith University (Centre for Public Culture and Ideas) 29. Community Living Association Inc 30. Community Praxis Co-Op Ltd 31. STEPS Disability QLD Inc 32. Wynnum Districts Soccer Club Inc 33. Al-Nisa Youth Group Inc 34. Cultural Star Gazers Inc 35. Bundaberg and District Neighbourhood Centre Inc 36. Jugglers Art Space Inc 37. Saule Ltd 38. Leroy Loggins Foundation Company Ltd 39. North-East Community Support Group Inc 40. South Western Districts Basketball Association Inc 41. The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, Grovely Parish 42. Vulcana Women’s Circus Inc

Organisations funded through the Multicultural Assistance Program 2008–09 which also received funding in the 2007-08 annual grants round

43. Assisting Collaborative Community Employment Support Services 44. Australian-Italian Festival Association Inc 45. Buddha's Light International Association Queensland 46. Cairns and District Chinese Association

47. Crescents of Brisbane Inc 48. Eritrean Community Association in Queensland 49. Festuri - A Multicultural Celebration Inc 50. Fraser Coast Cultural Festival Inc 51. Glad Tidings City Church 52. Gladstone Multicultural Association Inc 53. Gold Coast Multicultural Festival Association Inc 54. Greek Orthodox Church of St George Brisbane 55. Green Ant Inc 56. Griffith University - Multi Faith Centre 57. Into People Inc 58. Ipswich Events Corporation Inc 59. Mackay Regional Council 60. Mareeba Multicultural Festival Committee 61. Mater Misericordiae Health Services Brisbane Ltd 62. Multicultural Association of Caboolture Shire 63. Multicultural Development Association 64. Pacific Youth Association of Queensland 65. Polonia - Polish Association of Queensland 66. Queensland Eidfest Association Inc 67. Queensland Folk Federation Inc 68. Redcliffe Multicultural Community Association Inc 69. Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Townsville, Good Shepherd Parish 70. Rotary Club of Bundaberg Sunrise Inc 71. Sinhala Association of Queensland Inc 72. Tamil Association (Qld) Inc 73. Te Korowai Aroha Inc 74. Cairns Multicultural Community 75. Townsville Intercultural Centre Ltd 76. Zillmere Multicultural Festival Association

Attachment 2

Organisations funded through the Multicultural Assistance Program 2007-08 which did not receive funding in the 2008-09 grants round

1. African Communities Association, Gold Coast Inc 2. Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre 3. Brisbane Valley Multicultural Association 4. Central Queensland University 5. East Brisbane Community Centre Inc 6. Mainland Chinese Society Queensland 7. Marburg and District Agricultural and Industrial Association Inc 8. Multicultural Information Network Service

Of the eight organisations that did not receive funding in 2008–09, the Central Queensland University, did not apply for funding. The remaining seven were unsuccessful in their applications in 2008–09.

Question on Notice

No.9

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)—

QUESTION:

MR ANDREW CRIPS MP — With reference to the expenditure on Multicultural Affairs, on page 3–30 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide a breakdown of the expenditure for 2008–09 and the budget for 2009–10, listing programs separately and administrative costs? ANSWER: In 2008–09, Multicultural Services’ total expenditure was $7.263 million including: • $3.295 million in grants and subsidies primarily relating to Local Area Multicultural Partnerships, Community Action for a Multicultural Society, annual grants round funding for 76 community projects, cultural celebrations and events, Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, Australian South Sea Islander Scholarship Program, After Hours Ethnic Schools, Commonwealth-State partnership on language services and contributions for Commonwealth-State research initiatives; • $3.968 million for employee expenses, supplies and services including for example relating to the Queensland Multicultural Festival, Queensland Roars against Racism, and community information and awareness, and depreciation. In 2009–10, Multicultural Services’ estimated budget is $9.267 million including: • $5.03 million in grants and subsidies primarily relating to Community Action for a Multicultural Society, Local Area Multicultural Partnerships, annual grants round, Commonwealth-State partnership on language services, Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, Australian South Sea Islander Scholarship Program, After Hours Ethnic Schools, contributions to Commonwealth-State research initiatives and various other programs; • $4.237 million for employee expenses, supplies and services including for example relating to the Queensland Multicultural Festival, Queensland Roars against Racism, and community information and awareness, and depreciation.

