New treasury team to find private money for Queensland

The Queensland government will set up a new Treasury Transaction Team to attract private capital to help the government deliver its infrastructure pipeline, the treasurer has announced.

As for the extent of government infrastructure being targeted for private investment, Treasurer David Janetzki cited three potential targets – energy, housing and stadiums.

Janetzki announced the TTT during a Committee for Economic Development of Australia address in South Brisbane, telling assembled business people Queensland was “open for business” while taking a swipe at Victoria over its GST share.

Treasurer David Janetzki has been selling his first state budget to the business community since he handed it down last week.Credit: Jamila Filippone

“In an era of challenging government debt and challenging balance sheets, deliberate deployment of diverse capital has never been more important,” he said.

Janetzki said the TTT, which would be up and running on August 1, would “explore different models to deliver commercially for investors, while delivering for taxpayers”.

Speaking to media following the address, Janetzki said the TTT would be responsible for capital attraction, transaction management and “sending a clear message to the market that we’re open for business”.

Asked whether the TTT would result in public-private partnerships (PPPs) in areas not traditionally open to PPPs, Janetzki said: “We want to send a clear message that we’re open for business.”

“The clear element here is that we want to attract private capital into Queensland, whether it be renewables, housing, those investments into the Gabba precinct,” he said.

“That’s the kind of thing we’re looking at.”

And when asked whether the TTT would seek private investment in public hospitals and state schools, Janetzki essentially gave the same answer.

He also continued his crusade against the GST carve-up, which last week he blamed in part for Queensland’s $8.6 billion budget deficit for 2025-26.

In his CEDA speech, Janetzki laid part of the blame for Queensland’s reduced share of GST on the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s “mishmash of assessments” that found Melbourne required twice as much funding for ferries than Brisbane, despite the “negligible” number of ferry passengers in the southern city.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said on Monday she did not want to “quibble with another state” but still had a pointed message for Janetzki.

“Let me put it in language and in a way that the Queensland treasurer can understand: it’s just bullshit,” she said.

“When you look at the history of the GST, Victoria has been a net contributor to the tune of $31 billion and the Queensland budget’s black hole, their $8 billion-plus black hole, has got nothing to do with the circumstances here in Victoria.”

Janetzki said the facts spoke for themselves.

“The facts are the facts – it couldn’t be any clearer,” he said.

“Canberra’s carve-up has sold Queensland down the river to keep Victoria afloat.”

The commission’s change has impacted Queensland’s bottom line, with $2.29 billion lost next year and more than $5 billion in the three years to 2025-26.

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