DELIVERING FROM THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Labor stands by its record on new infrastructure with Transport Minister Mark Bailey saying a key focus has been M1 upgrades, second M1 leadership and jobs
PIMPAMA, Coomera and Ormeau are some of the fastest growing suburbs in the nation, which is why they’ve been a major focus for new infrastructure by the Palaszczuk Labor government since we came to office.
As a new Main Roads Minister, I was shocked when briefed about how the previous Newman LNP government blocked planning for a new 43km second M1 road corridor through the area when the need was obvious.
In 2015, we had nothing on the books as a result of that blockage, so I told my Director-general to get cracking and secure a corridor as soon as possible.
The process to gazette a whole new major corridor can take decades but all three sections were gazetted by 2019 in record time, so the Palaszczuk government could then advocate for joint funding.
That was secured only a year later for a full 16km stage one from Coomera to Carrara.
The second M1 (or Coomera Connector officially) is the largest road project in Queensland, and with early works underway it will provide thousands of Gold Coast jobs over many years.
Given these facts and this leadership, it’s always sad to hear whinging and whining from the LNP who wasted their three years in power by blocking it – including
... it’s always sad to hear whinging and whining from the LNP who wasted their three years in power by blocking it – including Coomera MP Michael Crandon
Coomera MP Michael Crandon.
Mr Crandon had an incredible opportunity under Campbell Newman but was totally ineffective with the second M1 blocked, not a single new dollar for the M1 and his LNP cut Cross River Rail which funds the new Pimpama train station.
They even promised to cut Cross River Rail again at the 2017 election, so hearing Mr Crandon call for it be finished earlier is laughable. The LNP plan for the second M1 at the last election was a puny 6km version without the Smith St and Carrara sections that would have gridlocked the Gold Coast Hwy.
After three years of neglect, the M1 needed attention and that’s what we delivered with interchange upgrades completed at Exits 54 and 57, major construction progress on exits 41 and 45, and work starting soon on Exit 49 at Pimpama – commitments of more than $300m as well as billion-dollar upgrades at Springwood and the southern Gold Coast.
Queensland’s strong population growth due to our world leading pandemic response has also increased demand for bus services on the northern Gold Coast. That’s why Mayor Tom Tate and the Palaszczuk Labor government announced last week an extra $16.4m in new bus services. We’re also delivering 435 new parking spaces near the Coomera train station.
These spaces are very close to the new $1.3bn, 404 bed Coomera Hospital site announced in the state budget, which is based on extensive Queensland Health forward modelling and includes capacity for future expansion.
That is in addition to the 40 bed mental health rehab unit at GCUH and Gold Coast satellite hospital, none of which the LNP committed to at the last election.
The Palaszczuk government saved thousands of lives during the pandemic because we listened and acted on health advice. Now we’re embarking on the biggest hospital expansion program in Queensland’s history.
Any local MP acting fairly, especially one who had achieved so little when in power, would welcome these waves of infrastructure, services and jobs under Labor, yet Michael Crandon’s negativity in the The Bulletin shows just why his margin has dropped from 70 per cent down to 51 per cent.
Our record of M1 upgrades, second M1 leadership, new bus services, more local hospital beds, park’n’ride spaces and a new Pimpama train station shows a government with a strong local record of infrastructure and jobs, not cuts. We’ll never get a thank you from Mr Crandon but we’ll keep delivering for his constituency because they need new services and infrastructure more than political spin and hot air.
SOMETHING sure is rotten in the state of Queensland.
Thousands of people are homeless, women and children fleeing domestic violence can’t access safe care, older people need affordable and reliable transport, main roads are a mess, our hospitals need more nurses and doctors etc etc etc.
Yet the state government, in its wisdom, has given tens of millions of dollars to the Gold Coast Turf Club for lighting and a synthetic track so people can watch horse racing at night. Oh, please!
The battlers, whom a Labor government is supposed to represent, lose out again.
Grace, sorry Minister Grace, if you want to be a “game changer”, please convince your government to direct funding to services that improve the lives of vulnerable and disenfranchised people.
IAN MCDOUGALL, SOUTHPORT
RECENTLY my son told me about the rent one of his colleagues is required to pay for a modest house here on the Coast: $850 per week.
I’m told that such a rent is not uncommon. This man has little prospect of escaping this debt trap. It could dog him for the rest of his life.
Perhaps Mike Cannon-brookes, one of the grandees of global warming, might be prepared to help. Or perhaps not. Or even Albo, now that he has ceased flitting round the world enjoying the applause of overseas leaders, might have the answer. But maybe for him it’s not important.
After all, the future of one worker is nothing compared to the threat posed to all of us by climate change.
P. C. WILSON, MIAMI
INTERESTING reading in Thursday’s Bulletin referring to Scarborough Street as Skid Row.
It simply highlights what I have been saying for the past three years. Like many others I am sick and tired of hearing, “yes, we know, we have a multi agency approach looking at dealing with it ”. This multi agency approach only works if all agencies take an equal interest.
This so-called approach may work with the genuine homeless, but even prior to Covid and the rental crisis, Southport had a major issue with a loosely formed group of drunks and druggies that actually chose the street life.
These people set up camp wherever they like, and aided and abetted by certain charity workers that added to the problem by leaving copious quantities of food with drunks who promptly throw out unwanted food and scraps along the footpaths and parks.
All complaints appeared to end up in the too-hard basket with numerous excuses made for inaction. And now it’s coming back worse then ever and we are tired of the excuses.
From where I stand, one of the main issues is the lack of policing. We can have a dozen drunks openly drinking and becoming disorderly throughout the day and evening within walking distance of Southport police station, and ignored. Every day of the week we see the same faces openly stealing whatever they need from Australia Fair with no action.
It’s become the perfect environment for these people.
Southport police obviously have a staffing problem, particularly at weekends.
My personal opinion, let the charities and social workers do their bit to house the genuine needy and pressure the police and council into enforcing the law and control the behaviour of the rest.
No matter what, there is no reason for certain drunks to be sleeping across footpaths, setting up campsites and graffitiing the walls of businesses and being allowed to openly drink and carry on all day.
As for reporting matters, sorry but it’s simply not a triple-0 priority so don’t expect a response to complaints anytime soon.
I think the individual police do a great job, but they certainly need more support and manpower.
This is Southport today thanks to inaction from all levels.
DAVE GILMOUR, SOUTHPORT