Gold Coast leaders lash out after city largely forgotten in federal budget
Mayor Tom Tate has come out swinging against the Gold Coast getting snubbed, saying he won’t drive to Brisbane to “kiss the arse” of a powerful rival.
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Mayor Tom Tate has hit back at the twin snubs of the Gold Coast missing out on key infrastructure and a seat on the crucial Olympic Games organising committee, saying of powerbroker andBrisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
“I’m not going to drive to Brisbane and kiss his arse to get a seat on the SEQ Olympics board.’’
The Bulletin has been told the Coast’s absence from the Olympic Games table and Tuesday night’s budget rebuff were the result of Cr Tate quitting the South East Queensland Council of Mayors and a poor relationship with Mr Schrinner and the city’s federal MPs.
“I’m surprised to hear that the Lord Mayor may hold that view about me,’’ Cr Tate said.
“I’ve only met him a couple of times but I like the guy … he came down recently and I took him around HOTA and we had lunch and a few beers there. He seems like a good guy.
“That said, I’m not going to drive to Brisbane and kiss his arse to get a seat on the SEQ Olympics board.’’
Cr Tate said he stood by his decision to quit the Council of Mayors.
“We have been getting projects done and none of the things we’ve done over the past 10 years have been delivered through the council of mayors,” he said.
“We were the second-highest contributor with a membership cost of more than $300,000 just to sit around a table and not get things done.
“It’s not value for money for ratepayers.”
Gold Coast-based Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews defended her government’s pre-election budget, insisting it was good for the city.
Ms Andrews responded to criticism from Gold Coast business and political leaders that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s budget had failed to deliver big-picture incentives to lift the country’s tourist mecca off its knees and money for key infrastructure to parachute the city towards the 2032 Olympic Games.
Aside from uniform, short-term sweeteners to address cost-of-living pressures, the Morrison government pledged $63m over three years to entice offshore visitors and minor tax offsets to help mum-and-dad traders.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates even suggested the federal government needed a “different attitude” towards the Coast, inferring the five LNP MPs were taking the city for granted.
Ms Andrews, the long-term McPherson MP, said the government’s sweeteners would benefit Gold Coast and talked up the $685m committed to targeting bikie gangs and other organised criminals.
“As Minister for Home Affairs, I’m delivering more than $685m in new funding to keep Australians safe, increase our cyber resilience, and modernise the nation’s trade and customs systems,” she said.
“I’m committed to cleaning up Gold Coast streets and helping residents feel safe in their own homes by targeting organised crime and the importation and manufacture of illicit drugs, firearms, and money laundering.”
Gold Coast leaders had lobbied for three key projects – the extension of the light rail to Coolangatta, the GreenHeart parklands at Robina and the Home of the Arts (HOTA) expansion.
‘Disappointing’: Real reason light rail missed out on cash
City leaders say the federal government needs to change its attitude towards the Gold Coast – and fast – after the small business and tourism capital was snubbed in Tuesday’s budget.
Aside from uniform, short-term sweeteners to address cost-of-living pressures, the Morrison government pledged $63m over three years to entice offshore visitors and minor tax offsets to help mum-and-dad traders.
However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s fourth budget failed to deliver big-picture incentives to lift the country’s tourist mecca off its knees and money for key infrastructure to parachute the city towards the 2032 Olympic Games.
Gold Coast leaders had lobbied for three key projects – the extension of the light rail to Coolangatta, the GreenHeart parklands at Robina and the Home of the Arts (HOTA) expansion.
Acting Mayor Donna Gates said the Gold Coast’s safe-seat status was the reason why it had been forgotten. All five of the city’s federal seats have been held by the LNP for 12 years.
“It’s disappointing because these are not nice to have things, they’re must-haves and are things which we know our community needs,” she said.
“It’s disappointing we did not get any direct funding for tourism either. Nobody has done it tougher than the Queensland tourism sector, especially on the Gold Coast.
“You have to start to wonder whether the security of the seats on the Gold Coast leads to it being overlooked. I hope this is not the case and I hope in the lead up to the election we see a different attitude.”
Mr Frydenberg framed the budget as a “plan for the times” on the back of Covid, flooding disasters and increased protection against global supply chain issues.
The Treasurer said Australia’s economy was recovering faster than any other nations from
the “biggest economic shock since the Great Depression” and implored voters to stick with the Coalition for another term.
As promised, more than $1.2bn was committed to funding the duplication of a 19km stretch of the heavy rail between Kuraby and Beenleigh.
The start date for the project is unknown but it is expected to be completed by the 2032 Games.
