28 September, 2015
The premier of Queensland, Australia has asked the private sector to come up with proposals on potential government partnerships to build infrastructure, according to news reports.
Annastacia Palaszczuk launched a "market-led proposals" initiative during a speech to the Property Council of Australia Queensland, the Courier Mail said.
This will help the government and the private sector to work together on the next generation of projects, Palaszczuk said, according to the Courier Mail.
Palaszczuk said that the Cross River Rail plan, a $5 billion (US$3.5 billion) project, is an example of what a joint approach can do, the newspaper reported.
Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford welcomed the move, saying the industry had been pushing for it for years, the Courier Mail said
"We expect the framework will result in innovative and exciting projects being brought to government that otherwise may not have seen the light of day," he said.
Last week the Queensland government sent a priority list of infrastructure projects to national body Infrastructure Australia. Public transport projects and motorway upgrades were top of the list, the state government said in a statement.
Deputy premier Jackie Trad said the 12 projects nominated are vital to ensure Queensland’s future economic productivity.
“South East Queensland is home to one in seven Australians and in the next 25 years an additional 2.2 million people will move into the region. That’s why it is critical to ensure key infrastructure projects are planned immediately,” Trad said.
Trad said the Queensland government is calling for infrastructure funding to deliver projects that will help the construction industry, and is hopeful that new Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull "will take a different approach to investing in critical public transport infrastructure projects".
For further information, please contact:
David Rennick, Partner, Pinsent Masons
david.rennick@pinsentmasons.com
