But he also has his own iron in the fire.

"There is no need for a petition to convince me that the Yass community is well and truly sick of inaction on the Barton Highway. I have been driving the Barton all my life, and I have been listening to Yass residents as a candidate for over a year now.”

However, I am delighted that the Yass Council has taken the initiative to launch a petition. This will help to make a more compelling case for urgent investment in the Barton Highway.”

Mr Taylor said he had been working on getting the project prioritised by Infrastructure Australia, which, he said, had been neglected until now.

"The good news is that I have started doing this work. I have personal experience and expertise in putting together feasibility studies and cost benefit analyses for infrastructure projects, and I began collecting data on the Barton Highway many months ago.

“I recently asked the mayor to help me with traffic data, and council has been very obliging and has started work on that.

He said that a change to a Coalition government would be good news for the funding of the Barton upgrade.

"… a Coalition government will put responsible spending of taxpayer's money at the top of the agenda. No more pork barrelling, and no more sectional interests. As a nation we need this more than anything.

"In my view, this is actually a good thing for users of the Barton Highway.

With the right advocacy, and with a loud and engaged community on board, I believe a compelling case can be made to Infrastructure Australia, which will accelerate the timing of the Barton Highway investment."