Latest news with #DepartmentOfTransport
ABC News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- ABC News
Queensland government vows to 'do a better job' of maintaining roads with more than $8 billion in work needed
The Queensland government is pledging to get on top of its more than $8 billion maintenance and renewal bill for works needed on thousands of kilometres of state-owned roads. At a time when those costs are only growing, the government has declared it needs to do more to maintain existing assets. Those working in the transport industry argue the government should be required to provide roads which are up to scratch, in the same way their vehicles have to be. Tayla Connolly, who manages a Townsville-based transport company which works across Queensland, pointed out they were required to operate roadworthy vehicles. "There doesn't appear to be the same requirement statewide for the government to provide us with roads that are safe to travel on for our vehicles,' she said. Ms Connolly's company runs 26 prime movers which service both private and government customers across rural and remote areas. She said vehicle maintenance was one of their biggest costs. "Our bonnets are fibreglass, so any sort of corrugation or shaking will create damage there," she said. "There's obviously suspension as well, which on some of the rougher roads in Queensland we do see quite a lot of damage to." Every year, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) calculates the cost of what it calls the "capital renewal investment needs". It takes into account the resealing, resurfacing and rehabilitation works needed for pavements on roads, as well as the rehabilitation required for structures, such as bridges. It does not include routine maintenance jobs, such as pothole patching, minor pavement repairs, or vegetation management. At the end of the 2023-24 financial year, the department estimated there was $8.63 billion in outstanding renewal and maintenance works with no funding — up from $7.8 billion the year before. Over the same period, the length of impacted road fell from 11,383km to 10,040km. The Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program for 2024-25 to 2027-28 includes $5.23 billion for maintenance, preservation, and operations. Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said he wanted to stabilise the cost of outstanding works and "hopefully start to turn the curve and reduce the backlog over time". "My personal view is we need to do a better job of maintaining our existing assets," he said. "Politicians love building new things and it's important that we do build new infrastructure, but it's really important that we maintain what we have as well." Mr Mickelberg acknowledged maintenance works were getting more expensive thanks to increased prices for bitumen and wages. Despite that, he said the government needed to get on top of the "growing burden" of works, warning it was road users who paid the price. "They pay the price through either greater congestion, or they pay the price through vehicle damage," Mr Mickelberg said. "That's the reality of these maintenance backlogs." The minister said his department prioritised road safety issues. RACQ's head of public policy Michael Kane said the club's members were constantly complaining about poor road surfaces. "What that does is cause damage to tyres, suspension, windscreens — all adding to the cost of travelling on Queensland roads," he said. "Our members are less interested in shiny and new, and they very strongly say to us they want to see the roads fixed, they want to see them properly maintained and extended. Dr Kane said more damage was being inflicted on Queensland roads due to "extreme" weather events and a growing population. "The key thing is to have the adequate funding to build back better." Ms Connolly agreed weather events substantially reduced the effective life of roads and bridges. "You simply cannot have a road under water for that period of time and expect it to have the same effective life," she said. TMR expects recent flooding events in Queensland will impact both the short-term condition of roads and the rate of deterioration in the future. As of May, the department said work was still underway to get detailed damage assessments. "The initial focus has been on completing emergency repairs to ensure roads can safely remain open while we work on a full reconstruction program," a TMR spokesperson said. 'The recovery works are jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Ombudsman ‘cautiously optimistic' ‘injustice' over personal transport for disabled people ‘about to be righted'
The Ombudsman Ger Deering has said he is 'cautiously optimistic that a long-standing injustice' in relation to supports for people with disabilities to access personal transport 'is about to be righted'. In his annual report for 2024 published today, Mr Deering welcomed a commitment from the Department of Transport to develop a new scheme to support people with disabilities to access personal transport. Mr Deering has previously said the manner in which people with disabilities continue to be denied access to personal transport supports was 'nothing short of shameful'. The Ombudsman's office investigates complaints from members of the public who believe they have been treated unfairly by public service providers. READ MORE For more than a decade the Ombudsman and his two predecessors have highlighted the lack of appropriate supports for people with disabilities since the personal Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants by the government in February 2013. Details of the new incentives have not yet been published but the Department of Transport has undertaken to introduce such a scheme. It will be separate to the extension of the public transport Free Travel Scheme to people who cannot drive due to a disability, which was announced last July. The Ombudsman said he will 'closely monitor progress on the Government's new scheme.' He also called onGovernment to provide 'sustainable and annual funding' to support younger people in nursing homes through the Enhanced Quality of Life Supports (EQLS) scheme and, where appropriate, funding to move younger people to more suitable accommodation. Following the Ombudsman's 'Wasted Lives' investigation in 2021 – which found some younger people with disabilities did not give informed consent about being placed in nursing homes long term -the HSE set up an 'Under 65 programme' and successfully transitioned more than 100 people to more suitable accommodation. The scheme also improved the lives of those who could not transition out of nursing homes. However, the HSE later said there was insufficient funding to continue to assist many of the young people move to more appropriate accommodation, or to continue the programme. The Ombudsman said, 'it is completely unacceptable that this excellent programme, which brought hope and independence to people with disabilities cannot be delivered because of a lack of funding'. The Ombudsman's team dealt with 4,673 complaints last year – an increase of nearly 5 per cent on the 2023 figure. In 2024, 1,497 complaints were made to the Ombudsman about local authorities, with 218 received about Dublin City Council and 150 about Cork City Council. Some 1,397 complaints were received about Government departments and offices with the Department of Social Protection being the subject of 604 complaints. There were 887 complaints about public bodies in the health sector with 705 involving the HSE and 149 about Tusla.
