Opinion, Golden Age: Deb Frecklington on what she would do for the Gold Coast if premier
THE Gold Coast doesn’t need glitter from the government, writes LNP leader Deb Frecklington. It wants the basics — but that’s not what they’re getting under the current state government.
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NO other city has brought the great Australian dream to life like the Gold Coast.
This city was built by have-a-go Aussies who wanted their own patch of paradise and were not afraid to work for it.
Their success has been astonishing. In just one lifetime the Gold Coast has become home to almost 600,000 people and it welcomes more than 20 million visitors each year.
Residents are proud of their city but they know some of the gloss is coming off the Goldie thanks to Annastacia Palaszczuk.
There’s plenty of construction on the Coast — but it’s private development, not public infrastructure.
Labor is forecasting decades of population growth for the Gold Coast, but its infrastructure plan is just a bad joke.
The M1 was built by the LNP 20 years ago but has been starved of investment for years.
Labor’s neglect has turned the southeast’s most important road into a car park.
Tourism is stagnating too. Local businesses saw Commonwealth Games profits go down the plughole because of a crazy campaign that actually kept visitors away.
Visits from Brisbane are down 14 per cent and every other state is beating Queensland in visitor growth.
We’ve lost flights from Asia and the HMAS Darwin dive site.
When Labor ditched the ASF bid they killed 13,000 jobs and left taxpayers with a $13 million compensation bill.
GOLDEN AGE: ‘STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE’
Labor’s incompetence hurts the Coast, but so does its focus on Brisbane.
The Palaszczuk Government always puts Brisbane first, second and third.
The Gold Coast is Australia’s major film-production centre, but Annastacia Palaszczuk is pouring public cash into building a rival production base in Brisbane.
Labor is deliberately undermining an industry that the Gold Coast took decades to build.
And while the Suns and Titans are being squeezed dry by Stadiums Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk is taking an entire NRL round of eight matches to Suncorp Stadium next year.
Not a single game has been slated for the Gold Coast.
It’s another snub from a Premier who thinks Queensland stops at Beenleigh.
The simple truth is Labor just doesn’t get the Gold Coast.
This city wasn’t built by government or heavy industry.
It was built by ordinary Queenslanders who dreamt big and worked hard.
Today’s Gold Coast still has that entrepreneurial edge. It has more small businesses per head than Brisbane and more than 9000 new businesses are registered here every year.
Small business is what makes the Gold Coast tick, but Annastacia Palaszczuk’s team have never run a business in their lives. Business is beyond them.
After Labor unveiled $2.2 billion of taxes in the State Budget this month, I laid out the LNP’s economic plan for Queensland.
Oppositions don’t usually spell out their policies so far out from an election, but I want voters to know the LNP has a plan for this state.
And the Gold Coast is front and centre of our economic plan.
The state LNP is committed to matching the Turnbull Government’s $1 billion investment in the M1, which will finally upgrade the motorway between Varsity Lakes and Tugun.
But we cannot just keep adding lanes to the M1.
The LNP would build a “Second M1’’ between the Gold Coast and Beenleigh, taking 60,000 vehicles a day off the M1 itself.
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We will also work with the council to identify bottlenecks and potential new routes to ease congestion as the population heads towards 900,000.
We will restore QR services cut by Labor’s rail fail and we will allow local communities to decide the route of light rail stage 3.
We will guarantee a steady pipeline of infrastructure projects to match population growth and ensure the economy does not go from boom to bust.
I will further help the city’s small businesses by ruling out any new taxes under the LNP.
I’ll cut red-tape too and guarantee the state government pays its bills within 20 days.
And I’ll take action to boost competition in the electricity industry and drive down prices for business and households.
But I want to do more than just grow the Gold Coast’s economy.
I want to improve education for kids and ensure the streets are safe.
The LNP will fund airconditioning for every state school in the region and we’ll give more powers to principals and parents through the independent public schools initiative.
We will strengthen our anti-bikie laws and recruit more police to fight crime in our communities.
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My plan for the Gold Coast will deliver what we all expect from a competent, hardworking government.
I’ll deliver new infrastructure and public services that families can count on.
I’ll deliver economic policies that will help businesses create new jobs.
The Gold Coast doesn’t want glitter from government — it can provide that itself.
The Gold Coast wants a state government that gets the basics right.
That’s exactly what my plan will do.
If I were premier, I’d ensure that the Gold Coast’s best days are yet to come.
Deb Frecklington is leader of the Liberal National Party
‘Still more work to be done on Coast’
CITY leaders have confirmed the city’s future is bright after the Bulletin’s Golden Age campaign — but there’s still work to be done. Here’s what they said.
Coast in its prime, ready for more
THE Gold Coast is in a state of prosperity and transformation, writes Annastacia Palaszczuk. But there’s more to come for the growing city.