MPs play pass buck

State leaders urged to fund tram plan

FEDERAL politicians elected to represent the Gold Coast have continued to claim the city’s highest priority project is not their responsibility.

A Gold Coast Bulletin survey earlier this month found 82 per cent of residents saw the extension of light rail as the single biggest priority for the city, and 40 of the biggest employers and most successful businesspeople have also publicly backed it.

Work on stage two must begin within weeks if it is to be completed in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Member for Fadden Stuart Robert said the Federal Gov- ernment had already provided enough money to Queensland for the Games and roads.

He said the State Government should “get off their backsides” and get it done – with no more help from him.

“It’s not the Federal Government’s responsibility to do that, it’s the state’s responsibility to do that,” he said.

“Every opportunity I get to talk to the state ministers; I tell them, get on with it, stop delaying it.

“This isn’t a stalemate, a stalemate is when there is responsibility on both sides.”

Member for Moncrieff Steve Ciobo said the state had extra federal money in their roads budget and they should use that if they want to extend the light rail.

He said he supported the extension but “I think there’s a lot of competing important projects”.

Only the Member for McPherson Karen Andrews appeared open to her government contributing funding to the extension but said the state had not submitted a formal proposal.

“Public transport has always been the responsibility of state governments,” she said.

Member for Forde Bert van Manen’s media adviser said he couldn’t talk about the project as he was “at a function” and unavailable all day.

When pressed, the adviser sent a statement saying the MP was in favour of the light rail “but his priority was congestion on the M1”.