Wed 23 April 2014 Lunch with Hon Fiona Simpson MP & Hon Scott Emerson MP

[Fares_Fair]

On Wednesday 23 April I attended a luncheon hosted by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the Hon Fiona Simpson MP (member for Maroochydore) and attended by the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, the Hon Scott Emerson MP (member for Indooroopilly).

It was a lovely '2 course lunch and 1 drink' for a cost of $100 and the (personal) cost of an annual leave day off work.

The Transport Minister was on the Sunshine Coast at 11:30am, to open the new Maroochydore Bus Station 'Taxi Rank' trial initiative, where the taxi rank has been relocated from the Maroochydore TAFE college to an area that is well lit and covered by CCTV cameras at the new Bus Station.

Sunshine Coast Daily Taxi rank story by Megan Mackander here --> http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/clubbers-get-safer-taxis/2238528/

The Lunch ran from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, with a speech by the Minister and the opportunity to ask questions of him in a relaxed setting.
It was attended by a small group of community and business leaders, including Sunshine Coast Mayor Cr Mark Jamieson.

More to come later ...

[Stillwater]

Political parties use these things as political fund-raisers.  We are supposed to have free access to our elected officials in a democracy.  Having a luncheon where the pollie comes along to talk about something before an audience of guests who pay for the meal is fair enough.

Things get murky when ordinary folk who don't belong to the political party of the guest speaker front up to an establishment where the meal might cost $50 normally, but which becomes a $100 meal for the minister's visit, with the difference skimmed off to fund the party re-election strategy.

[#Metro]

So, what was for dinner? Was it ... pork? 

(sorry, just too good a joke!)

[STB]

Political parties use these things as political fund-raisers.  We are supposed to have free access to our elected officials in a democracy.  Having a luncheon where the pollie comes along to talk about something before an audience of guests who pay for the meal is fair enough.

Things get murky when ordinary folk who don't belong to the political party of the guest speaker front up to an establishment where the meal might cost $50 normally, but which becomes a $100 meal for the minister's visit, with the difference skimmed off to fund the party re-election strategy.

Personally, I'd rather these sorts of fund raisers than corporations donating money to political parties.  You still get free access to your local MP at the end of the day.

[Fares_Fair]

So, what was for dinner? Was it ... pork? 

(sorry, just too good a joke!)

Lol, saw that one coming LT.
No it wasn't pork I can assure you - in both senses of the word.

[Fares_Fair]

Sunshine Coast Daily
Saturday 26 April 2014, p4

United
front on
rail line
upgrade

THE duplication of the Sun-
shine Coast railway line has
now  been  identified  by  all
Coast MPs and both mayors
as the region's number one
infrastructure priority.
But there will be no fund-
ing for it in the State Govern-
ment's (budget) next financial year.
The news came at a lunch
meeting   on   the   Sunshine
Coast this week with Tran-
sport  Minister  Scott  Emer-
son.
The minister's spokesman
later  confirmed  the  Bruce
Hwy, along with Brisbane's
BaT (a five-kilometre under-
ground bus and rail project)
and    Toowoomba    Second
Range  Crossing  were  the
"state's transport priorities".
"While the Bruce was the
priority  for  local  members,
now  that  the  LNP  has  se-
cured  a  $10  billion  funding
deal with the Bruce Hwy, the
duplication is the next prior-
ity," he said.
Rail  advocate  Jeff  Addi-
son,  who  was  at  the  lunch
meeting,  was  heartened  to
hear local MPs were behind
the rail duplication.
However,    it    was    "bad
news" there was no money in
the  upcoming  State  budget
for rail duplication.
"Mr  Emerson  said  after
the lunch that he had all Sun-
shine  Coast  LNP  MPs  in  a
room and that the one single
issue stated as the top prior-
ity  for  the  Sunshine  Coast
was rail duplication," Mr Ad-
dison said.
"He  acknowledged  it,  he
heard the message, he knows
it, the Government knows it."
Mr    Addison    was    also
"heartened" to hear of Noosa
Mayor      Noel      Playford's
strong support.

[ozbob]

^ good work FF ...   

[Stillwater]

Noosa's mayor, Noel Playford, is a strong advocate of public transport.  Great to see he is supporting SC Mayor, Mark Jamieson, on the SCL duplication.  Absolute 100 per cent support from MPs and both mayors!  Any improvements south of Nambour benefits Noosa Shire residents, indirectly.  Noosa boundary lies just north of Eumundi, but moves are afoot to have Eumundi, Verrierdale and Doonan join Noosa.

With the possibility of ARTC assuming management of the NCL, the logical thing would be for a survey to be undertaken of the most appropriate route for short deviations and straightening north of Nambour, while actual duplication works proceed south of Nambour.

No route planning work has been done north of Nambour.

[#Metro]

Any possibility of getting all parties to sign a Rail Pact or Public Pledge. It doesn't have to jail the politicians concerned into a date or time, but reaffirm the commitment to bring rail to urban areas of the Sunshine Coast and duplication of the line.

[Fares_Fair]

Any possibility of getting all parties to sign a Rail Pact or Public Pledge. It doesn't have to jail the politicians concerned into a date or time, but reaffirm the commitment to bring rail to urban areas of the Sunshine Coast and duplication of the line.

G'Day LD,

As far as I am concerned they have already done so.
We are headed for an election in 2015 (or earlier if the Premier was to break his word).

What remains to be seen now is if the 7 Sunshine Coast MP's and the 2 Councils can make the State Government act.
The MP's comprise almost 10% of the Parliament.

With Clive Palmer itching to field candidates in the next State election (just to topple Premier Campbell Newman), the Sunshine Coast MP's will need to be seen to be able to achieve something for our region. To say it is number one priority and have their leadership say it isn't a State priority wouldn't bode well for them.