Accusations multi-billion-dollar light rail project ‘set up to fail’

A multi-billion-dollar project is on the table and the Gold Coast’s mayor says the Queensland government is setting it up to fail.

More than 92 million people have used the city’s light rail but plans for its final stage is causing a rift between city leaders.

The project runs along the rapidly growing city’s coastal strip, from suburban Helensvale south to the Broadbeach tourist strip, with future stages expected to continue to Gold Coast Airport.

Mayor Tom Tate has accused the state government of casting the last stage of the project in a negative light and opening a flawed consultation process.

“That’s the strategy and I think it’s wrong,” Cr Tate said.

It comes amid a state government review and an announcement that 235 properties would be resumed along the 13km route from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta, without details about the affected homes.

Cr Tate said it had frightened residents.

“They haven’t said whose house,” he said.

Although “very few” homes were directly in the way, the route would pass “just a metre” from some properties, Cr Tate said.

This year, suggestions emerged that buses could service the route instead of trams.

Last week, the Crisafulli government broke an election promise by scrapping the final stage of a rail line on the Sunshine Coast.

“The timing of the negative leaks — as well as the very broad consultation with a lack of information — appears that it’s setting it up to fail,” Cr Tate said.

State takes aim at consultation

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the previous state government’s consultation process railroaded neighbouring residents without offering an alternative.

He also singled out the previous government’s estimates that the project could cost between $3.1 billion and $7.6 billion.

“The rest of the southern Gold Coast were not provided with the full scope of information by the previous Labor government when they conducted their sham public consultation on this project,” he said.

Mr Bleijie said his government’s consultation had so far received 2,700 submissions.

The latest survey is open to anyone online and includes five questions, with the responses from southern residents favoured over others.

For more than a week it appeared participants did not need to provide identification and could make multiple submissions.

That was recently changed to require users to create an account and log in with an email address.

74 per cent support coastal route

A survey released by council this week shows 74 per cent of Gold Coast residents support the coastal route. 

But 54 per cent of those living on the route opposed it.

The survey, which questioned 1,001 people city-wide, asked 11 demographic questions about age and employment.

Conducted by Insightly, managing director Leanne White said it ensured participants were representative of the whole Gold Coast.

Earlier independent research by the former government found more than 60 per cent of residents and businesses supported the final stage.

It surveyed more than 1,000 businesses and residents and included 43 in-person consultation sessions between 2020 and 2022.

Mr Bleijie said a meeting with residents in Palm Beach next week would provide feedback.

The rapidly growing suburb was viewed by many as ground zero for opposition to the project, with anti-light rail signs on properties in the area.

‘It turns into argy-bargy’

Palm Beach resident Dave Sewell said many pro-light rail residents didn’t attend public meetings because they could become aggressive.

“It turns into an argy-bargy,” he said.

“We don’t have the signs out the front of our house. We’re not the agitators to say, ‘No, it’s not coming.'”

“I get disappointed when it’s assumed that because we’re silent, we’re against it, but we’re not.”

Councillor Josh Martin, whose division takes in Palm Beach, said he was “buoyed” by the new round of consultation, adding that “we only get one chance to get it right”.

He said Palm Beach was a very narrow corridor and it was important to know how the project would affect businesses and traffic and how much it would cost.

Just south, Councillor Gail O’Neill, whose division takes about half of the light rail’s proposed route, said the new consultation process as “very limited” and could put the project at risk.

“It’s geared negatively, the questions that the state government are asking,” Cr O’Neill said.

“I fear we’re going to get nothing.”

‘Nothing’s perfect’

Meanwhile, southern Gold Coasters’ opinions remain mixed.

Tugun resident Dani Wolff said, while the end result of the final stage would be positive, construction could cause disruptions.

“The process of getting to the end goal is painful,” she said.

After a swim at Tallebudgera, Adrian Stone said most of the comments he heard about light rail were “people … complaining about it”, but he could also see the benefits.

“For every one side of the coin, there’s an opposite side of the coin,” Mr Stone said.