REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Saturday Dec. 20, 2008

THE Gold Coast was dudded again after the Federal Government neglected Glitter Strip projects in favour of billion dollar splurges in election battleground cities.

After years of neglect by both Liberal and Labor governments, the coastal strip was again been left out in the cold after only one major transport project was added to the Infrastructure Australia priority list.

The $850 million first stage of the $1.67 billion rapid transit system was the only project deemed suitable for federal funding.

In comparison, the $190 billion shortlist favoured our northern neighbours, with Brisbane securing 12 positions on the list worth more than $26 billion.

Toowoomba and Mount Isa both managed to secure higher funded projects on the shortlist, which includes a total of 94 major projects.

Lobby groups, developers and politicians launched attacks on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Wayne

Swan for neglecting the country’s sixth-biggest city.

The northern Gold Coast corridor, which was the fastest growing area in Australia, again missed out in a list viewed by pundits as an attempt to bail out struggling Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

Forde MP Brett Raguse, the only federal Labor MP on the Gold Coast, said he understood the frustration of locals.

‘‘The Gold Coast has been severely overlooked in the past and I will make it my job to make sure that the Federal Government delivers the necessary funding,” he said.