State Budget 2023: Everything you need to know about Gold Coast tram trains and hospital funding
The state government has been accused of abandoning Gold Coasters living west of the M1 by failing to deliver key community projects and an exit upgrade in its budget.
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The state government has been accused of abandoning Gold Coasters living west of the M1 by failing to deliver key community projects and an exit upgrade in its budget.
But both the federal and state Labor governments have hit back, outlining combined new funding to boost hinterland roads damaged in weather events.
The Palaszczuk government handed down the 2023-24 budget on Tuesday, with the Gold Coast receiving a $2.3 billion boost through major infrastructure spending on health and transport.
However, Opposition frontbencher Ros Bates said Mudgeeraba had once again been forgotten by “this tired third-term Labor Government” as key community projects go unfunded.
Ms Bates said she had been fighting for better roads, a new state high school west of the M1 and additional CCTV cameras to combat hooning – for the past eight years.
“The Palaszczuk government has left Mudgeeraba behind,” she said.
“I’ve been pleading with them to fund the raising of the Austinville causeway before someone is killed when the road floods. But no – our community is being ignored again.”
Ms Bates said the long-touted Merrimac train station, first announced in 2017 and re-announced every year since, had not broken ground.
“In classic Labor fashion, Merrimac train station which was announced along with two other train stations at a cost of $120 million, is now edging closer to a $500 million project,” she said.
“Another blowout to add to the very long list. Our roads continue to be neglected, we’ve seen no money at all for schools in Mudgeeraba and what has this government done to fix the housing and cost of living crisis impacting my electorate.
“We’ve been neglected again. And it’s just not good enough.”
Coomera MP Michael Crandon left state parliament after the budget and took video of himself at the congested Exit 45 on the M1 at Ormeau.
“There is no funding at all for Exit 45 in this budget,” he told residents on his Facebook page.
Mr Crandon said the budget papers indicated funding for planning for the exit upgrade would not occur until 2026-27 with the works likely to be completed just before the 2032 Olympic Games.
“That’s too far away for us. We can’t wait seven years,” he said.
But the state and federal governments on Wednesday announced 20 priority transport links in the hinterland are being built back better than before, following extensive and severe flooding during the 2021–22 disaster season.
The repair work will be on Gold Coast – Springbrook Road, Beechmont Road, Currumbin Creek – Tomewin Road, Nerang – Murwillumbah Road, Beaudesert – Nerang Road, Tamborine – Oxenford Road and Currumbin Creek Road.
This is separate to the 2023-24 state budget transport spend for the Coast, which was $1.4 billion, up 21 per cent from the previous year.
Reconstruction works will be delivered over the next 12 months and include the clean-up and removal of debris, patching and road repairs, repairs to damage caused by scouring and reinstating soil-eroded areas back to pre-event conditions.
Gold Coast-based Senator and Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the works to repair the roads to a more resilient standard would help minimise subsequent disaster damage and disruptions to the travelling public.
“The series of back-to-back rainfall events the Gold Coast experienced last year resulted in major landslips, embankment failures, road and bridge damage across the state-controlled road network,” Senator Watt said.
Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey MP said the repair work was part of “Betterment funding” of $170 million which has been made available across state and local government agencies.
“These works will mean Gold Coast roads are better able to withstand severe weather events, reducing future impacts on the community and minimising recovery bills when the next disaster strikes,” he said.
The work will include widespread drainage improvements to reduce overtopping and protect the roads during heavy rainfall, and full-width road rehabilitation instead of patching smaller sections of damage and installing concrete batter protection.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coast’s peak business lobby group boss says he has mixed feelings about the state budget, admitting disappointment with its measures.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said he had hoped for more to help small business in the budget, despite welcoming billions in funding for transport and health infrastructure.
“It is underwhelming but at least there is continuing support for major infrastructure on the Coast,” he said.
“However, regarding support for small businesses, we had been hoping for more given the amount of money going into the state (coffers) right now. Right now we are seeing less money going into the tills as well as less money going into charities.
“Let’s hope things will get better soon.”
Mayor Tom Tate welcomed the infrastructure spending.
“We have road works happening with the M1 upgrade and council roads have to go into that, so we have money set aside for that, light rail Stage 3 still going ahead,” he said.
“As our population grows, we have to get ahead of our infrastructure spending and the state budget is doing that and (council) is too.
“Now the federal government must keep up with the pace.”
However, the Mayor said he would have liked to see more spending on youth crime, something he said was many people’s “number one issue”.
“Putting money towards this will get sympathy for the wider community but you need to have legislation to go with it too,” he said.
“Multiple offenders, what do you do with them? It’s not like catching a fish, kissing it and putting it back in the water you need to have money set aside for infrastructure, retraining them or giving them something to do by teaching them rather than here’s more money and police, go catch them.”
Revealed: How popular the Gold Coast light rail really is
A $1.3bn Gold Coast transport infrastructure cash splash will be just the beginning of a decade of spending to take pressure off the city’s congested roads, Treasurer Cameron Dick has vowed.
The Gold Coast transport network is one of the big winners from Tuesday’s state budget, with more than half of the government’s $2.3bn infrastructure spend in the city focused on roads, trams and trains.
This financial year, the government will spend:
* $259.4m on the already under-construction light rail Stage 3 between Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads.
*$420m on the first stage of the 45km Coomera Connector, which will run between Nerang-Broadbeach Road at Carrara and Shipper Drive, Coomera.
* $94,817 on three new railway stations which will be constructed at Pimpama, Hope Island, Merrimac as part of the Cross-River Rail Project
* $190m on the M1 expansion between Varsity Lakes and Tugun.
