Federal Government commits $1.6bn in 2022-23 budget for Beerwah to Maroochydore rail project
The federal government has pledged funds for a railway line from Beerwah to Maroochydore ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games which could unlock the region’s next major infrastructure item.
Sunshine Coast
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The federal government has pledged $1.6bn worth of funds in the budget for a 37km rail line from Beerwah to Maroochydore which could unlock the next piece of major infrastructure in the region.
Plans to build a heavy rail line from Beerwah to Maroochydore has been given the green light by the Federal Government with a $1.6bn budget commitment for the project.
The major project would link Sunshine Coast residents to Brisbane by rail, and is set to be completed by the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.
The new 37km passenger rail line will connect to the Maroochydore CBD, starting from the existing Beerwah station and passing through new stations at Caloundra and Kawana.
The state government has refused to commit its $1.6bn half of the funding while the federal opposition hasn’t confirmed whether it will honour the budget commitment, claiming the announcement is purely electioneering.
Federal LNP MPs said this week the new rail line delivered into the heart of the Maroochydore CBD would be key to the future delivery of a convention and entertainment centre capable of hosting Olympic events.
The planning phase of the project will look at possible locations for the Caloundra and Kawana stations, including a possible site near NightQuarter in Birtinya close to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
The construction of the rail is expected to bring more than 9,500 jobs to the region.
Fairfax MP Ted O’Brien said the $3.2bn project was a 2022-2032 budget commitment and would require the state government to match the $1.6bn needed to ensure the rail line was open before the Games began.
“We have a deadline, which is something we haven’t had before and that deadline rests on the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Mr O’Brien said.
“That deadline might be a decade away but we don’t have so much as one minute spare, we need to get going.
“There’s a lot of design work required, indeed over the next couple of years and there’s a lot of detailed design so that the second half of this decade the bulk of the construction work can be done.”
Mr O’Brien said the project would also open up other avenues to improve the Maroochydore CBD, including the construction of a convention centre to ensure preliminary basketball was secured for the Sunshine Coast during the 2032 Olympics.
“There’s no doubt another piece of the puzzle is an entertainment centre, the most iconic multipurpose built that could be the legacy of the 2032 Games here in the Maroochydore CBD,” he said.
“Connecting passenger rail right onto site with easy access to such a venue is key.
“To unlock the federal and state government funding that could go towards multipurpose entertainment centre, we need to lock in those basketball preliminaries for the Maroochydore CBD and indeed the passenger railway line coming right in on site creates a broader proposition on activating the newest greenfield site.”
Fisher MP Andrew Wallace said while there was a “lot of planning” to still be done, the rail project will provide thousands with public transport each day.
“We will get this done, we have been assured by TMR that the work can be done in that period of time,” Mr Wallace said.
“It’ll come in from Beerwah, across the highway, through Aura, Caloundra, Kawana and into Maroochydore.
“This will revolutionise the way we travel, not just to Brisbane but it will provide us with the much needed public transport that we need here intra Sunshine Coast.
“It will smash any suggestion or thoughts that some have had in relation to light rail. This is the way we will move mass people around the Sunshine Coast. “
Despite Mr O’Brien saying the project was a “no-brainer”, Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said the state government was not yet ready to match the funding commitment until after the federal election.
“People have a right to be sceptical and cynical on the eve of the election,” Mr Bailey said.
‘’We’ll wait to see the outcome of the federal election.
“There’s no doubt we’ll be investing in the Games and infrastructure but this is just a cynical election bribe by a desperate government.”
Meanwhile, federal Labor has also held off on confirming if the budget commitment promised would be upheld should it win the election this year.
“Labor will look at the fine print in tomorrow night’s budget,” Shadow Federal Minister Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King said.
“‘Every year, the Morrison-Joyce Government makes big splashy announcements and every year they fail to live up to the hype.”
But Mr O’Brien hit back stating the heavy rail funding was not an election promise.
“We’re not standing here on the eve of the federal election, we’re standing here on the eve of a federal budget,” he said.
“This is a team effort. This has come from thousands of people around the Sunshine Coast.
“It is the single most transformational piece of infrastructure our community needs, it has been a unity ticket and it needs to continue as such and we’re not making politics out of it.
““The project assumes a 50/50 funding split which is consistent with normal principles and also aligns with the 50/50 partnership agreed between the Australian and Queensland Governments as part of our bid to secure the 2032 Games.”
Construction on the 10-year project is expected to begin in the later half of the decade following extensive design and planning.
“These projects can sometimes take decades and decades but we have a deadline which is a good thing because it drives behaviour which means we don’t have time to late,” Mr O’Brien said.
“There’s no doubt a 10-year deadline is actually not long for building infrastructure of this magnitude but it can be done.
“This is why we need the three levels of government to stay locked armed as we head towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
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