Today’s rail announcement by Premier Miles confirms that the most sought-after legacy of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is dead in its tracks.
The 2032 Games was the Sunshine Coast’s ticket to finally secure passenger rail to Maroochydore, but two years of delay and indecision amidst a hyper inflationary environment has left this project in tatters.
It’s a slap in the face for all Sunshine Coast residents to see Labor Ministers cynically smiling as they announce a plan to deliver half the rail line for twice the price.
Work should have already commenced two years on from the former Coalition government’s historic commitment of $1.6 billion towards this project.
Under the 50/50 partnership previously negotiated between the Morrison and Palaszczuk governments, this debacle would never have happened.
Instead, Labor tore up that partnership after the 2022 Federal election and centralised all decision making in George Street, resulting in further delays and constant political gameplaying.
I thank the tens of thousands of people who swung behind my “Get Onboard” campaign for this project.