Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Tourism and International Education) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question. As Senator Canavan said, yesterday the Prime Minister made an announcement that the government was committing up to $95 million toward stage 2 of the Gold Coast rail. In visiting the Gold Coast recently and seeing the strength of advocacy from local members in that area and from local councils and tourism operators, it was very evident to see the importance of that project, particularly in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, which is coming up in a few years. That project is supported by all levels of government and will support more than 1,000 jobs during its construction, which is obviously also important to local employment in the region.

As our cities become more densely populated, public transport infrastructure will play an important role in helping to alleviate congestion and boost productivity through improved connectivity. Stage 2 of the Gold Coast light rail will include a 7.3-kilometre extension from the Gold Coast University Hospital to the existing heavy rail network, new stations to be built at Parkwood and Oakwood East and a heavy/light rail interchange to be constructed at Helensvale.

This announcement will see stage 2 constructed in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as I indicated earlier, and construction is to commence early next year. It is expected that the project will not only provide improved transport connectivity during the games but in the longer term provide improved transport connections between Queensland's two largest cities: Brisbane and the Gold Coast.