Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to talk about a matter of great importance to my constituents on the Gold Coast and to Gold Coasters more generally, and that is the Gold Coast rapid transit project. The Gold Coast is Australia’s fastest growing and sixth largest city. It has a resident population of some 500,000 and over our peak holiday periods—such as, for example, the forthcoming holiday period—we expect the population to reach close to the million mark. It is a city that is regularly groaning when it comes to not having adequate capacity and a city that struggles by virtue of the fact that it has grown so rapidly in such a short period of time.

Unlike, for example, the home of our nation’s capital, Canberra, which is a thoroughly planned city, there are so many aspects of the Gold Coast which were, quite simply, unplanned. So it is that because the city’s population has burgeoned over some period of time we have now reached a point where we need a rapid transit system. The Gold Coast first had this proposed for it in 1997 as part of the then Queensland government’s Integrated Regional Transport Plan for South-East Queensland. In the time since then there has been a variety of various feasibility studies and assessment reports and an array of community consultation that have all supported the construction of a rapid transit system for the Gold Coast.

The previous coalition government, of which I was a member, was very supportive of this project, committing $650,000, dollar for dollar with the Queensland government for a total of $1.3 million, toward a feasibility study so that we could look at whether it was feasible for the Gold Coast to support a rapid transit system. I am pleased that the result has been an affirmative. As a consequence of this feasibility study, the broad proposal is for a rapid transit system, especially a light rail system that will in the end flow from Coolangatta to Griffith University at Southport, with proposed extensions to Helensvale via Parkwood or Harbour Town.

By 2016 it is estimated that the rapid transit project will take some 40,000 cars per day off Gold Coast roads. It is also anticipated that some 57 million commuters will travel on the Gold Coast public transport network regularly. The transit system is expected to inject some $1.3 billion into the local economy and directly employ 320 people over its period of construction and operation.

At this point in time, the Bligh Labor government in Queensland has committed $1.67 billion to this project. The Gold Coast City Council has committed $120 million to support priority routes, with the capacity to invest an additional $30 million. But the fundamental and important question is: how much will the Rudd Labor government commit? The coalition were committed to this project, as was evidenced by the fact that we were able to fund part of the feasibility study. The question now is whether or not the Rudd Labor government’s rhetoric will be matched by them putting their money where their mouth is.

In Australia’s sixth largest and fastest growing city, this Rudd Labor government leaves a lot to be desired. We know that we have already missed out on having a GP superclinic although it was promised. The question now is: will the Rudd government’s Infrastructure Australia, and indeed the Rudd government, get behind this project for our city? The city is growing so rapidly that we desperately need a rapid transit system.

We have seen on many occasions Labor governments shirk their responsibilities when it comes to providing the very much needed infrastructure for a city like the Gold Coast. Despite the fact that it is Queensland’s second largest city, there have been a number of key decisions taken where Labor has walked away from providing the infrastructure needed. I can speak firsthand, having announced, together with my colleagues, some $455 million of coalition funding for the widening of the M1 road between Tugun and Nerang. In the last election campaign the now Rudd Labor government promised to match this funding. Unfortunately, the bulk of this funding has now been reallocated by the state Labor government towards the M1 stretch at Logan and is not being used on the Gold Coast, which means that again the Gold Coast misses out.

There are some very serious problems with the proposed route of the light rail project as far as Paradise Waters goes. But there is broad consensus that this is a much needed project. It is time for the Rudd government to deliver for the city of the Gold Coast and to make sure that Infrastructure Australia gets behind this project. The Rudd government should ensure that, moving beyond the rhetoric, it provides the much needed dollars and builds on the framework that the coalition put in place and the commitment that the coalition government had to Australia’s sixth largest city. It needs to make sure that this rapid transit system is built and built rapidly.