Gold Coast hinterland cableway: Tourism and Environment Minister Andrew Powell reveals what must be done for government backing

The state’s Tourism and Environment Minister has revealed what must be done for the government to back the proposed Gold Coast Hinterland cableway. FIND OUT MORE

A controversial cableway in the Gold Coast hinterland “must stack up” for the state government to tick off on the project, the Tourism Minister says.

The project is in the planning stages by the Gold Coast City Council despite opposition from some residents.

Councillors overwhelmingly voted last year to support continued investigation of the project, with no location yet determined.

A cableway is proposed for the Gold Coast Hinterland.

Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said the government was awaiting a full proposal from the Gold Coast City Council or from a private company before giving it the green light.

“We would look to work with any proponent, be that the city council, or otherwise, to see if a project like that could materialise,” he said.

“Look at the situation with the Whitsundays Skyway (cableway in Airlie Beach) – the proponent is very committed to that project. (and) they’re working through the various approvals.

Andrew Powell. (Image/Josh Woning)

“We also alongside them are working in ways that we can assist them with those approvals and we would look to do the same once the project’s a little bit more formalised here on the Gold Coast.”

Premier David Crisafulli and Mr Powell both backed the project after being elected late last year.

“The cableway is exactly the kind of project that we want to work on with the City of Gold Coast and other partners around the state,” Mr Powell said at the time.

“I’ll be blunt, I’ll have to look back over the process and find out exactly what those roadblocks have been, look at the red and green tape which have held up projects like the cableway and then work our way through them so we can go to the proponents the Mayor’s talking about with the confidence to say, here is the project, we’re ready for you to invest, the approvals are all there.”