Gabba Metro future uncertain after talks on $450m funding
The Gabba Metro station might not go ahead, with the Lord Mayor pushing for $450 million allocated for the project to go to other parts of the Metro network.
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The Gabba Metro station might not go ahead, with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner pushing for $450 million allocated for the project to go to other parts of the Metro network.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King has also left open the door to redirecting the cash, but the state government said it had not yet received a formal proposal from Council.
“With the decision not to rebuild the Gabba, there is an opportunity to redirect the Gabba Metro station funding into expanding the Metro to more locations,’’ Mr Schrinner said.
“This would be the kind of much-needed transport legacy that prompted us to bid for the 2032 Games in the first place.’’
He did not specify where the money should be re-directed, but in Council’s June Budget it allocated preliminary funds towards a future electric bus charging station on council-owned land at Fitzgibbon, near Carseldine, allowing buses to be charged in six minutes.
The $450 million was to have been split equally between the federal and state governments and Council.
Queensland Investment Corporation owned the land above The Gabba Cross River Rail station.
Ms King said at a press conference that discussions were still ongoing.
“Minister Mellish raised this issue with me, as did Adrian Schrinner when I saw him and we’ll just continue to have discussions, but no decisions are made yet.
“The money’s still there. The project is still there.
“There are ongoing discussions between the City of Brisbane and the Queensland Government and ourselves about that.
“We haven’t made any decisions about that at this stage.”
Labor Opposition Leader in Council, Jared Cassidy, claimed the Lord Mayor’s comments showed the Gabba Metro stop was “never about an ongoing legacy for that area but instead focused around the Olympics’’.
“If Council were serious about long-lasting renewal for the area they would recognise the ongoing need for public transport to and from Woolloongabba — not just for the stadium, but to also service increased housing in the area in the future.
“We have repeatedly said Brisbane needs reliable, high frequency services right across Brisbane’s suburbs, not just one corridor leading to the CBD.”
A spokeswoman for State Transport Minister Bart Mellish confirmed Council had indicated to Mr Mellish that they wanted to use the $450 million on “different projects’’.
“The State Government is yet to receive a formal proposal,” she said.
Brisbane Metro was expected to be running by October, on the busy 169 bus route between Eight Mile Plains and UQ St Lucia, after a significant deal struck between the state government and Council over transport funding.
Premier Steven Miles said his government would provide an extra $75 million to Council for its bus network and an ongoing 75:25 funding split.
An extra 160,000 bus services will be delivered across Brisbane each year and an additional 30 million seats added to the Metro.
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