But there was little else in funding for the Gold Coast, with neither the city, nor the rail project mentioned during Mr Frydenberg’s speech for the second year in a row.
The budget deficit will hit $78bn in 2022-23 or 3.4 per cent of GDP, down from an anticipated $99.2bn.
It will fall to $43.1bn in 2024-25, with the overall budget bottom line improved by $103.6bn over the five years to 2025-26.
However, the budget documents reveal the nation will not return to surplus until the 2030s, decades after the last surplus was announced by then-treasurer Wayne Swan in 2008.
Net debt will increase from $631bn last year to $714bn this year and peak at $864.7bn, or 33.1 per cent of GDP in June 2026.
Gross debt is $977bn and will hit $1 trillion in 2023-24.
The unemployment rate is at 4 per cent, the equal lowest level in 48 years, and is expected to fall to 3.75 per cent in September. It is tipped to remain at that level until 2025-26 when it will rise again to 4 per cent.
The budget comes around 50 days ahead of the election, which must be held by May 21. The government is consistently around 10 points behind Labor, according to all major polls.
Leaders in multiple industries including aged care and social housing said the budget ignored rising housing prices and struggling sectors.
Sources in the aged care sector told the Bulletin it would leave staff “on the verge of poverty”.
United Workers Union national president Jo Schofield said: “This budget shows (Prime Minister) Scott Morrison’s complete lack of compassion for working Australians at the beginning and end of their life.
“It’s big on one-off quick fixes, but completely lacking in long-term structural reform.
“Why is it so hard to recognise investments in secure, well-paid jobs in areas including aged care, early childhood education and care and disability services, where women dominate employment stats and provide social and economic benefits far outstripping big-dollar ‘hard hat’ infrastructure projects?”
The budget provided $340m to embed pharmacy services in aged care facilities and gave additional funding to providers to respond to Covid-19 outbreaks.
There were no additional funding announcements for the education sector.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall welcomed the budget’s cost-of-living measures but said he was disappointed by the lack of measures to encourage more people to return to work.
“It’s a very safe budget which has a lot of benefits but it is a pre-election budget,” he said.
Key points of the budget include:
• $6bn for flood recovery in affected communities in southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
• The fuel excise will be slashed in half for six months, with motorists saving 22 cent per litre on each tank of petrol. The measure will end in September, four months after the May election.
• A one-off $420 cost-of-living tax offset for more than 10 million low-and-middle income earners. Individuals already receiving the low and middle income tax offset will receive up to $1500 and couples up to $3000 from July 1.
• A one-off $250 cost-of-living payment, delivered within weeks to 6 million Australians including pensioners, carers, veterans, job seekers, eligible self-funded retirees and concession card holders.
• Tax deductions for small businesses will be able to write off $120 for every $100 spent on employee training, plus a further $120 write-off for every $100 spent on technology, including cloud storage.
• More than $170m for the Australian Federal Police and border force to battle bikies and organised crime.
• Small businesses will be able to claim a bonus 20 per cent deduction for the cost of external training courses delivered to employees in Australia or online, by providers registered in Australia.
• $6bn for preparations for winter and new variants of Covid-19. The Winter Response Plan outlines Australia’s national approach to managing Covid-19, influenza and other respiratory diseases.
• $1bn to extend the Covid-19 vaccine rollout program.
• International tourism is not expected to return to pre-Covid levels until 2023-24.
• Expanded eligibility for the paid parental leave scheme which will allow single parents and more families to access 20 weeks of leave.
Mr Frydenberg said the cut to the fuel excise, which is used to fund road upgrades across the nation, would not come at the expense of infrastructure projects.
“This cut in fuel excise, which takes effect from midnight tonight, will flow through to the bowser over the next two weeks,” he said.
“The competition watchdog will monitor retailers to make sure these savings are passed on in full.
“This temporary reduction in fuel excise will not come at a cost to road funding, which will see more than $12bn spent in the coming year.”
Cheaper fuel, tax cuts: Your budget explained
The LNP-held Gold Coast has failed to rate a mention in Tuesday’s federal budget as the Morrison government leveraged its pitch toward voters.
Instead, billions of big projects were pledged to marginal seats at May’s election.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s fourth budget unveiled $40 billion in new spending on short-term fiscal sweeteners to address cost-of-living pressures.
Mr Frydenberg framed the budget as a “plan for the times” on the back of Covid, flooding disasters and increased protection against global supply chain issues.
