Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to bring to the attention of the House an exciting new project on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and that is the upgrade of the Sunshine Coast Airport—an upgrade to make it a fully-fledged international airport. This project will help unleash the economic capacity of the region. Delivering on this vision will not be easy, because it requires an upgrade without overcapitalisation, debt funding without leaving the ratepayer with a long-term debt liability and a partnership with a private sector player that brings demonstrable expertise. What is more, it requires collaboration between three tiers of government and also the private sector.

I want to pay tribute today to the local council, the Sunshine Coast Council, who own the asset and who are taking the right leadership to get this job done. They do of course have support from the Turnbull government, from this coalition. Not only has the coalition already approved an EIS but it has also committed to providing a concessional loan to the council subject to due diligence and a guarantee from the Queensland Treasury Corporation. This is a big game-changing deal for our region of the Sunshine Coast, and I am delighted to put it on the agenda for this national parliament and to say that it has the support of this government.