By Member for Woodridge Cameron Dick
The advent of a once in a generation fuel price crisis has brought into even sharper
focus the Crisafulli LNP Government’s failures to support Queenslanders.
focus the Crisafulli LNP Government’s failures to support Queenslanders.
In recent weeks people all over the south-east have been left waiting for hours at
train stations for buses that never come.
In the middle of a fuel price crisis the Crisafulli Government shut down the entire
train network.
Just like their other big transport trainwreck when they cut the planned bikeway
connecting Kuraby to Beenleigh.
The bikeway was part of Labor’s transformative and once in a generation Logan
Gold Coast Faster Rail project, which aimed to get rid of level crossings and upgrade
stations in Logan, to provide better services and facilities to local residents.
But this project was always about more than just trains.
From the outset, the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project included a continuous
Active Transport Corridor.
A safe, accessible cycling and walking route connecting communities along the rail
line from Kuraby to Beenleigh.
This corridor wasn’t an add-on, an afterthought, or an optional extra, rather it was a
key component of a project to get more vehicles off our roads, to reduce congestion
and to help people save money.
Now, that’s all been cut under the Crisafulli LNP Government.
Between Kuraby Station and Compton Road and between Woodridge and Kingston
Stations, the corridor has been cut from the design with no community consultation,
not even a media release.
The changes were only confirmed by the Minister after members of the public identified the changes in project plans.
If the Crisafulli LNP Government is serious about road safety, giving Queenslanders
more transport options, and addressing the cost of living, then the active transport
must be treated as essential infrastructure, not a luxury to be cut.
In Parliament, I recently called on the Crisafulli LNP Government to do two things.
First, reinstate the continuous Active Transport Corridor in full, immediately.
And second, provide an explanation for why these sections were cut without proper
community consultation.
The people in the Woodridge Electorate and across Logan deserve better.
They deserve safe and connected transport options now and into the future.
Not a broken promise by this LNP Government.
