Coalition goes cool on backing Toowoomba arts precinct

The Morrison government has pulled its funding support for a proposed $175m entertainment and motorsport precinct in Toowoomba.

Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher. Picture: Getty Images

The Morrison government has pulled its funding support for a proposed $175m entertainment and motorsport precinct in Toowoomba after its proponents, the billionaire Wagner family, got caught in a federal-state stoush over regional quarantine.

Official documents, obtained by The Australian, show the federal government had committed $40m to the project earlier this year, matching state government funding and $95m from the Wagner Corporation under a private-public partnership.

According to internal government documents in July, the entertainment precinct has been dropped from the list of funded proposals under the federal government’s “city deal project” ­program.

The proposed $175m Wellcamp Entertainment Precinct project, which included a 40,000-person performing arts venue and a raceway, initially won the support of then deputy prime minister Michael McCormack to be partly funded.

Federal government sources told The Australian that support to provide the funding had waned after the Wagner family proposed building a quarantine facility beside its Wellcamp airport in ­Toowoomba by the end of the year.

The proposed facility was strongly supported by the Palas­zczuk Labor government and sparked a public fight with the Morrison government, which opposed the plan.

The Palaszczuk government has continued to attack the federal government over its decision to block the facility and instead propose another site for a quarantine centre in Pinkenba, in Brisbane, which won’t be built until 2022.

In April, a spokesman for Mr McCormack denied the existence of a letter the then deputy PM had written to kill off the funding.

John Wagner told The Australian on Tuesday that he was still uncertain about whether the project would receive the critical federal funding needed for it to proceed.

“They (the federal government) don’t want to talk about it,’’ he said.

“We wanted support for a precinct that will be very special for Australia and this region.’’

A spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said they were not aware of the documents and a final decision had not been made.

“The commonwealth is committed to delivering a city deal for the people of southeast Queensland that creates more jobs and increases the region’s liveability,’’ he said.

“The deal is currently being developed and requires the agreement of the state government with the commonwealth and local councils.”