Sunshine Coast Council to vote on mass transit options including light rail

Five councillors have spoken in support of sending a mass transit report - with the inclusion of light rail - to the next stage. Follow our rolling coverage here

Strong opposition towards light rail will be clearly stated in a Sunshine Coast mass transit report provided to the state government.

Councillor Winston Johnston said the council should make clear that there was strong opposition towards light rail - particularly with overhead wires - if the state government progresses a detailed business case on a mass transit system.

“We’re not putting handcuffs on the business case, we’re just telling them in clear language that there was a significant opposition towards light rail,” he said.

Mr Johnston’s amendment voted in seven votes to four with Jason O‘Pray, Joe Natoli, Christian Dickson, Ted Hungerford, Maria Suarez and David Law in support.

Peter Cox, Terry Landsberg, Rick Baberowski and Mark jamieson voted against it.

Councillors are yet to vote on if the mass transit options analysis report should progress to a detailed business case.

Earlier 4.30pm:

Five councillors have spoken out in support of progressing the Sunshine Coast‘s mass transit plan with the inclusion of light rail.

Mayor Mark Jamieson, deputy mayor Mark Jamieson and councillors David Law, Peter Cox and Ted Hungerford want the report to progress to a $15m state government detailed business case stage.

Councillor Joe Natoli is the only person to speak out against it.

Mr Jamieson slammed suggestions the council remove light rail as a mass transit option as “doctoring the truth”.

He said it was important all five options were considered in the state government’s business case.

He quoted the council‘s community consultation that found 68 per cent of people said it was important to have a mass transit system.

“To remove an option is dismissive of the time and efforts of those in the community who indicated the support for this option,” he said.

“Removing one or two options now is saying to those residents who supporting having it further explored that their interest is of no significance to us.

“Consider that carefully today.”

Mr Natoli said a campaign against light rail was not based on misinformation but was a result of a “real fear” over increased populations between Maroochydore and Kawana.

He said he would not support the officer‘s recommendation to progress the mass transit plan to a detailed business case.

Mr Natoli said he would put forward an amended motion but Mayor Mark Jamieson said he could not discuss that until a vote was held on the original motion.

“My fear is we are going to destroy the beach with overhead wires and create mass transit like the Gold Coast where the sky is the limit,” he said.

“Congestion is rife ... but if we go down this mass transit path, based on what I‘ve heard, it will be light rail.

“The community has spoken loudly and they do not want light rail.

“I‘m prepared to put up an alternate motion and I hope you will support that.”

Mr Law said he was reluctant to support the plan because he did not believe it would help address public transport in the hinterland.

“I have great doubts this is the best way to do it but if we don‘t put this forward will we get another 20 years of getting nothing,” he said.

Maria Suarez said she was still undecided because she had concerns

Ms Suarez said she felt challenged by the report because she had doubts it would address public transport for the whole region.

“However I do feel that we do need to take the next step because as was mentioned by James Coutts and the mayor we do need to take our fate into our own hands because otherwise we will be sitting here without any improvements to public transport anywhere on the Sunshine Coast.

Update 3.30pm:

Councillor Ted Hungerford said light rail was his least preferred option but that was based on his personal and emotional opinion.

“Sound decisions are made when you have facts, data and logic,” he said.

“On the surface I prefer rapid bus ... but what do I have to back that up?

“It‘s an emotional and personal opinion and that’s all most people have at the moment.”

He said his long-held views the region should not become another Gold Coast had not changed and he did not believe this process would lead to that.

“I started out at 15 years of age handing out anti high rise how to vote cards,” he said.

“My attitude hasn‘t changed.

“What disappoints me is campaigns built on fear and emotion mislead and do not result in sound, good decision making.”

Councillor Joe Natoli questioned how the Gold Coast light rail was funded and why more information was not included about how much the council would need to spend.

Mr Coutts said there was no guarantee light rail would not be the preferred option the state government identified.

He also said it would be too early to speculate what percentage of construction costs the council would have to provide.

Earlier 2.30pm:

Sunshine Coast Council‘s deputy mayor has backed the council’s mass transit report and said a majority of suburbs supported it despite a campaign based on “misrepresentation”.

Rick Baberowski has urged councillors to support the officer‘s recommendation to progress the mass transit options analysis report.

He said the final report included input from the community consultation process, including that overhead wires were not supported along the beachfront.

He said of the 23 suburbs with the most responses, 15 were supportive of the options moving forward.

“This survey demonstrates that even in the face of a large, co-ordinated campaign based largely on misrepresentation that most Sunshine Coast suburbs support the process moving forward,” he said.

Mr Baberowski said if the council did not endorse the final mass transit options analysis report it would “throw away” almost a decade of work and risk losing $7.5m in state government funding.

He moved the officer‘s recommendation to endorse the options analysis report for the state government to complete a detailed business case.

It was seconded by councillor Ted Hungerford.

Every councillor is taking part in the debate with no conflicts of interest declared.

Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson and deputy Rick Baberowski.

Sunshine Coast Council urban growth program director James Coutts said the council was not being asked to make an investment decision or endorse a particular option.

He said traffic congestion cost the Sunshine Coast $500m annually but that was estimated to increase to $3b if nothing was done.

“(Council) is not being asked to allow high rise development along the beach,” he said.

Mr Coutts said stage one of the mass transit system was proposed to connect Maroochydore and Kawana.

“We‘re talking decades and many billions of dollars,” he said.

“We have to start somewhere.”

Sunshine Coast Council’s James Coutts (left) said the council did not have to endorse a particular mass transit option.

Initial 10am:

New polling has suggested a Sunshine Coast light rail system is supported by some, despite a targeted campaign against it in recent months.

The meeting is being live streamed online here

It is the next step in the Sunshine Coast Council’s bid to improve public transport throughout the region, with several options on the table including light rail, trackless trams and a quality bus corridor.

If a majority of councillors adopt the report it will be sent to the state government to help form a detailed business case, at a cost of $15m – with $7.5m to be funded by the council.

Residents have campaigned for months against the proposed light rail plan for the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Patrick Woods.

A phone poll undertaken by market research business Ucomms at the weekend found that 52 per cent of those surveyed supported or strongly supported the construction of light rail.

7 News Sunshine Coast reported that Ucomms surveyed almost 1000 people and three out of 10 had a negative sentiment towards light rail.

However the council’s community consultation found light rail was the least preferred option.

Of 3800 survey responses 45 per cent expressed negative sentiment when asked about benefits or impacts a light rail system would have.

“Light rail received the lowest number of positive sentiments and the highest number of negative sentiment statements,” the Articulous report states.

On Sunday more than 4500 people lined beaches between Mooloolaba to Maroochydore to protest light rail.

Council officers recommended councillors agree to refer the options analysis to the state government to proceed with a detailed business case as well as lodge documents with Infrastructure Australia to seek inclusion on the body’s 2022 Infrastructure Priority List.

Almost 800 pages of documents were released last week ahead of the October 20 meeting, with the cost to produce the options analysis having surpassed $4.7m to-date, funded over three years via the council’s transport levy.

Council officers made clear in their report to councillors they were not seeking to determine the mode of transport that would be used, nor the final route.

More to come.