Revealed: The Gold Coasters who got a raw deal from the State Budget

Opposition MPs say huge swathes of the Gold Coast got nothing in the state budget, despite Queensland being saddled with a record debt. SEE THE AREAS TO MISS OUT

• Coomera Connector: First look at $2.4b road’s transformation
• New documents reveal flaw in Coomera Connector

GOLD Coast residents living west of the Pacific Motorway and in the south received a “raw deal” from the State Budget, according to the Opposition.

LNP Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates and LNP Currumbin Laura Gerber have delivered a scathing review of Tuesday’s budget.

Parents check on children leaving school along a busy stretch of hinterland road at Springbrook which lacks a footpath.

The Bulletin in an earlier report detailed how at least 13 of the 31 key Coast spending items were in the city’s fast growing north focusing on transport, health and school improvements.

Ms Bates accused the Palaszczuk Government of recycling announcements, with no new money for schools, roads, and community organisations in her electorate.

“The reality is that Queenslanders are being saddled with $130 billion of debt, while our hardworking taxpayers in Mudgeeraba are seeing nothing in return,” she said.

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“There is no new money west of the M1 in the electorate of Mudgeeraba, so as far as Labor is concerned our community is forgotten in this Budget.

“There’s no money to build the Merrimac Train Station, or to fund safety upgrades at Gooding Drive, Worongary Road, the Austinville Causeway, and the Tallai-Mudgeeraba Road Intersection.”

Crowds at Springbrook in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Ms Bates, an LNP frontbencher, said Labor was “taking Gold Coasters for fools”.

“Labor has even failed to come to the table and provide their portion of funding for a footpath along Springbrook Road,” she said.

“The announcement for funding at Natural Bridge only replaces Forest Park which Labor tore down against the wishes of locals.

“My Community Legal, an organisation that supports DV survivors, is again left with no funding commitments to keep them afloat.”

M1 UPGRADES, LIGHT RAIL AND NEW SCHOOL: WHAT COAST GOT IN BUDGET

Ms Gerber said it was disappointing that none of the Government’s election commitments for the southern Gold Coast would be funded or delivered by the end of the financial year.

“What we are seeing is the Palaszczuk Labor Government hiding funding for projects on the

southern Gold Coast behind smoke and mirrors,” she said.

“The 148-hectare eco-parkland in Currumbin Valley has had a measly $500,000 allocated out of a $15 million project cost without any clear indication about which pot of money the funding is coming from. Taxpayers deserve to know how and from where these projects are being funded.”

Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates and Currumbin MP Laura Gerber — worried about the Budget.

Mrs Gerber called on the Government to announce where the planned Gold Coast Satellite Hospital would be located in Tugun.

“The Government’s own budget papers show that only $1.6 million has been allocated for the

financial year out of the $265 million project cost for 7 satellite hospitals, with no indication about when any of the facilities will be open to receive patients” she said.

“The Government have neglected to state the suburb location of the satellite hospital in the budget papers. They need to come clean and make good on their commitment that one will be in Tugun.”

LESS THAN $13M TO BE SPENT ON COOMERA CONNECTOR

LESS than $13 million will be spent on planning the Coomera Connector in the next 12 months with the big spend for the following year, state budget documents have revealed.

Almost $2 billion will be spent on the second M1 after 2021 when the planning is completed, the budget shows.

The government has committed $12.887 million between 2020-21 on Stage 1 of the second M1, promising a further $1.5 billion in following years.

Contractors had a first major briefing on Tuesday before the budget, with Transport and Main Roads inviting construction companies to submit proposals for the congestion-busting project.

Coomera MP Michael Crandon concerned about traffic on the M1.

Budget documents contain little detail on what the money will go towards or when the bulk will be spent. But Transport Minister Mark Bailey confirmed almost half would be spent between 2022-24. A total of $115 million will be allocated for 2021-22’s budget, with $650 million to be spent in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 budgets.

“This week, my department started briefing industry on the various stages of the project, including timelines for tendering and some of the criteria they would need to meet to win work,” he said. “With the major work on stage one expected to start around the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year, we’ve allocated $115 million in 2021-22 to support that. (2022-2024) are the years we expected to see hundreds of workers on site and the most construction activity.”

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Latest briefings from Main Roads bureaucrats to councillors outlined how a business case would be ready by mid-next year when work could start.

Drilling work is being completed near two river crossings – the Coomera and Nerang rivers – where the big infrastructure challenge will occur with the building of bridges for the six-lane highway.

But Coomera MP Michael Crandon said: “The bridge over Coomera and Nerang are the two projects which have to be got underway. It’s clear from (the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program) and budget papers, half of the money is going to be out beyond the forward estimates.

Artist impression of the Coomera Connector (Second M1) on the Gold Coast.

Several major M1 upgrades have also been funded, including $10.2 million for upgrades to Exit 41, $5 million for Exit 49 and $6.2 million for Exit 57.

Frequent commuter Imogen Oti, who drives on the M1 five days a week, said congestion issues often made it difficult to travel.

“It’s more often a pain than it is a pleasure,” she said.

“I usually take the Upper Coomera exit that is just opposite Dreamworld, which can be quite bad.

“But if you’re driving southbound, the Pimpama exit is often really horrible.”

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