General News
30 June, 2026
Ootann Road is ‘stuck in the dust’
MEMBER for Hill Shane Knuth has criticised the Queensland Budget for once again failing to commit to sealing the entire Ootann Road.
Mr Knuth said after years of lobbying, the Budget offered no vision for one of Far North Queensland’s most important freight corridors.
“Ootann Road is not just another country road. It is one of the most strategically important freight routes in Far North Queensland, linking the Kennedy Highway with the Burke Developmental Road and servicing our beef, agriculture and mining industries,” he said.
“For years governments have funded small, isolated sections every few years, but more than 65 kilometres still remain unsealed. At this rate it will take decades to complete.”
Mr Knuth said fully sealing the 90km route would transform freight efficiency across the north by providing a safer north-south transport corridor, reducing pressure on the Bruce Highway, allowing uninterrupted road train access and significantly lowering transport costs for regional industries.
“This is exactly the sort of visionary infrastructure investment that regional Queensland needs, yet it continues to be overlooked,” he said.
Mr Knuth said the Government’s continued “piecemeal approach” ignored the enormous economic benefits the road would deliver.
“Our cattle producers, farmers, miners and freight operators deserve better than another budget with no commitment to finish the job,” he said.
“When Ootann Road is in poor condition, transport operators are forced onto longer, more expensive routes or must break up road trains to navigate alternative roads through the Tablelands. That costs industry time and money every single day.”
Mr Knuth said the Budget demonstrated how regional infrastructure was continuing to lose out as pressure mounted to deliver Olympic infrastructure before 2032.
“Queenslanders were promised the Olympics wouldn’t come at the expense of the regions, but that promise is becoming harder to believe,” he said.
“Budgets should be about investing in projects that unlock economic opportunity for generations. Instead, regional Queensland keeps getting patchwork funding while transformative projects like Ootann Road remain unfinished.”
