A tale of two cities at odds
It’s time Gold Coast and Brisbane got on the same page to put the southeast region’s future on the fast track
Gold Coast, we need to talk about Brisbane. More specifically, we need to help out our big brother. Sure, it may be the capital city of Queensland, but it can’t be easy playing second fiddle to a star like the Gold Coast.
We have beaches, it has the pool at South Bank. We have theme parks, it has Parliament.
We are Australia’s playground, Brisbane is … Actually, what IS Brisbane?
Other than a capital city and a place where a lot of people live, what is its character?
What is the Brisbane brand? Love us or hate us, there is no denying the Gold Coast brand is bold and strong. And it’s time to lend some of that charm to our neighbour to the north.
At the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast Forum this week, keynote speaker and The Demographics Group founder Simon Kuestenmacher stressed that southeast Queensland is simply stronger together.
When it comes to funding and opportunities, we need to stop thinking of ourselves as rivals and instead view each other as teammates. While it was great to hear Deputy Mayor Donna Gates throw her support behind the Gold Coast rejoining the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, that’s only the beginning of what must be done.
We need to change our narrative from the trope of Gold Coast versus Brisbane to Gold Coast AND Brisbane.
We need to start building each other up, literally.
And team project number one has to be lobbying for high-speed rail between our cities. And, sure, add in the Sunshine Coast as well.
SEQ for the win.
Way back in 2018, before Borobi even made his debut at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, infrastructure and planning advocates had a dream.
Their vision was to build a highspeed rail line that would ferry 2032 Olympic Games spectators from Coast to capital in 45 minutes.
That’s Gold Coast to Brisbane and then Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Alas, once the Games bid was won, that dream was dumbed right down.
Instead, we’ve been promised ‘faster rail’.
Not high-speed rail, which travels at speeds of more than 200kmh, not even fast rail, which travels at up to 165kmh … just ‘faster’, which actually seems to travel at the same speed of our current rail.
It’s still a major project from the State Government that will see more tracks laid and level crossings removed, which will support faster and more frequent train services, primarily thanks to a wider and straighter corridor. But … really? Have we not learned the lesson from the last few years of rapid growth blown-out budgets that the time to build is five minutes ago and the scope of works should be as big as possible?
Team SEQ needs to put our government on blast to get serious about future-proofing our region.
Because the good news is that it’s not too late … Federal Parliament just this week passed the High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022.
This marks the start of the High Speed Rail Authority body, which will work at supporting and developing a high speed rail network to connect major cities to significant regional locations.
While its first priority is to plan a Sydney to Newcastle link, backed by an initial $500 million federal commitment, the Authority will also plan for fast trains connecting Brisbane and Melbourne with stops in Canberra, Sydney and regional centres. Including, of course, a spur to the Gold Coast.
It doesn’t just make sense, it makes cents. A comprehensive study commissioned under now Prime Minister Anthony Albanese found high speed rail was not only viable, but would return over $2 for every $1 of investment.
From our population to our geographic spread to our economic might, our region is growing almost exponentially. To make the most of these opportunities, we have to join forces with our SEQ neighbours to make sure we’re all winning.
We need the strength of our capital city to lend us some muscle in this fight. In return, we’ll continue to allow them to borrow our beaches.
And, if possible, we’ll try to teach them how to be as cool as the Coast.
We need to stop thinking of ourselves as rivals and instead view each other as team