Mark Bailey throws another barb at Karen Andrews over light rail backflip
Queensland’s Transport Minister has doubled down on criticism of the McPherson MP after she pulled support for the Gold Coast light rail.
Karen Andrews had previously been in favour of a light rail extension through Palm Beach but unexpectedly changed tack on the issue earlier this month.
In an open letter to residents, Ms Andrews revealed she had requested the then-federal infrastructure minister to oppose any federal funding for the fourth stage of the city’s light rail project.
She claimed while she still supported the extension to Coolangatta, the chosen route along the Gold Coast Highway was “not tenable”.
The route would run directly past an investment property Ms Andrews co-owns with her husband but she denies it has influenced her pivot.
The state’s Transport Minister, Mark Bailey, previously said the change of heart “makes no sense” as the Coalition went against their own funding.
His position hasn’t changed, today telling Sofie Formica more than 70 per cent of Gold Coast residents support the light rail project.
“Of the five possible routes, we ruled out the heavy rail because it would be twice as long, much more expensive and would use up the heavy rail corridor,” he said.
“The other three routes are through different parts of residential Palm Beach: Cyprus Terrace, Townson Avenue and Mallawa Drive, and that would require hundreds of houses being resumed.
“We are not going to be doing that and so, the logical place to put it with the minimum disruption is along the Gold Coast Highway.”
He insisted two lanes of traffic in either direction will remain as the route instead runs along an open corridor.
“We will need to do some small-scale resumptions through there; most of them are shavings or partial takes – they’re not someone’s full property.
“This is what I was critical about [with] Karen Andrews.
“She said she didn’t want it on the Gold Coast Highway but she refused to say where through Palm Beach she wanted it and the only other options … would see people lose their homes in large numbers and I don’t support that.”
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Image: Getty