BreakingNews.ie
12-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Taxpayer on the hook for €444,412 in claims over collapse of Platinum Travel
The tax-payer is on the hook for claims totalling €444,412 from customers of the collapsed Platinum Travel Ltd. The Dublin based travel agency went out of business on December 19th last and the annual report from the Irish Aviation Authority's Travellers' Protection Fund, Travel Agents' and Tour Operators Bond shows that the Platinum Travel Ltd bond covered only €47,143 of claims made in 2024. Advertisement The total amount of claims from the Clontarf registered Platinum Travel Ltd's customers of flights and package tours totalled €478,112 offset by €13,443 in Claims - Refund Credit Notes resulting in the €444,412 in outstanding claims being met by a Department of Transport fund. A note states that there were insufficient funds within the bond to meet all liabilities without recourse to the Department of Transport fund. The annual report explains that the Traveller Protection Fund's cash levels were insufficient to compensate all claimants for the 2020 to 2024 collapses, and an application was made to the Department of Transport to top up the fund. Between 2020 and 2023 €2.75 million was transferred into the Traveller Protection Fund by the Department of Transport and a further €450,000 was requested from the Department on 19th December 2024 following the collapse of Platinum Travel Ltd. Advertisement The €450,000 contribution by the Department of Transport in 2024 was triple the €150,000 contribution made in 2023. A note states that a claim to recover the amounts met by the Department of Transport Funds has been lodged with the company's liquidator. The Department of Transport funds were received on January 30th of this year and the Irish Aviation Authority 'concludes that the receipt of these additional funds allows the Fund to operate as a going concern'. The most recent accounts for Platinum Travel show that it was loss-making in 2023 where it recorded a loss of €14,271. At the end of 2023, the company had accumulated losses of €68,799. Its shareholder funds totalled €76,201. The company's cash funds at the end of December 2023 amounted to only €2,990. The Irish Aviation Authority's Travellers' Protection Fund, Travel Agents' and Tour Operators Bond report states the requirement for a bond may also be satisfied by a cash sum deposited with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and at December 31st last monies deposited in cash for such a purpose amounted to €24.76 million compared to €41.62 million at the end of December 2023.
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa to Give Transnet More Guarantees to Settle Debt
South Africa's government said it will give Transnet SOC Ltd. additional guarantees so the troubled state ports and freight railway operator can settle all its debt that falls due and execute its capital-investment program. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced the approval of a 51 billion rand ($2.9 billion) guarantee facility for Transnet last month and the process of giving it additional support will be finalized by July 25, according to the Department of Transport. The company's five-year corporate plan shows it needs to repay 99.6 billion rand.
ABC News
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
Hours-long traffic delays in Melbourne's west as road crews inspect damage to the Princes Freeway
Authorities are investigating whether a damaged roadway caused a truck rollover that resulted in extensive traffic delays throughout the morning peak, west of Melbourne. Aerial footage shows a large gap in the road surface where the freeway meets a bridge, with large metal spikes protruding from both sides. About 10 cars have also been damaged in the incident that has closed all Melbourne-bound lanes of the Princes Freeway near the Werribee Zoo between the Princes Highway and Duncans Road, causing an 8-kilometre-long traffic jam. At one stage, the morning commute stretched almost three hours longer than usual for workers and other drivers coming in from Geelong and the major growth suburbs to the west. The incident also caused significant congestion through Werribee. The Department of Transport urged people needing to get into the city to detour through Bacchus Marsh and the Western Freeway or, where possible, to take a V/Line train instead of their car. "We ask drivers to be patient and mindful of local traffic when detouring through Werribee, and to obey all local speed limits," a spokesperson said.