The Treasurer said Australia’s economy was recovering faster than any other nation from
the “biggest economic shock since the Great Depression” and he implored voters to stick with the Coalition for another term.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, we are building an even stronger, more secure and confident Australia,” he said.
“Over the last three years Australians have been tested – drought, fire, floods, a global pandemic for which there was no playbook.
“Despite the challenges, our economic recovery is leading the world. This is not a time to change course.
“This is a time to stick to our plan.”
As promised, more than $1.2bn was committed to funding the duplication of a 19 kilometre stretch of the heavy rail between Kuraby and Beenleigh.
The start date for the project is unknown but it is expected to be completed by the 2032 Olympic Games.
But there was little else in funding for the Gold Coast, with neither the city, nor the rail project mentioned during Mr Frydenberg’s speech for the second year in a row.
It’s a disappointing budget for Gold Coast political leaders who have lobbied for three key projects – the extension of the light rail to Coolangatta, the GreenHeart parklands at Robina and the Home of the Arts (HOTA) expansion.
The budget deficit will hit $78bn in 2022-23 or 3.4 per cent of GDP, down from an anticipated $99.2bn.
It will fall to $43.1bn in 2024-25, with the overall budget bottom line improved by $103.6bn over the five years to 2025-26.
However, the budget documents reveal the nation will not return to surplus until the 2030s, decades after the last surplus was announced by then-treasurer Wayne Swan in 2008.
Net debt will increase from $631bn last year to $714bn this year and peak at $864.7bn, or 33.1 per cent of GDP in June 2026.
Gross debt is $977bn and will hit $1 trillion in 2023-24.
The unemployment rate is at 4 per cent, the equal lowest level in 48 years, and is expected to fall to 3.75 per cent in September. It is tipped to remain at that level until 2025-26 when it will rise again to 4 per cent.
Mr Frydenberg used his budget speech to attack Labor and talk up the Coalition’s economic management ahead of the May federal election.
“A strong economy means a stronger budget. This is what we deliver tonight: The largest and fastest improvement to the budget bottom line in over 70 years,” he said.
“By the end of the forward estimates, the budget is $100bn better off compared to last year.
“We have drawn clear lines, banking the dividend of a stronger economy and ending economy wide emergency support.”
Budget papers do not reveal how much the government has set aside for its unannounced election promises.
Instead, the focus was on economic recovery from Covid, addressing cost-of-living pressures and winning over voters in key swing seats, in which tens of billions of dollars have been committed to big-ticket projects.
“This budget’s new cost of living package is responsible and targeted, delivering cheaper fuel, cheaper medicines and putting more money in the pockets of millions of Australians,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Mr Frydenberg said the cut to the fuel excise, which is used to fund road upgrades across the nation, would not come at the expense of infrastructure projects.
“This cut in fuel excise, which takes effect from midnight tonight, will flow through to the bowser over the next two weeks,” he said.
“The competition watchdog will monitor retailers to make sure these savings are passed on in full.
“This temporary reduction in fuel excise will not come at a cost to road funding, which will see more than $12bn spent in the coming year.”
FUEL PRICES CUT
Gold Coasters will save 22 cents a litre every time they head to the bowser when the fuel excise is cut in half for the next six months from midnight Tuesday.
The price cut will flow through to all service stations over the next two weeks, Mr Frydenberg announced during his budget hand-down.
Fuel prices have skyrocketed nationwide in the last month due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, stagnating past $2 a litre on the Gold Coast.
The government also announced the reduction in fuel prices “will not come at a cost to road funding”.
Mr Frydenberg said: “Events abroad are pushing up the cost of living at home. Higher fuel, food and shipping costs are increasing inflation and stretching household budgets.”
“This budget’s new cost-of-living package is responsible and targeted, delivering cheaper fuel, cheaper medicines and putting more money in the pockets of millions of Australians,” he said.
Also included in the cost of living package are:
* Permanent tax cuts of up to $2565 for individuals and $5130 for dual income couples
* A one-off $420 cost of living tax offset
* A one-off income tax-exempts payment of $250 for eligible pensioners, welfare recipients, veterans and eligible concession card holders in April
BIKIE “STRIKE TEAMS”
Dedicated Strike Teams will lead a crackdown on the “growing threat” of bikie gangs across the country.
A total $170.4 million has been announced in the 2022-23 budget for the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force over the next four years.
Part of that funding will establish “dedicated transnational serious organised crime Strike Teams” made up of AFP investigators and intelligence specialists.
Home Affairs Minister and Gold Coast MP Karen Andrews said: “This crucial investment will allow the AFP to supercharge its specialist capabilities to keep pace with the growing threat of outlaw motorcycle gangs, organised crime, cartels and other crime groups.”
