The federal government has rejected a last-minute request to reconsider its approval of a second highway designed to ease congestion between south Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Stage One of the Coomera Connector — a 16-kilometre stretch between the Nerang and Coomera rivers — received federal approval in August 2020.
But a request from a small group of Gold Coast residents to reconsider that decision was received by Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek during February under provisions in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The group suggested that "substantial new information about the impacts of the proposed action" and a "substantial change in circumstances that was not foreseen at the time of the decision" justified reconsidering the highway.
Under federal environment laws, a request to reconsider a project can be made if new information emerges about its potential environmental impact.
But a spokesperson for Ms Plibersek said in a letter there had been "no change to the original assessment process" and the 2020 approval remained in place.
The resident group's spokesperson Stewart Brooker said the Coomera Connector should have been assessed as one project, not in individual stages.
"Some of the koalas that are impacted in Stage One will actually be moved to areas that will be impacted in Stage Two," he said.
"Looking at the environmental impact bit by bit does not give you the scope of the impact it'll have on the koalas overall."
Mr Brooker, who ran as an independent for the seat of Fadden in the 2022 federal election, said the declaration of koalas as an endangered species after the 2020 approval was another reason for the project to be reconsidered.
The clock is 'ticking again'
The ABC understood the public consultation, which ended on March 10, received up to 70 submissions.
Mr Brooker said he had not been given a reason for the approval.
"Now I have to officially request the statement of reasons of why they made that decision," he said.
"That can take up to 28 days."
He said the clock had started "ticking again" on the federal government's final environmental approval of the Coomera Connector.
"They could make a decision on Stage One before I even get back the reasons," Mr Brooker said.
A spokesperson for the federal environment department said a delegate for Ms Plibersek "carefully considered the information provided in the request, public comments, and other relevant information.
"The decision on whether or not to approve the proposal is still being considered."
Business case approved
The business case for Stage One was approved by the state government last year, with design and construction contracts also awarded.
At least $126 million has already been spent on the project, which is expected to be complete by 2027.
Forecast minimum speeds during peak hours along the M1 Pacific Motorway will fall below 19 kilometres per hour in some areas by 2041 without the Coomera Connector, according to the project's environmental report.
The remaining 28km stages of the Coomera Connector have not yet received state or federal government approvals.
