The latest casualty of the Newman government is the T2 lanes on the Pacific Motorway.

Also cut, the Queensland Government logo despite the Premier saying he wouldn’t make changes just for the sake of it.

Kendall Wegener reports.

TRANSCRIPT

The decade-old T2 lanes on the Pacific Motorway are the latest target of Newman government cuts.

The lanes will be scrapped by next year, replaced with four traffic lanes at a cost of $5 million.

Steve Minnikin, Assistant Transport Minister: “If something needs to be scrapped because it simple didn’t make good public sense or public policy, it will be done.”

Motorists have welcomed the 50 per cent increase in road capacity.

John Mickel, Former Speaker: “If you’re one of the people stuck in congestion looking at a T2 lane that is in their view underutilised, they will say the government is responding to their concerns.”

But environmental groups say we need to challenge our car dependent culture.

Toby Hutcheon, Queensland Conservation Council: “90 per cent of the cars on those roads have a single occupant in them, we’re car dependent and we have to get away from that.”

The Newman government has also rebranded, switching to the coat of arms.

This is away from the logo coined the Beattie burger.

The government hasn’t yet announced the move away from the logo first introduced by Beattie in 2000.

But all signage, documentation and the worksite for the new government executive building shows otherwise.

When asked about the logo in March, Premier Newman said he wouldn’t spend taxpayers money on changing things just for the sake of changing it.

Today the government has a different view.

Steve Minnikin, Assistant Transport Minister: “There will be changes obviously, Queenslanders spoke in their droves from Coolangatta to Cooktown on March 24, there will be a lot of changes still to occur.”

Kendall Wegener, QUT News.