Shock reveal: Gold Coast federal MPs blamed as city loses out on $1.6 billion in projects
Mayor Tom Tate is furious with the Gold Coast’s three federal MPs after learning the city will miss out on more than a billion dollars in projects, as part of a south-east Queensland city deal.
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Mayor Tom Tate is furious with the Gold Coast’s federal MPs after learning the city will miss out on $1.6bn federal funding this financial year as part of a South East Queensland City Deal.
In a mayoral minute at the year’s final full council meeting on Friday, Mayor Tate said Moncrieff’s Angie Bell, Fadden’s Stuart Robert and McPherson’s Karen Andrews had directed him to rejoin the Council of Mayors (COMSEQ) to secure key projects.
The advice comes on the back of the COMSEQ snubbing the Gold Coast for a position on the board of the 2032 Olympic Games organising committee, giving a seat instead to Redlands.
Mr Tate believes the $300,000 annual fee to join the lobby group is a waste of ratepayer’s money.
He said he was “astounded that the local federal MPs would back the ideas of other mayors outside the city”.
“I’ve never seen those three persons attend a council meeting. I don’t know where they got their information from,” he said, adding the council was on the “right course” organising its own deals.
He said he would catch up with all three and ask “what’s that all about”.
Cr Tate said five federal MPs were conservatives and he believed “loyalty worked both ways”.
“One could be forgiven to go ‘they are kind of taking this for granted, us being Gold Coasters’ and maybe the (electoral support) margin is too strong.”
What GC projects missed out on funding?
The Gold Coast has missed out on its share of $1.6bn of South East Queensland City Deal funding because it is not part of the Council of Mayors.
Mayor Tom Tate wanted federal funding from the following key projects:
* Gold Coast Health and Knowledge ADaPT project – An $80m hub for rapid development of prototypes and products in a variety of industries including biomedical science, aviation and aerospace and construction.
* Greenheart – A 270ha parkland from Robina to Carrara, including up to 15 sports fields, purpose-built clubhouses, an events space and more than 10km of walking and cyclist paths.
*Green bridges – The Gold Coast’s second green bridge would link Lionel Perry Park to Chevron Island, meaning everyone from Surfers Paradise would be “able to walk to HOTA”.
The first $19.5m green bridge linking HOTA to Chevron Island was opened in February 2020.
Ms Bell has had a tough week in politics – the Liberal backbencher delivered a speech seven minutes long on a Bill she and the rest of parliament had already voted on only to be told she was “speaking on the wrong Bill”.
Mr Tate told councillors: “Recently, I was made aware that a draft SEQ City Deal had been released by the federal government including approximately $1.6bn in projects, with no Gold Coast projects included”.
In a letter to Coast MPs in late October, Deputy Mayor Donna Gates requested “their urgent advocacy on the city’s behalf to ensure the Gold Coast was included in any SEQ City Deal that is finalised”.
She put forward three specific projects for inclusion: Gold Coast Health and Knowledge ADaPT project, Greenheart project and second green bridge from Lionel Perry Park to Chevron Island.
Ms Andrews, Ms Bell and Mr Robert jointly replied on November 29. The letter was not signed by the members for Forde or Wright.
In their letter, the MPs wrote: “We encourage you to re-join so that our region has a voice from local government at the negotiation table.
“As committed advocates for the Gold Coast and our constituencies, we want to see the city benefit from the SEQ City Deal. We are available to assist you to return to discussions, should you decide to do so.”
Mr Tate said he was surprised that the MPs were encouraging the Coast to “re-join (COMSEQ) so that our region has a voice from local government at the negotiation table”.
Mr Tate said the council was the first in Australia to execute a City Deal when it secured funding for Stage 1 of light rail, and it was a “nonsense” that the Coast had to join COMSEQ because Townsville, Darwin, Geelong and Launceston had signed off on similar deals.
A federal government Infrastructure Department report in October 2020 identified problems with the rollout of City Deals, with multiple projects listed as being behind schedule, he said.
“Clearly the jury is out on whether the deals are being delivered efficiently even once they are signed and there is politics at play between federal and state governments,” Mr Tate said.
“I had hoped our local federal members, as part of the federal government, would be able to advocate for our city with the relevant Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher.”
Councillors backed his decision for council to discontinue its membership of COMSEQ and for him to write to the MPs reminding them that smaller regions had successfully scored City Deals.
Ms Andrews, Mr Robert and Ms Bell said in a joint statement: “The federal government allocated $1.6b in funding for new Queensland infrastructure projects in the 2021-22 Budget.
“On top of this, the Coalition has heavily invested in Gold Coast infrastructure and priority projects, including:
- $680m for the current upgrades to the M1 from Varsity Lakes to Tugun
- $750m for the Coomera Connector (Second M1)
- $110m to upgrade the M1 bottleneck at Mudgeeraba/Varsity Lakes
- $100mupgrades to M1 exits on the northern Gold Coast
- $395.6m for Stage 3 of the Light Rail
- $23m to upgrade major roads and intersections
- $8m for a business case into fast rail from Brisbane to the Gold Coast to reduce commute times
- $29.5m to improve safety through the Roads to Recovery Program (2019-20 to 2023-24 financial year)
- $5m to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects (2020-21 financial year)
- $23m to Gold Coast City Council to fund priority projects (2021-22 financial year)
- $2.6m to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary through the Building Better Regions Fund
- $300m to assist local businesses and tourism operators through COVID Business Support Program
- $35m to support local attractions and hospitality businesses through state border closures
“It is our understanding that the Council of Mayors SEQ has indicated that if the Gold Coast wishes to re-join the group, following its departure in June 2021, it is welcome to do so.
“As committed advocates for the Gold Coast and our constituencies, we want to see the city benefit from the SEQ City Deal. Therefore, we encourage the city to re-join the Council of Mayors, so that our region has a voice from local government at the negotiation table.”
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