'We don't want another King George Square,' Bailey warns Schrinner

An argument over the approvals process for the $944 million Brisbane Metro between the state government and Brisbane City Council has seen the lord mayor Adrian Schrinner accuse Transport Minister Mark Bailey of withholding federal funds from the council.

On Wednesday afternoon, Cr Schrinner launched a broadside against Transport Minister Mark Bailey for requiring the planned Cultural Centre Metro stop to be moved to a site under the Brisbane Convention Centre.

The state government released new draft images of what South Brisbane's notorious Grey and Melbourne Streets intersection could look like if Brisbane Metro was moved to beneath the Convention Centre.

Mr Bailey responded by saying the proposed shift from an underground Metro station beneath the Cultural Centre to beneath the Convention Centre would give new life to the notorious Cultural Centre precinct intersection.

Cr Schrinner decried the move as a political delaying tactic the same day that the council had closed procurement tenders, but Mr Bailey dismissed that claim and said the shift from the Cultural Centre to the Convention Centre was necessary.

Standing up on Thursday morning, Cr Schrinner again accused the state government of delaying the project, claiming the state had withheld a $10 million milestone payment for land acquisition.

"Each and every day, people are sitting in congestion at the Cultural Centre precinct. This is congestion in the transport network which the state government has failed to do anything about for years," he said.

"Council, together with the federal government, has come together with a fully funded project, the Brisbane Metro, to help deal with these issues, to get people home quicker and safer.

"The state government continues to stand in the way."

Mr Bailey responded by releasing draft images of what the notorious intersection between Grey Street and Melbourne Street at South Bank would look like if the new plan for the metro station was adopted.

The buses would travel along Melbourne Street past the Fox Hotel before turning into an underground portal to the Metro tunnel and station.

Mr Bailey said the council and the state had "one chance" to get the complex South Brisbane precinct right for the next 50 years.

"Judging from the comments from by the lord mayor, the new lord mayor Adrian Schrinner - he's certainly no Clem Jones, he's no Jim Soorley and I don't think he's even a Campbell Newman," Mr Bailey said.

"We saw what the council did to King George Square, we don't want to see that happen here at QPAC and on the Metro project.

"Let's be very clear: the council is aware that the tender process was done at their own risk because there were unresolved issues and we said that to them in writing in December last year."

Queensland Government Architect Malcolm Middleton said shifting the metro station would give the city an "excellent opportunity" to make major upgrades to the notorious Cultural Centre intersection.

The new plans would see Brisbane Metro vehicles travelling into the city turn right to an underground station under the Convention Centre, and re-emerge at the Victoria Bridge.

The Grey and Melbourne Street intersection would continue having two lanes of traffic along Grey Street but would allow the traffic intersection to become a parkland and an active walkway and cycleway.

Cr Schrinner said the $10 million federal funding had been paid to the state government in March but it had not yet been transferred to the council.

In response, Mr Bailey said the funding had some complexities involving GST and had been delayed by the federal election.

At a press club speech on Wednesday, the lord mayor labelled the metro as "Brisbane's Adani" - a comment the Transport Minister dismissed as "over the top".

Mr Bailey wrote to the council in June last year following former lord mayor Graham Quirk's announcement that the council was about to begin procurement for the Brisbane Metro vehicles.

He warned that the council began procurement without consultation with the state, and "at its own risk".

A second letter was written to Cr Quirk in December last year raising concerns that the council's "desired time-frames for approvals" did not give enough time for the state to thoroughly assess the project.

"This is particularly the case for the final Cultural Centre station design, where options are still being evaluated by the [Brisbane City Council] project team," Mr Bailey wrote.

Victoria Bridge would continue to have a bus, pedestrian and cycling spine linking South Brisbane with the city.

He warned again that if the council began procurement, it would do so "at its own risk".

Cr Schrinner on Thursday said Mr Bailey was being "disingenuous" and the letters did not clearly identify what the state government wanted to change.

"The Minister understands this process - he's being disingenuous with the comments that are being made about starting the tender process," he said.

Mr Bailey said Cr Schrinner was being "a little cute and loose with the truth" about the information given to the council about the state's concerns with the Cultural Centre precinct designs.