The home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, has sought to block federal funding for a Gold Coast light rail expansion that would run directly past an investment property she co-owns with her husband.
Last week Andrews wrote an open letter to residents of the Gold Coast suburb Palm Beach saying she had requested the federal urban infrastructure minister, Paul Fletcher, oppose any federal funding for the fourth stage of the city’s light rail project – a proposed extension from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta.
The move – on the cusp of a federal election – ended bipartisan support for the three previous stages of the light rail, and prompted an angry response from the long-serving Gold Coast mayor, Tom Tate, who declared: “I have never been this disappointed in the political arena.”
Andrews, who is the local MP, said while she still supported the extension to Coolangatta, the route chosen by the state government and the local council, along the Gold Coast highway, was “not tenable”.
“I’ve not met one local resident who thinks that reducing the Gold Coast highway to one lane each way to accommodate light rail is a good idea,” she said.
Title records obtained by Guardian Australia show Andrews and her husband, Chris, own a unit in a complex on the Gold Coast highway, along the proposed light rail route. Andrews made no mention of the property when announcing her opposition to the light rail extension.
However, in her declaration of interests lodged with the federal parliament, Andrews publicly lists her ownership of an investment unit at Palm Beach. Such declarations require an MP to list the suburb or area of a property they own, but not the address. There is no suggestion Andrews has breached any disclosure rules.
In her letter to residents, Andrews said she had written to Fletcher to ask “no federal funding be directed to this project as it stands”.
In a subsequent interview with the ABC, Andrews said she was “absolutely sympathetic and empathetic to the people of Palm Beach who feel they have not been listened to”.
“I will not sit by while their views are steamrolled,” she said.
Guardian Australia asked the home affairs minister whether she had mentioned her property interest when she asked Fletcher to place a block on federal funding.
In response, Andrews said she would “continue to voice the concerns of Palm Beach residents”.
“Last year 81% of 1,376 local McPherson residents surveyed did not support light rail continuing along the highway in its current form,” she said.
“All levels of government need to listen to locals and engage in constructive consultation about a considered approach to public transport – whether it’s heavy rail to the airport, electric buses, or any other types.”
The Gold Coast light rail project, initially built for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, has been jointly funded by local, state and federal governments. The first two stages have been completed, linking Helensvale and Broadbeach.
Work on the third stage extending the line south to Burleigh is about to commence. The final extension, from Burleigh to Coolangatta, is in the planning stages.
Some residents of the southern Gold Coast are opposed to the extension, claiming it is unnecessary, would result in high-rise development, and would remove parking along the Gold Coast highway. More than 20,000 people have signed a petition opposing the project.
But even opponents were left surprised by Andrews’ letter to residents last week. The founder and president of Save Our Southern Gold Coast, Kath Down, told the Gold Coast Bulletin that she felt Andrews had “definitely backflipped”.
Long-term residents and residential property owners have expressed concern that reducing the Gold Coast highway to a single lane in some places would create ongoing traffic problems. Construction works are expected to take several years.
A flyover animation showing what the rail project could look like shows the highway cut back to one lane outside the unit complex where Andrews owns her investment property.
Guardian Australia spoke to a resident of the apartment complex, who said the highway was already “very congested”, and that traffic often banked up outside the building during peak hour.
“If it goes down to one lane then access in here will be a nightmare,” the resident said.
The 28-unit complex – which is a mix of owner-occupiers, long-term leaseholders and holiday rentals – has a single driveway entrance that can only be accessed from the highway.
The state government and the Gold Coast council say their preferred route is along the highway – three other options were ruled out because they would require property acquisitions to widen residential streets.
The Queensland transport minister, Mark Bailey, called on Andrews to state her preferred route prior to the election.
“If Ms Andrews chooses any of the three routes through Palm Beach, then hundreds of homes would have to be resumed … and those residents deserve to know if she wants to take their homes now, not after the election,” Bailey said.
