Cost to complete new CQUni campus skyrockets 60 per cent
A promised $50m for a new Cairns city uni campus has at last been released two and a half years after being announced, but increases in costs now mean millions more will be needed to complete the project.
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The first instalment of a promised $50m for a new CQUniversity Cairns city campus has at last been released two and a half years after being announced, but increases in building costs mean millions more will be needed to complete the project.
Labor pledged the cash in the lead-up to the 2022 federal election in a project spruiked as a game-changing development to double the institution’s student intake from 2000 to 4000 and pump a projected $500m into the wider Far North community.
However, 30 months on the block at the corner of Grafton and Hartley streets earmarked for the campus remains vacant.
CQUni Cairns region associate vice chancellor Jodie Duignan-George on Thursday attributed the delay to a pass-through agreement that required a state government treasury sign off.
“So that added a little bit more complexity, to getting the funding agreements up and off the ground,” she said.
“So finally, we have some action on that and no one’s more pleased than me.
“I can actually advise that we’ve got the first payment through on Monday.
“(But) that pass-through arrangement between the federal government and the state government is what really slowed the process of this down.”
The new build is expected to create 330 construction jobs and allow thousands of students to study in the city centre which is a significant increase on enrolments at the current Abbott St campus.
The project will now invite the submission of tenders to design the new building.
While the project was on pause, construction costs have skyrocketed and what was achievable for $50m in 2021 is no longer possible in 2024.
“We know that it’s gone up, possibly even doubled,” Ms Duignan-George said.
“But rather than speculate, the first part of our project is getting the detailed design, from the detailed design we will know exactly what the cost escalation has been.
“We will be seeking additional funding, so I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.
“We see this as an opportunity to create our campus of the future. So we’re really excited actually about the opportunities that we can have to deliver a really interesting university campus for Cairns.”
It’s understood additional funding to the value of about $38m will be needed to complete new campus buildings, though any new cash allocation is not expected to be included in the May 14 federal budget.
Queensland Senator Nita Green said CQUniversity was on board with a staged approach to the building’s construction to mitigate against rising inflation and start the project before a possible rise in interest rates.
“We’re faced with a situation where we are trying to repair the budget and ensure that we’re not spending too much money and putting too much pressure on inflation, but also deliver on projects that have increased in costs because of inflation,” she said.
COST OF LIVING SUPPORT
Far Northerners with outstanding student loans will save $1200 per year on average under a new scheme that caps repaymentsat the lower indexation rate of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index.
About 30,897 graduates in the Far North who signed up to HELP, VET Student Loan, and Australian Apprenticeship Support Loansare expected to benefit from the cost of living reform which was in response to the Australian Universities Accord.
In other cost of living support a federal government Prac Payment scheme will support students doing mandatory work placementsrequired for university and vocational education qualifications.
The payment will provide around 68,000 eligible higher education students and over 5000 VET students each year with $319.50per week during their clinical and professional placement periods in attempts to end “placement poverty” and reduce the studentattrition rate.
CQUni diploma of nursing student Hannah Silulu said it had been a struggle to make ends meet during her placement and sheknew of fellow students who dropped out due to the inability to pay their bills.
“It’s a struggle to be expected to not work for a period of time and that can be from one to six weeks and that’s a lot especiallywith the price increases in our community,” she said.
“(The new payment) will be fantastic and it will make things a lot easier.”
Benchmarked to the single Austudy per-week rate, the new payment will provide means-tested cost-of-living relief which willbe available from July 1, 2025.
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Originally published as Cost to complete new CQUni campus skyrockets 60 per cent
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