Luxton promises station if elected
PETER Luxton insists he can build a new railway station for Ipswich, vowing to "make it happen" if he is elected as the city's mayor this Saturday.
But Mayor Paul Pisasale has poured scorn on his challenger's plans for a railway station, as well as new public swimming pools, libraries and festival hall.
The mayor said State Government figures show a new rail station alone would cost $100 million.
"Peter Luxton has got to start understanding that being mayor is not just about plucking figures out of the air, and getting desperate as you get closer to the election," he said.
"He's better doing what I do and getting proper professional people to do the business planning and the modelling."
Mr Luxton said he had used the price of projects in other Australian towns and cities as a basis for his costings.
He believes a new station for Ipswich would cost only $27m, based on the amount spent revamping the suburban Indooroopilly train station.
In total, he estimates his election pledges would cost between $46.4 million and $76.7 million, but has no firm plan on how they would be paid for.
"I've never said council are going to do all these things," Mr Luxton said.
"It will come from government and private partnership. The money's there; it's how you sit down and thrash these ideas out.
"It's not going to happen on its own; it needs the mayor to drive it and that's what I'm promising to do. Because this current mayor has been in for eight years and has done nothing."
Referring to a new train station, he added: "As mayor I would set the wheels turning on what would ostensibly be a State Government project. I would make it happen.
"Once I'm in power I'll have a look at things but it would not be my intention to put rates up."
The mayor said he didn't want to return fire on Mr Luxton but described his latest statement as "another publicity stunt".
"He's making a mockery of putting himself forward as mayor," Cr Pisasale said. "Peter Luxton's got to be accountable to the people of Ipswich. The costings are just wrong.
"On one hand he talks about wanting to stop development and then he wants to do all these big ticket items."