Question on Notice

No. 10

Asked on Thursday 2 July 2009

THE ESTIMATES COMMITTEE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS (MS PALASZCZUK)— QUESTION:

MR CHRIS FOLEY MP — Minister, what is your department doing to ensure that women in ethnic minority groups have the same rights and freedoms as other Queensland women?

ANSWER: The Queensland Government fosters equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for all Queenslanders, regardless of their cultural, ethnic, religious background or gender. The Queensland Government’s multicultural policy, Multicultural Queensland – making a world of difference, provides a blueprint for managing Queensland’s ever increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in a way that ensures the social and economic security for all Queenslanders.

The Bligh Government is supporting Queensland women in ethnic minority groups through a number of targeted measures. Multicultural Affairs Queensland has allocated funding of approximately $75 230 to projects and events in 2009 which are benefiting women in ethnic minority groups.

The Department of Communities provided funding of $389 000 in 2008-09 to the Immigrant Women’s Support Service which works with women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to live in safety and security.

On 10 July 2009, my colleague, the Minister for Communities and Housing launched For Our Sons and Daughters – A Queensland strategy to reduce domestic and family violence 2009-2014. The goal of the strategy is to better protect victims, particularly women and children, by breaking the cycle of violence as early as possible. An action for 2009-10 which is being led by the Department of Communities in partnership with the Australian Government is to coordinate forums with Queensland Muslim community leaders to raise awareness and understanding of a range of topics including domestic and family violence to develop community leadership that supports victims.

In addition, I have recently approved $120 000 over three years to the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre under the Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) program. This will ensure that for the first time under this program, there will be a worker in the Hervey Bay region, and in Maryborough who will link families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds to services, and support local services to become more responsive to the needs of families and individuals from CALD backgrounds.

Through the Multicultural Community Ministerial Advisory Committee, seven of whom are female, I have also heard directly from community leaders and representatives about issues which are of concern to them.

The member may also be aware that each department develops and reviews an annual Multicultural Action Plan. These plans map out the ways that each department embeds multiculturalism into their core business. In particular, by ensuring their service delivery practices reflect the cultural diversity of the community. All of these measures will work towards ensuring our community remains inclusive through embracing, supporting and celebrating Queensland’s cultural diversity.

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Government Questions on Notice

MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Government Members

QUESTION 1

GRACE GRACE MP Would the Minister please outline the Queensland Government's expenditure on disability services, as mentioned on page 3-5 of the Service Delivery Statement?

QUESTION 2

JAN JARRATT MP Page 3-13 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to Non-Government organisations receiving funding from Disability Services: Would the Minister please detail amounts of these grants and the number and locations of service outlets that operate throughout Queensland?

QUESTION 3

DEAN WELLS MP Would the Minister relate to the Committee how the Queensland and Australian Governments are working together through the National Disability Agreement, as mentioned on page 3-14 of the Service Delivery Statement?

QUESTION 4

MICHAEL CHOI MP Page 3-13 of the Service Delivery Statement refers to Investing in Positive Futures. Can the Minister please explain how Disability Services is working towards this in relation to capital works?

QUESTION 5

JAN JARRATT MP Building accommodation support is referred to on page 3-13 of the Service Delivery Statement. Will the Minister please outline to the Committee the role that purpose designed housing plays in providing service to people with a disability?

Page 1 of 2 MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Government Members

QUESTION 6

HACC DEAN WELLS MP As mentioned on page 3-14 of the Service Delivery Statement, what are the details on the use of the additional recurrent funding allocated to the Home and Community Care Program for both 2008-09 and 2009-10?

QUESTION 7 HACC

JAN JARRATT MP Will the Minister provide a breakdown of HACC service provision expenditure in 2008/09 compared to 2009/10, separated into regions?

QUESTION 8 Non-clinical Mental Health Services

DEAN WELLS MP Would the Minister detail the Bligh Government's capital and recurrent expenditure on programs to assist people with a mental illness transition to remain living in their communities, as mentioned on Page 3-6 of the SDS?

QUESTION 9 Multicultural Affairs

MICHAEL CHOI MP What are the successful organisations and three-year funding arrangements under the Local Area Multicultural Partnerships (LAMP) and Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) programs as stated on Page 3-7 of the SDS?

QUESTION 10 Multicultural Affairs

GRACE GRACE MP What organisations were funded under the 2008-2009 Multicultural Assistance Program from page 3-16 of the SDS, and what measures are in place to ensure it delivers value for money and better outcomes for Queenslanders from a culturally and linguistically diverse background?

