Member for Macalister Melissa McMahon last week broke a political fortress on the issue of Stage 2 of the Coomera Connector road, saying it should be re-aligned.
Ms McMahon, speaking at a Beenleigh forum organised by federal Member for Forde Bert van Manen, said the current path for the road was too close to homes, and detrimental to areas of natural beauty and water.
The state government is exploring six routes for the road, but a group of residents has been fighting a two-year battle to have the road moved away from wetlands.
The road, also known as the second M1, is designed to ease congestion between Loganholme and Nerang.
“I support re-alignment with other possibilities,” Ms McMahon said, referring to Stage 2 of the project which is currently slated to pass through the back of Eagleby where environmentalists say a number of species will be threatened.
“I am in favour of a move from the current corridor.
“This is not a done and dusted project. We’re now at the stage where we’re going to be asking the community for their unput. Never underestimate the power of words in Queensland when it comes to development.”
Ms McMahon said it was one of the last remaining green belts in Southeast Queensland, and although much of the land was privately owned, needed to be protected.
She urged people to look at reports which would be released within weeks, all of which would seek public consultation.
She would be particularly interested in the environmental assessment report, she said.
Ms McMahon, as state government representative, drew the majority of attention at the forum which was intended to raise issues important to the area.
Roads, youth crime and safety headed the agenda.
Mr van Manen invited senior police to address concerns about crime in the Beenleigh area.
Addressing the crime issue, Ms McMahon called on the private sector to invest heavily in Beenleigh.
“We’ve lost the country town. What we need is an absolute flagship store,” she said.
“It’s the broken window effect. When one window isn’t fixed, you end up with a lot of broken windows.
“We’ve got to stop down-talking Beenleigh. Let’s not give up. Let’s not denegrate the place we live.”
Mr van Manen said it was a very positive night.
“There was no finger pointing, and irrespective of political flavour, I think people appreciated how we are working together to try to resolve some of the problems in the electorate,” he said.
“The benefit of having a broad community discussion is that it gives people the opportunity to appreciate how complex some of these issues are.”
