COAST KEEPS ON FIGHTING
AMID the rubble of broken dreams from the State Government’s decision to can the ASF proposal for an integrated resort on The Spit, it would be easy for the city to drop its bundle.
Where is the leadership now, at least from the Palaszczuk Government? Where is the map showing the way forward for jobs and our Gold Coast economy once the Commonwealth Games wrap up in April?
We’re hearing murmurs about how the decision has probably shored up Deputy Premier Jackie Trad’s inner-city seat in Brisbane and could give Labor a chance of grabbing a seat or two down this way. But there are also whispers that for all the votes it might have gained through this exercise, it has also lost votes. The theories and comments are all political.
The nuts and bolts of rebuilding the Gold Coast dream are being assembled instead by the city’s visionaries – the people who invest, who build companies and jobs, and who have a genuine stake in the Gold Coast’s future far removed from the behind-the-scenes power plays of parties interested only in their own survival.
The Bulletin asked a cross-section of the city’s leading business thinkers what had to be done so the Gold Coast maintains its position as the key powerhouse in the Queensland economy.
They did not disappoint. With the loss of 13,000 prospective jobs following the demise of the ASF development, with the army of workers who have been building stage 2 of the light rail nearing completion of their project, and with 1500 Commonwealth Games employees back hunting jobs once the event is over, the visionaries were quick to reveal the sort of projects that must be up and running.
Among them was light rail’s third stage, which logic dictates must have priority not only to create jobs but also to supply the infrastructure that will make public transport a truly viable option for commuters.
If transport was a major factor in scuttling the ASF project, then attention should turn to the golden opportunity that now exists to push ahead with light rail down to Burleigh and beyond, delivering the transport infrastructure the city needs to avoid gridlock, keep the economy humming and build a climate that overturns the shock of this week and entices investors back.