Stop Northern Link to pay for recovery: Labor

NEWS

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman must immediately stop the progress of the Northern Link tunnel and prioritise Brisbane’s flood recovery, says Labor Lord Mayoral Candidate Ray Smith and Council Opposition Leader Shayne Sutton.

The $1.7 billion toll tunnel is due to start construction shortly, but Mr Smith said the Lord Mayor needed to urgently reassess council’s funding priorities.
“The Lord Mayor needs to immediately call a halt to all work on Northern Link, as it leaves no headroom in the Council budget for urgent and essential flood recovery and long term flood mitigation strategies,” Mr Smith said.
“The Lord Mayor has allocated $470 million in ratepayers’ funds to the Northern Link tunnel and I believe this money should be reallocated to rebuilding our city and undertaking future flood mitigation works.
“Brisbane residents and council employees have done a incredible job so far with the flood recovery and now the Lord Mayor needs to provide them with the resources to undertake the next stage rebuilding stage.”