Heavy Rail to the Sunshine Coast
IN MARCH this year, my colleague Andrew Wallace and I announced $1.6 billion to build a new heavy passenger rail line from Beerwah to Maroochydore. This was the single largest transport infrastructure project in the Coalition Government’s 2022 Federal Budget, and it delivered on years of hard work. This is the most transformational project the Sunshine Coast will see for a generation. It would not only improve connectivity to Brisbane but would provide housing density around new inland stations and avoid a ‘glitter strip’ of high rises along the region’s coastal communities.
Since the change of Government, we have been concerned that this important piece of infrastructure could be withdrawn. That’s why I recently raised this issue in Parliament to stress the importance of the Albanese Government honouring this commitment in its Federal Budget in October.
Generation Innovation Finalists Announced
The 2022 GI Challenge has entered its final stage after I announced its three finalists recently. Run by local not-for-profit Generation Innovation, the GI Challenge is an annual program that unleashes the entrepreneurial genius of young Sunshine Coast locals. I founded the organisation before entering parliament.
Three finalists have been chosen from this year’s extraordinary cohort: Josie Pacey who’s creating a 100 per cent natural, female-centred surf wax; Bailey Page who’s deigning magnetic, cordless, and portable phone charging devices; and Eliza Blumke who’s developing an app to assist people with speech and communication difficulties.
They now have one month to refine their business concepts before pitch night on October 12th. Stay tuned.