IT HAS been revealed taxpayers are forking out more than $21 million on the latest round of business cases for Sunshine Coast public transport projects with no State Government commitment to build anything.
Six million dollars is being spent on the Beerwah to Maroochydore rail business case and $15 million on the MASS transit business case from Caloundra to Maroochydore.
State Member for Maroochydore Fiona Simpson and Sunshine Coast Mass Transit Action Group’s Tracey Goodwin-McDonald last month called for answers and action.
Ms Simpson said the Palaszczuk Government had made an art form out of throwing money at ways to delay making a decision rather than doing anything .
“Heavy rail should be the priority over mass transit, but the heavy rail business case is shrouded in secret with no public terms of reference or any schedule for public consultation. Planning in the dark, isn’t progress it’s about propaganda. I think the State Government’s real motivation is to delay and deny rather than build and act.
“The Federal Government has committed $1.6 billion towards the Maroochydore Rail project but to date the State Labor Government has failed to match it. They need to step up and commit. The LNP has given that commitment to do this project in Government.”
Another $15 million is being spent on the Sunshine Coast Mass Transit business case, on the route between Caloundra and Maroochydore, over three years* with a three-way split between the State, Federal and Local Governments and this spending is on top of millions already spent to-date by Council.
President of the Sunshine Coast Mass Transit Action Group, Tracey Goodwin-McDonald has written to the Transport Minister requesting an update on the status of these two projects with no response to-date.
Ms Goodwin-McDonald said there were many questions that needed answering.
“I’d like to see timeframes released to support the proposed planning and proper public consultation.
“I’d like the status of the Memorandum of Understanding between Department of Transport and Sunshine Council for the Mass Transit project, as well as the outcomes of the public consultation that was conducted on March 2022.
“For the heavy rail I’d like to view the tender documents and outcomes of any tenders, as well as actually knowing who is conducting the study.
“And, most importantly for both transport projects I would like to see the Terms of Reference which should be at the centre of both projects. Why is it a secret?”
Ms Simpson confirmed that she had asked Transport Minister Mark Bailey in Parliament if the State Government would match the Federal Government’s $1.6 billion commitment for heavy rail to Maroochydore (thanks Ted O’Brien and Andrew Wallace) and his answer was a slippery “wait for the business case”.
Ms Simpson said that with the speed that the Sunshine Coast was growing and a projected population of 520,000 by 2041 it was imperative to have the right infrastructure to support this growth and part of this was heavy rail to Maroochydore.
“Rail is needed now. I will keep fighting for heavy rail to Maroochydore as the priority public transport upgrade for the Sunshine Coast rather than never-ending expensive business case delay tactics. The State LNP has committed to funding rail to Maroochydore in Government.”
