Sunshine Coast MP’s blast state government over rail announcement

Local politicians have blasted the state Labor government over their announcement of the direct Sunshine Coast rail line, saying it’s a “slap in the face” for residents.

Sunshine Coast MP's react to rail announcement.

• $3bn rail announcement comes at a cost

Local politicians have blasted the state Labor government over their announcement of the direct Sunshine Coast rail line, saying it’s a “slap in the face” for residents.

The state government announced $2.75bn for building the critical infrastructure, but conceded the cash will only get the tracks as far as Caloundra for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Premier Steven Miles revealed the project will be built in three stages – from Beerwah to Caloundra, then Birtinya, before ending in Maroochydore.

Only the first section to Caloundra can be built in time for the 2032 Games, though this is contingent on the federal government coming on board with an extra $1.1bn on top of its existing $1.6bn commitment.

A detailed business case has found Stage 1 will cost a whopping $5.5bn at least and up to $7bn at the highest end of estimates – more than double the $3.2bn initially earmarked by the Morrison government in 2022.

Member for Kawana and Shadow Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said Sunshine Coast residents would “not forgive Steven Miles for this farce”.

“This is an extraordinary broken promise and proves Labor are in a constant state of chaos and crisis,” Mr Bleijie said.

“The chaotic leadership of Steven Miles has reached new farcical levels today with his desperate attempts to dupe Queenslanders about Labor’s track record regarding the heavy rail line to Maroochydore.

“After a decade in power the only thing the Palaszczuk-Miles Labor Government has done is cut the project and consigned Caloundra to becoming a car park.”

Fairfax MP Ted O’Brien said the decision “confirmed the most sought-after legacy of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is dead in its tracks”.

“The 2032 Games was the Sunshine Coast’s ticket to finally secure passenger rail to Maroochydore, but two years of delay and indecision amidst a hyper inflationary environment has left this project in tatters,” Mr O’Brien said.

“It’s a slap in the face for all Sunshine Coast residents to see Labor ministers cynically smiling as they announce a plan to deliver half the rail line for twice the price.”

Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace blamed “utter incompetence” of the state government.

“The State LNP committed to their share of the funding at the time, while Labor dithered, delayed, and even derided the historic funding commitment. It took 18 months of sustained advocacy just to get Federal Labor to keep the commitment, and now State Labor are wantonly throwing two-thirds of it away,” Mr Wallace said.

“Thanks to Steven Miles, Anastasia Palaszczuk, Cameron Dick and the circus of reckless, witless and gutless State Labor Ministers, the Sunshine Coast will miss out once again. It is regional Queensland who always winds up paying the price for Labor.”

The direct Sunshine Coast rail line is expected to shave 45 mins off travel from Brisbane to Caloundra compared to driving, with trains to go as fast as 140km/h in some sections of the full line.

The Morrison government in its final budget in 2022 allocated $1.6bn to the rail line in a proposed 50-50 funding split with the state, with then-Transport Minister Mark Bailey refusing to match the commitment, citing flimsy maths.

While the detailed business case continued per schedule, the project’s federal funding became increasingly precarious, with the Albanese government failing to mention the rail line in its initial budget.