Transport Minister Mark Bailey admits he knew about $2.4bn train cost blowout two weeks ago
The Transport Minister has been forced to admit he knew about the huge cost blowout to his government’s flagship train building program while he was spruiking it using old figures.
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Transport Minister Mark Bailey has admitted he already knew Queensland’s flagship train manufacturing program had blown out by an extra $2.4bn when the government spruiked it just two weeks ago using the previous cost figures.
The flustered minister on Friday said he couldn’t recall when he found out the project had blown out, and bizarrely denied there was a lack of transparency over the whopping 33 per cent cost spike because it was uploaded on “the world wide web”.
On Thursday The Courier-Mail revealed the Transport and Main Roads website had been changed to reveal the cost of the government’s Queensland Train Manufacturing Program – a key election promise to build 65 trains in Maryborough – had risen from $7.1bn to $9.5bn.
Just two weeks ago, a government media release was sent out in Mr Bailey and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s names announcing Downer had secured a $4.6bn contract for the first 15 years of the project – and using the total cost figure of $7.1bn multiple times.
But the Minister was forced to admit during a fiery press conference on Friday he already knew then that the projected cost over the next 35 years had climbed to a staggering $9.5bn.
“I did know about it,” he said.
“It didn’t seem to be the major emphasis of the contract. The contract is a 35 year project.
We had $4.6bn worth of investment for 15 years. It’s locked in.
“And after that, it’s performance based. So you know … this is not an iron-clad figure.”
Questioned on why the cost of the program had climbed at all, Mr Bailey said it was based on the “current high inflation environment over 35 years”.
“There’s four series of five year options that are based on performance,” he said.
“So Downer will have to perform under this contract. There’s no doubt about that.”
Mr Bailey also said the new figure had emerged during the five-month negotiation process between January and June – but denied the government had kept the $2.4bn increase hidden from Queenslanders, because the change was made on the TMR website.
“We put (the new figure) out there on the world wide web and we basically can’t be more transparent than that.”
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said it was unfathomable the Premier and the government had not made any announcement about the increase.
“Two weeks ago the government stood at that site and committed this project to be delivered at the original cost,” he said.
“In two weeks a website is updated in the middle of the night, and nothing changes with the number of trains or the deliverables.
“That’s no way to run a government in terms of transparency, it’s no way to run a contract, and it’s no way to value taxpayers dollars.”
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