The teams will target the importing and production of illicit drugs, firearms and money laundering.
A Bulletin report last month revealed senior Gold Coast detectives believed bikie gangs had “no loyalty” and younger members were being left unsupported and more likely to break the historic “code of silence”.
Strike Force Raptor – a bikie chasing police operation – also revealed last week the Gold Coast was particularly popular among outlaw motorcycle gangs because of the highway drug route.
SMALL BIZ TAX CUTS
Gold Coast small businesses left shattered by the Covid Omicron wave have been given momentary relief in the form of tax cuts in the 2022-23 budget.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced on Tuesday small businesses would be able to deduct a bonus 20 per cent off expenses and depreciating assets as part of the Technology Investment Boost.
The scheme will help cover the cost of “portable payment devices, cyber security systems or subscriptions to cloud-based services”.
They will also be able to deduct an extra 20 per cent for external training courses to upskill employees.
The Treasurer said: “No one knows better than a small-business owner what skills they need in their employees.”
“Starting tonight, for every hundred dollars a small business spends on training their employees, they will get a $120 tax deduction,” he said.
“We are also backing small businesses that are embracing the digital revolution.
“Every hundred dollars these small businesses spend on digital technologies like cloud computing, e-Invoicing cyber security and web design will see them get a $120 tax deduction.”
There are more than 66,000 small businesses registered across the Gold Coast.
A Bulletin report earlier this year revealed small business bosses across the city were “knackered” and living in fear of another Covid wave decimating trade.
Coolangatta Surf Club general manager Steve Edgar said at the time: “Despite banding together as a tight-knit team, staff are knackered, worn out and physically and mentally drained.
“If we were to see another variant sweep the Coast, we’d all be rooted because we don’t have much left in us.”
TOURISM BOUNCE-BACK
International tourism will take at least another year to recover to pre-pandemic levels, budget documents have revealed.
Australian airports and airlines will not hit pre-Covid passenger levels until 2023-24, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Budget documents.
Australia is predicted to hit just 31 per cent of pre-Covid international seat capacity by the end of March, increasing to 60 per cent next month.
Budget documents blame “Omicron-related uncertainty” for international travellers being more cautious.
“(It) continues to impact bookings but return to travel is forecast to gather pace this year,” they read.
“Short-haul regional travel is predicted to lead the recovery.”
CITY DEAL SNUB
The Gold Coast has missed out on almost $700m worth of transport and digital infrastructure handed out in the 2022-23 budget.
The money has been set aside under the southeast Queensland City Deal, an agreement which controversially snubbed the Gold Coast this month.
The deal – struck between the federal government, the state government and multiple local councils – was first announced on March 21.
Budget documents say the deal will include “transport, waste and recycling, housing, liveability, pedestrian infrastructure, digital connectivity and innovation projects”.
Political sources at the time told the Bulletin a toxic relationship between Mayor Tom Tate and the Coast’s “ineffective” federal MPs was to blame for the city’s absence.
The Gold Coast City Council quit its spot on the Council of Mayors in June 2021, with Mayor Tate at the time labelling the $300,000 annual fee a waste of ratepayers’ money.
He insisted the Gold Coast needed its own funding deal within 60 days and said he was “confident” of strong financial support for light rail Stage 4, Greenheart and the arts precinct.
Despite being labelled as critical for the 2032 Olympics, none of the projects were mentioned in Budget documents.
Business leaders, politicians underwhelmed by budget
Earlier: Business and political leaders say they are underwhelmed by the federal government’s big pre-budget announcement for the Gold Coast.
The Morrison government on Monday unveiled a $1.7bn upgrade of the Gold Coast-to-Brisbane railway line to be completed before the 2032 Olympic Games.
It is part of a $3.9bn budget spend on railways across southeast Queensland. The biggest project will be extending the line from Brisbane to Sunshine Coast.
While work on the 19km stretch of the line between Kuraby and Beenleigh will shorten commute times, none of the money will be spent on the Gold Coast itself.
The announcement also dashed the hopes of business leaders who wanted the heavy rail extended south from Varsity Lakes to Gold Coast Airport.
“Here’s an idea,” Helensvale councillor William Owen-Jones posted on Facebook on Monday.
“How about committing $1.7bn to extending the Gold Coast line south from the Varsity station (where it stopped, in 2009, five federal election cycles ago).”
