Logan misses forum deadline as mayor fears Inland Rail talks will go off track

A southside council has lost its chance to raise concerns about Inland Rail at a statewide government forum in October.

Logan mayor Darren Power says he did not want to raise the issue of the Inland Rail at the LGAQ forum. LGAQ chief Greg Hallam said the council missed the deadline anyway.

A southside council has missed its opportunity to go in to bat for thousands of residents living on the proposed Inland Rail line when it attends a statewide government forum in October.

Logan City Council failed to meet a deadline to get the matter discussed at the Local Government Association of Queensland on October 25.

Only one of the 13 councillors asked for it to be raised at the LGAQ forum despite up to 10,000 Logan residents and workers being affected.

Cr Natalie Willcocks, who lives on the proposed line, was told it was too late to get the matter included for debate and LNP-aligned mayors would derail debate.

Logan councillor Natalie Willcocks wanted the Inland Rail discussed at the October LGAQ forum.

She had wanted the LGAQ to discuss re-routing the line to Toowoomba, avoiding Logan.

But mayor Darren Power knocked back her request saying it would be doomed to fail by LNP-aligned mayors at the forum.

He said the project was seen to be of national significance by “the conservative parts of politics” who would not support Logan’s anti-Inland Rail stance.

Cr Power, who took an impassioned stance against the rail line in March, told the council he did not want to pursue the issue at the LGAQ as it would return to “bite us in the backside”.

“I would not undersell the other mayors,” he said. “They see this as a major project that must go ahead.

“I believe that the majority of councils are led by LNP people and I believe they would do their research and they would know where to vote on this.

“ … They see this as a win but we are in a boat with very few others and … if we get the wording wrong, they could use it against us.”

Cr Power said he had debated the issue at the Council of Mayors and had failed because other councils wanted the freight rail.

The council was told that to get the matter on the LGAQ agenda, it would have to prove that re-routing the line out of Logan would benefit the rest of the state.

LGAQ chief Greg Hallam said Inland Rail would have been an appropriate topic at the forum but agreed Logan had missed the deadline for getting it on the agenda.

“I understand the mayor’s view and Tuesday was pretty much the last opportunity to put a resolution to the conference, so I accept that as a matter of truth,” Mr Hallam said.

“There are all sorts of places to raise this issue and the annual conference is just one.

“What the council does is completely up to them.

“Two-thirds of all local government-elected members are non political and independent and not members of any party.

“I respect what Cr Power says about the urban and rural interests.”