Fair Go: Gold Coast MPs miss out on invite to join M1 delegation to meet Malcolm Turnbull

THE Gold Coast’s federal MPs have been excluded from joining a delegation which will meet with Malcolm Turnbull because inviting them would have been a “redundant exercise”.

Coast MP’s Steve Ciobo, Karen Andrews and Stuart Robert won’t be present at the M1 funds meeting with the PM.

GOLD Coast federal MPs have been excluded from a high-powered bipartisan delegation to meet Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to fix the M1, because inviting them would have been a “redundant exercise”.

Queensland Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Logan Mayor Luke Smith will fly to Canberra in coming weeks to try and secure a deal.

Mr Turnbull last month pledged $215 million, or 50 per cent of the money needed to upgrade the Gateway Motorway merge of the M1 and widening a 5km stretch between Mudgeeraba and Reedy Creek.

The State Government said the feds should tip in 80 per cent of the total cost as consistent with other national roading projects, a claim rejected by Gold Coast MPs Steve Ciobo, Stuart Robert and Karen ­Andrews.

The delegation members agreed at a meeting in Brisbane this week to ignore the LNP MPs and go straight to the top.

“This delegation is about putting forward a united view about getting the project started and that is through an 80/20 split, which the MPs have made clear they do not support,” Mr Bailey said.

“Unless they are willing to get involved it would be a redundant exercise.

“Tom (Tate) and Luke (Smith) are from the other side of politics but they have the interests of their constituents at heart.”

Mr Ciobo is overseas and was unavailable for comment yesterday while Mr Robert’s office did not respond to the Bulletin.

Ms Andrews said the state had agreed to fund half the cost for upgrades of the Ipswich Motorway from Darra to Rocklea and should do the same with the M1.

The M1 carpark. Photo: David Clark

However, the RACQ’s Paul Turner said that the precedent for 80/20 funding of national roads “was very clear and we are keen to maintain that because otherwise many of these projects will never happen”.

Forde MP Bert van Manen said “the Logan and Gold Coast mayors and the RACQ should be questioning Mr Bailey over why he refuses to come up with his 50 per cent share of funding”.