#GoQld: Queensland has plans ‘but no money to pay for them’
IF OUR spending was footy, NSW just thrashed us.
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WE may dominate NSW on the rugby league pitch but when it comes to the infrastructure funding State of Origin, Queensland is barely in the game.
After outspending our southern neighbours for six years straight up to 2011-12, government funding for major projects in the Sunshine State has slipped badly behind, according to industry think-tank Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
“Our analysis shows that Queensland infrastructure investment is now less than half that of NSW, which has been able to find the money it needs by recycling assets like electricity and ports,’’ CEO Brendan Lyon said.
“Meanwhile, Queensland is sitting on its hands with too few jobs, too few roads and too few hospitals — all because there is too little money in the budget.
“Queensland has lots of plans, but no dollars to pay for them and, as the community knows, political visions that are not backed with money are really just hallucinations,’’ Mr Lyon said.
The IPA analysis of infrastructure spending in State Budget papers, not including Government-owned corporations — shows Queensland leading the way during the period when it floated the former QR National freight rail network and privatised the Port of Brisbane.
Public funding on new projects peaked at $8.96 billion in 2009-10.
This year however, the analysis says, Queensland will spend $5.45 billion — compared to $12.77 billion over the border.
Mr Lyon said that based on the NSW deals, Queensland could raise about $50 billion from leasing its electricity generation, transmission and distribution networks. Ports in central and north Queensland could bring in another $5 billion or so.
“That is money that could be recycled into providing badly-needed investments to boost the economies of regional areas, as well as SEQ, and creating jobs for Queenslanders.”
Opinion polls consistently show a majority of Queenslanders oppose asset sales or leasing and following the Newman Government’s shock 2012 election defeat, the LNP joined Labor in rejecting the policy.
Mr Lyon said: “People across Queensland need to be demanding answers from both parties about what projects they will build and, particularly, where they will get the money.
“And they should be very suspicious of answers that suggest the state’s infrastructure will get better without big changes like asset recycling.”
WHAT THEY ARE WORTH
Electricity asset valuations
• Energy Queensland $29.7 billion
• Powerlink Queensland — $9.6 billion
• CS Energy — $2 billion
• Stanwell Corporation — $5.5 billion
Other assets
• Port of Gladstone — $3.7 billion
• Port of Townsville — $729 million
• North Queensland Bulk Port Corporation — $719 million
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
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