Federal Budget 2023: Key Qld projects preserved, others on ice
Two major Queensland rail projects remain funded in the federal budget, but an axe hovers over other state mega projects.
Two major Queensland rail projects remain funded in the federal government’s latest budget, but a big axe looms amid an ongoing review of the nation’s $120bn infrastructure pipeline.
An infrastructure body meant to oversee the development of North Queensland’s pipeline of water projects has been axed in a move set to save the government just under $10m, with two dam projects put perpetually on ice.
The federal budget, unveiled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday night, revealed Queensland’s premier hydrogen hub of Gladstone is set to benefit from a $2bn program designed to make Australia “a world leader in producing and exporting hydrogen power”.
The state did secure funding for the Borumba Pumped Hydro west of the Sunshine Coast — a centrepiece of the Queensland government’s energy and jobs plan.
But the price tag has been kept commercially secret as part of the deal between the state and federal governments to temporarily cap the price of coal among measures to ease energy costs.
Treasury modelling revealed the average Queenslander can now expect to pay $1937 a year for electricity in 23/34, though the bills of 1.1 million eligible households in the state will be slashed by up to $500 under the federal government’s energy relief plan.
If there had been no intervention, Queenslanders would have been paying an average of $2273 a year for power.
The federal government’s bill relief — for pensioners, concession card holders and those receiving the family tax benefit — lays the groundwork for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to lock in the state’s promised electricity rebate.
Ms Palaszczuk had promised Queenslanders would receive a power bill rebate higher than $175, but said the final package was dependent on what the federal government’s support looked like.
The budget documents explicitly highlighted the $1.6bn Brisbane to Sunshine Coast rail extension from Beerwah to Maroochydore and the $1.1bn Kuraby-Beenleigh Faster Rail Upgrade remained funded.
But federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King recently announced a 90 day independent review of the nation’s infrastructure pipeline to ensure money is spent on “projects that are truly nationally significant”, in a move that has sparked concern for the two major rail projects.
“This review will allow all levels of government time to consider the projects that are actual priorities, and assess their cost and deliverability in the current climate,” she said.
“The process will help to lay firm foundations to build a more sustainable, credible pipeline of investment.”
Queensland took a hit in Labor’s mini-budget in October, losing the $5.4bn Hells Gate Dam project, $483m for the Urannah Dam proposal, while funding for the Emu Swamp Dam and the Hughenden Irrigation Project were put on ice.
The latest budget revealed the future of Emu Swamp remained uncertain, with the project being “reconsidered against alternative options as part of the regional water assessment”.
A final decision on the Hughenden Irrigation Project will be taken “once planning work is complete”.
The North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority will be abolished and its responsibilities subsumed into the environment, water and climate change department, in a measure saving $9.5m.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, in a budget framed partly as “laying the groundwork” of the nation’s future, unveiled the $2bn Hydrogen Headstart program to provide cash to projects through “competitive production contracts”.
“(This funding is so) Australia can be a world leader in producing and exporting hydrogen power – while reducing our emissions in heavy industry here at home,” he said.
“Hydrogen power means Wollongong, Gladstone and Whyalla, can make and export everything from renewable energy to green steel.”
The 1100km CopperString project, set to unlock billions of dollars of opportunities in the state’s north and North West by connecting it to the energy grid, did not receive any new cash in a blow to the state government’s wish list.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science, which had fallen into disrepair, received $163.4m over four years.
Queensland will be “prioritised” in the federal government’s $236m decade-long investment to “address critical, longstanding risks in Australia’s flood gauge network”.
BUDGET 2023: WHAT’S IN IT FOR QLD
* $1.1bn for Kuraby-Beenleigh Faster Rail Upgrade in the budget for now
* $1.6bn for the Brisbane to Sunshine Coast rail extension from Beerwah to Maroochydore in the budget for now.
* North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority to be scrapped to save $9.5m
* “Commercial in confidence” funding for Borumba Pumped Hydro project
* $2bn Hydrogen Headstart project set to benefit Gladstone
* $170m for Hughenden Irrigation Project allocated to other things awaiting final plan
* $163.4m for Australian Institute of Marine Science
* $3.8 billion to strengthen Australia’s northern defence bases, many of which in Queensland
* $400 million to support Australian Defence Force personnel through a new continuation bonus
Originally published as Federal Budget 2023: Key Qld projects preserved, others on ice
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