QUEANBEYAN will reap some
benefits from the Rudd
Government's first budget, but
residents will have to wait for
funds promised for Lanyon
Drive and the SuperClinic.
In January, Member for Eden-
Monaro Mike Kelly told The
Queanbeyan Age his first two
priorities would be the delivery
of the $23.3million upgrade of
the Kings Highway and the
$5.1million Asia-Pacific Centre
for Civil Military Co-operation
(APC-CIMIC).
Both of these promises have
been honoured.
The RTA has already started
preliminary assessments of the
Kings Highway and Dr Kelly said
he expected to see construction
start later this year.
The Government has also
entered into negotiations over a
leasing agreement for a site in
Morisset Street to act as an
interim office for the APC-
CIMIC.
Advertisements have been
placed for the role of centre
director.
''It's funded and work is
progressing well,'' Dr Kelly said
of the centre, which is expected
to boost tourism revenue for the
city.
However, the much-needed
relief for commuters who rely on
Lanyon Drive has been delayed.
The $7.5million promise for
the duplication and upgrade of
the arterial road has been
included in a project due to start
in 2009.
An estimated 22,000 vehicles
use Lanyon Drive each day.
As to other big-ticket items,
the $5million SuperClinic
money may not be available for
four years. The funds have been
granted as part of $275.2 million
for 31 clinic sites over four years.
Some money will be available
this year, but it is as yet undecided
where it will go, meaning
Queanbeyan may have to wait
until 2012.
When health minister Nicola
Roxon joined Dr Kelly in Queanbeyan
in November to announce
the spending on infrastructure,
there was an outcry from local
doctors who said medical staff in
the region were stretched as it
was.
Dr Kelly this week said the
money could go to staffing.
''For Queanbeyan we'll have a
tailor-made SuperClinic solution,''
he said.
''Now the funding is here it's a
question of determining the best
way to deliver the super clinic.''
The 50 new child care
positions promised have also
been provided, but could be
created through the hiring of
more staff, or extensions of
existing centres, rather than
through a new centre.