I am delighted to inform the House that, despite a lacklustre federal budget for the north side this week, the Palaszczuk government has been able to deliver one win for our part of the north side thanks to some strong advocacy by members of the Aspley State High School community to me.

I say thanks to Minister Dick and Minister Grace for putting up with my many inquiries. We have had a great win on an issue that would be unknown to many but is important to those who know of it. We are fixing the pipe crossing at the back of Aspley State High School. For decade after decade students to the north of Aspley State High School have had few options of getting to and from the school. They could take a detour of over a kilometre along Zillmere and Dorville Roads or they could balance across a greasy pipe to get over Cabbage Tree Creek and risk the shopping trollies and God knows what else that lurks within its very murky depths.

I am very pleased to say that we have secured $1 million in funding for a pedestrian and cycle bridge to be built across Cabbage Tree Creek, providing a direct link between Aspley State High School and the $6.5 million Carseldine Urban Village sport and recreation precinct, which is currently under construction. I know that many students and residents regularly use the pipe to cross the creek or they walk along the busy Dorville and Zillmere roads. Soon they will be able to walk or cycle across a brand-new footbridge allowing them to move seamlessly between the school, the sports fields and the Carseldine train station. The new bridge will also connect existing cycle infrastructure in the surrounding area.

The proposal includes lighting so that we will have a better and safer integration of the school, the village precinct and the broader community, putting more people on their bikes, using public transport and taking advantage of our community’s green space, which is a real win for locals. I sincerely thank Minister Dick and Minister Grace for listening to me bang on and on about a pipe over a creek.

This is a small win but a giant leap over Cabbage Tree Creek. The project will be funded through the Palaszczuk government’s Growth Area and Regional Infrastructure Investment Fund to the tune of $900,000, with an additional $100,000 coming from the Department of Education. Construction is set to commence in late 2019 with the bridge to open in 2020. This footbridge just adds to what we have started in the area since I became the member, specifically in the Aspley, Zillmere and Carseldine areas.

We have a brand-new home for basketball on the north side just over the creek in Zillmere—five new courts in a disused shed which Campbell Newman was trying to sell off. We are consulting with sporting groups and organisations to determine the best future community use for the $6.5 million sporting precinct and we have a minimum of $10 million for Aspley State High School for new and refurbished facilities that were announced at the election. This is a great school that was crying out for investment. We are in discussions with the community about traffic congestion, too, with a feasibility study for the current Beams Road level crossing out for consultation. All levels of government need to step up regarding traffic in the area.

In closing, it was very disappointing to see that after a year or so of hearing the members for Dickson and Petrie banging on about this, there was no money in the budget for Linkfield Road. They have had billboards up about it and petitions about it, but there were zero dollars for the north side.