Taxpayers are footing the bill for CBD car parks for Queensland Treasury
Taxpayers are forking out as much as $560 every business day for a recurring expense the State Opposition has blasted as a waste.
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Taxpayers are forking out as much as $560 every business day to foot the bill for private carparking facilities in the Brisbane CBD for the Queensland Treasury.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Treasury entered into a four-year contract worth $630,000 for 32 car parks at the Myer Centre in the City.
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It has confirmed each park costs about $20 every business day, but insists it only pays for those that are used, which means the final cost of the contract could be reduced.
Its current allocation is 28 car parks, setting taxpayers back about $560 a business day – or roughly $2800 a week – when all the parks are used.
A spokesman for Treasurer Cameron Dick said Treasury was already looking to make savings on external parking costs following the release of the government’s savings and debt plan earlier this year.
“It is anticipated the number of parking spaces in use at the Myer Centre will be significantly reduced in the near future,” he said.
LNP treasury spokesman Tim Mander described the car parks as an “extraordinary waste of taxpayers’ money” and said it was a “bad deal by anyone’s measure”.
“This is another example of why Labor needs to hand down a full Budget so Queenslanders can see how their taxpayer dollars are being wasted,” Mr Mander said, as he also labelled the car parks a “dud” deal.
The government has committed to handing down a Budget in November if it wins the upcoming October 31 election.
A Queensland Treasury spokesman said since the release of the government’s savings and debt plan last month, the number of carparking allocations had reduced.
“Queensland Treasury has a contract for 32 car parks at the Myer Centre at a rate equivalent to around $20 per business day,” he confirmed.
“Treasury only pays for the allocated car parks being used, currently 28.
“As part of ongoing efforts to reduce costs and deliver best value for taxpayers dollars, Treasury is looking to reduce these allocations further.”
The contract was entered into in October last year, according to Treasury’s contract disclosure log.
The move to reduce the number of external carparks comes as total debt, including government-owned corporations, is expected to balloon to $101.9 billion this financial year amid the COVID-19 crisis.