And there’s more to come, with at least $2.2 billion set aside across the forward estimates to be spent in coming years.
This does not include the state’s expected multi-billion dollar contribution to the light rail’s Stage 4 extension between Burleigh Heads and the border.
Mr Dick, who brought down his fourth budget on Tuesday, said the Gold Coast was a key engine driver for the state and the infrastructure rollout would be significant in coming years.
“We have always funded big infrastructure projects on the Gold Coast and that is our commitment in this budget,” he said.
“You can have this absolute guarantee from us that we will always look to support the Gold Coast, such an important part of our state and an important economic generator for the state and it is what we will do as a government to keep up with the population (growth).
“We will review and revise (these plans) in subsequent budgets depending on the status of programs and depending on the completion of some capital works programs.”
The state government’s spend comes a day after the Gold Coast City Council set aside $27m for light rail Stage 3 as well as $8.8m for Stage 4.
The state and federal governments will commit their funds for light rail Stage 4 once the business case is completed later this year.
Sources close to the project expect council and state funding to be locked in by the end of 2024, with federal funding likely to follow in the pre-election 2025 budget.
This would allow construction to begin in 2026 or early 2027 before being completed in 2030, enabling trams to be tested and bedded-in before the 2032 Olympic Games.
Mayor Tom Tate welcomed the transport spend and said it was a “no surprises and steady and she goes”. plan
“I note the significant continued investment in major projects like Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector and Stage 3 of the Light Rail on the Gold Coast,” she said.
“While there is no specific funding for Light Rail Stage 4 this financial year, I will continue to advocate for this to be funded and operational by 2032.
It comes as new data shows the Gold Coast light rail has finally recovered from its post-Covid downturn, with more trips recorded in the past year than ever before.
Budget papers reveal 10.22 million passenger trips were recorded on the tram in the past financial year, well above the 8 million projected in mid-2022.
The numbers are expected to increase again slightly in the next financial year to 10.7 million.
The figures are expected to spike again by 2025-26 once construction of stage 3 is completed.
Mr Tate, a strong supporter of the extension, said he was not surprised by the figures.
“The proof of this public transport’s success is already in the pudding,” he said.
The big build: Billions for Coast trams, trains and hospitals
State spending on the Gold Coast has increased by almost a third with the Queensland Government’s “big build” budget focused on construction of major transport and health projects.
The 2023-24 Queensland budget reveals a stunning record funding as the state does the heavy lifting to complete light rail Stage 3, the first stage of the Coomera Connector road project and hospitals in the city’s north and south.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “It’s a big state, It’s a big build. We have a big spend.”
Treasurer Cameron Dick in his budget speech highlighted cost of living sweeteners including households receiving $550 off electricity bills. Some will receive rebates of more than $1000.
Families with four year old kids will receive 15 hours each week of free kindergarten care.
“Help is on the way,” the Treasurer said, referring to cost of living pain from high inflation.
But the budget’s big selling point for Gold Coasters is a $2.3 billion infrastructure program delivering an estimated 6500 jobs. This is an increase from $1.3 billion in 2022-23.
“This budget commits our government to the biggest building program in our state’s history. Our government will deliver more hospitals, more houses, more roads, more trains, and more schools,” Mr Dick said.
The budget takeaways from the Coast are:
• Investment in 2023-24 is up by more than 29 per cent compared to 2022-23.
• Funding for schools up 8.5 per cent ($143.1 million).
• Hospital spending up 69.7 per cent ($189.4 million).
• Transport funding up 21 per cent ($1.412 billion).
Mr Dick said the “big build” was delivered on the back of coal royalties. The state for the financial year would record its biggest ever surplus of $12.3 billion, he added.
“The $6.9 billion to be invested in transport infrastructure next financial year includes $420 million towards Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector. It includes $260 million towards Stage 3 of Gold Coast light rail,” Mr Dick said.
“This budget will fund major upgrades to the M1 and the Bruce Highway. And it will invest in the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program in Maryborough, the Gold Coast Faster Rail project and Cross River Rail.”
Specific projects and 2023-24 spends include:
• $1.8 million out of $14.3 million total spend to construct a new building for additional learning spaces at Coombabah State High School.
• $18.9 million out of a $50.9 million total spend for the new Coomera State Special School.
• The Satellite Hospital to open at – part of a statewide $78.9 million spend.
• $74 million for a new Coomera Hospital
• $52.1 million towards a $122.7 million expansion of the Gold Coast University Hospital to deliver a secure mental health rehabilitation unit.
• $240 million as part of Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail.
• $190 million towards Pacific Motorway, Varsity Lakes (Exit 85) to Tugun (Exit 95) upgrade.
• $94.8 million for new train stations (Pimpama, Hope Island and Merrimac.
• $14.4 million to improve management of waterways, canals and rivers and to deliver The Spit Works Program.
Gaven MP and Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the budget would help ease the national cost of living pressures which was having an impact on Gold Coasters by providing the largest household relief package anywhere in Australia.
“We are able to do this because we own our public assets, and we are making sure we all get a fair share from current high coal prices,” she said.
Budget papers forecast inflation to “moderate” to 3.75 per cent in 2023-24 to 3 per cent in 2024-25. Unemployment would remain low, rising slightly to 4.5 per cent next year.
The economy on the back of 4.4 per cent growth will grow 2 per cent in 2022-23 and strengthen to 3 per cent in 2023-24.
Consumer spending growth is forecast to slow materially next financial year.
The budget papers show a net operating surplus of $12.3 billion for this financial year with forecasts of a “manageable deficit” of $2.182 billion in 2023-24 as temporary funding is used to combat cost of living pressures.
The substantial increase in coal royalties is “only temporary” and revenue to moderate substantially.
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