The Gold Coast City Council last month voted to push for three key projects – the extension of the light rail to Coolangatta, the GreenHeart parklands at Robina and the Home of the Arts (HOTA) expansion.
Acting Mayor Donna Gates welcomed the Beenleigh rail upgrades, but said it left much to be desired.
“We all welcome (the heavy rail funding) but the real projects we want federal support for – within our city – are GreenHeart, light rail Stage 4 and our evolving arts and cultural precinct,” she said.
“Time is running out between now and the May election and we want to hear real commitment from our local federal MPs.
“Importantly, we have forward planned for our commitment towards Stage 4 of the light rail – around $270m of council funds going towards the $2.7bn final stage of this project.”
Cr Gates said Gold Coast federal MPs needed to use their “collective voice” to support the city’s “wishlist” projects.
Monday’s federal pledge came a week after the Gold Coast missed out infrastructure funding as part of the 20-year, $1.8bn City Deal between the state and federal governments.
Gold Coast-based Morrison government MPs Stuart Robert, Karen Andrews and Angie Bell defended their advocacy for the Gold Coast in a statement at the time, pointing to the funding of more than $2.7bn worth of projects since 2013.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will bring down his fourth budget on Tuesday night. The federal election will be called by Sunday.
Tax cuts worth up to $1080 for low-and-middle-income Australians are expected to end in June. Instead the money will be redirected to cost-of-living relief.
The budget is expected to feature a temporary cut to the petrol excise and other cost-of-living measures.
Mr Frydenberg said the tax offset was “always a temporary measure that was designed as a fiscal stimulus when the economy had been hit by the pandemic”.
“The economy is recovering very strongly,” he said.
“We do understand that the No. 1 topic around the kitchen tables of Australian families is cost of living, and one of the highest costs is fuel prices.
What we will do on Tuesday is provide relief for those families, recognising that fuel costs are very high right now.”
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall backed a series of reforms the business community hoped to see, including:
• Removal of the fringe benefit tax on entertainment-related expenses for limited time to help support the recovery of businesses post-Covid;
• Removal of the fringe benefit tax on childcare;
• Abolition of the luxury car tax to stimulate car sales, especially those of zero emission vehicles;
• Extension of the temporary full expensing measure beyond 2022;
• Maintain and lower energy prices through renewables making it cheaper and more accessible for businesses;
• Stronger policies to make childcare more accessible with more options to help parents get back to or into work.
• Increase permanent annual migration levels to help staff in our Gold Coast businesses.
‘FAST-TRACKED’: BILLIONS FOR GOLD COAST FAST RAIL LINE TO BRISBANE
Earlier: More than $1.7bn will be spent upgrading the Gold Coast to Brisbane rail line for fast rail in Tuesday’s federal budget.
The line will be duplicated from two to four lanes along a 19km stretch between Kuraby and Beenleigh, with seven stations upgraded, a new station built and the installation of a European train control system.
The government said the upgrade would do away with the notorious railway bottleneck, cut time out of the journey between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and allow for express services between the two cities to be doubled.
It comes just days after the Gold Coast entirely missed out on billions of dollars worth of infrastructure in the Southeast Queensland City Deal.
It is part of a $3.9bn spend on rail infrastructure in Queensland in the budget, with the rest being spent on extending the rail line Beerwah to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.
A further $1bn will be spent in NSW on improving the Sydney-Newcastle railway.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a key plank of Australia’s economic recovery.
“By investing in these projects we are delivering the infrastructure that the Australian economy needs to grow, to get Australians home sooner and safer, and generate thousands of jobs and new opportunities for small businesses right across the state,” Mr Morrison said.
“Australia’s future success relies on a strong economy. Our strong economic recovery is being driven by our record funding for major road projects right across the country.”
Gold Coast business leaders have long called for the line to be upgraded to improve productivity.
The Gold Coast-Brisbane railway line will reach capacity by 2028.
It is unknown when work will begin but it is expected to be completed for the 2032 Olympic Games.
While none of the work funded in this budget will actually take place on the Gold Coast, removing the bottleneck is a key step towards three new stations being built in the mid-2020s.
Cities Minister Paul Fletcher said commuters between the Gold Coast and Brisbane would see significant improvements once work was completed.
“This budget includes a significant investment in faster rail projects to enhance connectivity between capital cities and regional centres,” he said.
“This upgrade will allow for the potential doubling of express and all stop services on the corridor.
“With the 2032 Olympic Games just a decade away, it is critical that we plan and invest in the required infrastructure now so that Queensland is not only well equipped to host a successful Games, but can support sustainable growth over the coming decades.”
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