Cabinet keeps Coomera Connector documents secret until after election
The State Government has refused to hand over documents outlining the environmental impacts of a planned six-lane super-highway, with the possibility they may remain locked away until after the election.
Logan
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The state government has refused to hand over documents outlining the environmental impacts of a planned six-lane super-highway with the possibility they may remain locked away until after this month’s election.
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Eagleby residents, who live on the edge of the proposed Coomera Connector, applied to the state government to release high-level hydrological and environmental reports on the planned highway in September in time for the October 31 poll.
They wanted the findings on how the Eagleby wetlands would be affected and how the proposed highway would impact a koala corridor between Mt Cotton and Daisy Hill.
Instead, Transport and Main Roads Department principal Adviser Helen Adcock this week refused to allow the reports to be made public and for them to possibly be withheld for 10 years.
Ms Adcock claimed disclosure would reveal secret Cabinet deliberations and prejudice the confidentiality of Cabinet operations.
“In this particular instance, the documents … are part of a Cabinet policy submission,” she wrote.
“ … Considering the scope of the application and the advice received from the relevant business unit, I am of the view that all documents relating to the application would, if identified, comprise exempt information.”
Under state legislation, exempt Cabinet information can be withheld for 10 years.
Eagleby resident Jacqueline Dobson said she was outraged by the refusal, which followed the federal government’s decision in August to control the building of stage 1 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and a public environment report.
“I don’t understand — the state Minister has said on many occasions they are undertaking an environmental study and yet they won’t reveal the information,” she said.
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“They won’t even tell us which expert or firm is conducting the environmental assessment and the hydrological report.
“We were told in February former TMR engineer Rob Higgins had been brought out of retirement to do the hydrological report and now we are being told we cannot access any of the information gathered since then.
“The department and the business unit are making decisions based on information we are not allowed to access so the public cannot make a considered judgment at this election.”
The approved Coomera Connector corridor is 45km between the Logan Motorway and Pacific Motorway interchange at Loganholme and Nerang – Broadbeach Road in Nerang.
The gazetted corridor also includes provision for a local road from Eagleby to Beenleigh – Redland Bay Rd and Mount Cotton Rd, at Carbrook.
Construction of Stage 1, from Coomera to Nerang, will cost $1.53 billion and will be jointly funded by state and federal governments with construction due to start next year.
Macalister MP Melissa McMahon said did not know about the correspondence or the residents’ request for information.
“I’m not involved in Cabinet and because the government is in caretaker mode I don't have that information,” she said.
“I don't even know what information is available in the environmental study.”
The Transport Department said it was undertaking an assessment of six alternative routes for the Coomera Connector in the vicinity of Eagleby.
“Once the assessment is complete, consultation will be undertaken with the community on the outcomes of the assessment.”