LOST ART OF COMPROMISE

REGRETS, State Labor’s had a few.

But unlike the rest of the lyric by Frank “old blue eyes” Sinatra, in this case they are not too few to mention.

And they certainly haven’t yet done what they had to do ... or seen it through without exemption.

Treasurer Jackie Trad yesterday lamented the lack of the light rail’s next stage from Broadbeach to Burleigh – stalled due to a funding contributions stalemate between the Labor State Government and LNP-led Federal Government.

“I would have loved to see the light rail continued,” she told a Brisbane lunch.

That theme was followed later last night by her colleague, the Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey who told the Bulletin he was “from the Gold Coast, I love the Gold Coast and I love the light rail” ... but “it’s regrettable the next stage to Burleigh isn’t ready to start due to the lowest ever offer from the Federal LNP”.

So much regret and also seemingly little hope of breaking the funding deadlock any time soon.

The only bright spot on the horizon seems to be dialogue between Mr Bailey and the Deputy Prime Minister but how far that gets remains to be seen.

It is too little too late for Ms Trad – who holds the state purse strings and ultimately had the power to include a funding contribution in her Budget a week ago – to now express regret the project has stalled.

It does nothing for this booming city which desperately needs infrastructure including vital public transport to keep pace with its population rises and tourism influxes. The time for blame games is over.

Politics is the art of compromise, and it seems to be an art lost on the state and federal representatives butting heads and waiting for the other to blink.

Ms Trad and Mr Bailey had their opportunity to make a significant statement a week ago and didn’t take it.

It is time to quit it with the regrets and set about getting the city a result.