Page 2 of 2

Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs

Non-Government Questions on Notice

MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Non-Government Members

DISABILITY

QUESTION 1

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the Capital Statement p 26 and 33 -35, will the Minister highlight all capital expenditure in Disability Services that is targeted towards (a) people with disabilities aged less than 18, and (b) young people with disabilities, both in amounts spent in 2008-09 and amounts budgeted in 2009-10?

QUESTION 2

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the Department’s accommodation support, community and respite services, (p3-25 to 3-27 of the Service Delivery Statements), can the Minister please outline expenditure from 2008-09 and budgeted amounts for 2009-10 for these services (listed separately), breaking down expenditure into Commonwealth funds and State funds by type of expenditure?

QUESTION 3

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to page 3-18 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide a further breakdown of the number of staff employed within the Department to match the performance headings (ie including accommodation support, community services, respite and community and home care)?

QUESTION 4

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the $414 million fund announced on page 3-3 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide an itemised list of which agencies will distribute this money to disability service providers (including amount per agency), target group, and the basis for priority of allocation?

QUESTION 5

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the Service Delivery Statement pages 3-25 to 3-27, would the Minister provide a list, separated by performance heading (ie accommodation support, community services, respite and community and home care), of the number of NGOs receiving funding, the total amount of funds given to NGOs, and the amount spent on Government service delivery under the same performance headings?

Page 1 of 2 MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – PRE HEARING From Non-Government Members

DISABILITY (Cont’d)

QUESTION 6

ANDREW CRIPPS MP Will the Minister provide an itemised breakdown for both 2008-09 and 2009-10 of the expenditure on the Targeted Response to Severely Challenging Behaviour, as listed on p 34 of the Capital Statement?

QUESTION 7

CHRIS FOLEY MP Minister, A wheelchair for a high needs user may be funded for $5,000 but could cost $14,000. As these chairs can only be replaced every five years (but may last only 2-3 years) what will you do to ensure that pensioners and other low income earners are not disadvantaged financially.

MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

QUESTION 8

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the expenditure on multicultural affairs, on page3-30 of the Service Delivery Statement, could the Minister list all groups who received Multicultural Assistance grants in 2008-09, and list those who received a grant in 2007-08 but did not receive a grant in 2008-09?

QUESTION 9

ANDREW CRIPPS MP With reference to the expenditure on multicultural affairs, on page3-30 of the Service Delivery Statement, will the Minister provide a breakdown of the expenditure for 08-09 and the budget for 09-10, listing programs separately and administrative costs?

QUESTION 10

CHRIS FOLEY MP Minister what is your department doing to ensure that women in ethnic minority groups have the same rights and freedoms as other Queensland women.

Page 2 of 2

Estimates Committee D Member

Document tabled at hearing

Australians struggling with multiculturalism

Font size: Decrease increase Anicle from: AAP Email article: Ernail Print article: Print

June 24,200901 :39pm

AUSTRALIANS are in two minds about multiculturalism, a long-term survey has found.

They believe cultural diversity is good for the country but they're worried that cultural differences will stop everyone from getting along.

An ll-year study by a collaboration of Australian universities has found 85 per cent of Australians acknowledge racial prejudice occurs in the nation and one in five has been a victim of racist verbal abuse.

The study found that 6.5 per cent of the 16,000 Australians surveyed were against multiculturalism.

Professor Kevin Dunn, from the University of Western Sydney's school of social science, said the study revealed that the majority of Australians are pro-multiculturalism but are anxious that the diversity will not be managed well.

"Over 40 per cent of those surveyed feel that cultural differences pose a threat to societal harmony," he said.

"So if you take that alongside the 87 per cent that are pro-multiculturalism, clearly you've got a third of the nation that tolerate cultural diversity but are concerned at the impact it will have on society.

"The Cronulla riots and the recent attacks on people of Indian descent are an example of this.

"The figures show that 85 per cent of Australia acknowledge there is racial prejudice in the country."

Prof Dunn believes previous governments have done nothing to address the issue for the past decade, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma spending only part of his time dealing with race discrimination.

"For the last decade, the government hasn't appointed a full-time Race Discrimination Commissioner," Prof Dunn said.

"Because of the severe underfunding of the commission, they're just unable to offer the sorts of services required."

The survey also found that at least one in five Australians experience verbal abuse such as offensive slang names for different cultural groups, or swearing and offensive gestures, while 11 per cent feel they don't belong or are inferior.

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