Brisbane’s lord mayor Graham Quirk has admitted the $944 million Brisbane Metro would have been temporarily shelved if the federal government had not committed to a significant funding boost.
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Cr Quirk said it was "great news" that $300 million would be allocated to the transport project in Tuesday’s federal budget.
“We needed to get a commitment. If we didn’t get that commitment this year then it [the metro] would have simply have had to go on ice for a year, or we would have had to look at some other arrangements,” he said.
“But I don’t believe that it would have gone ahead.”
Brisbane City Council budgeted almost $430 million in capital expenditure for between the 2017-18 and 2021-21 financial years.
Almost $50 million was budgeted for 2017-18, but the council’s third budget review, which will be discussed at chambers on Tuesday will reveal costs being rolled over.
The budget review, seen by Fairfax Media, showed $20.7 million transferred to the 2019-20 financial year.
Cr Quirk said the money had not been spent because the council was yet to secure two parcels of state government-owned land that was crucial for the project.
“That’s the money we need to get those two pieces of land, the most expensive of those is at South Brisbane and so I’ve again written to the Premier recently about that,” he said.
Opposition transport spokesman Jared Cassidy said the Quirk administration was taking the federal government for a ride.
“They have stitched up a deal to get $300 million in federal money for a project that doesn’t even have buses, nor a design for buses,” Cr Cassidy said.
“Council's own capital contribution to this project has been delayed by two years now which clearly shows the project is either totally off track or this administration can't find the money.
“Graham Quirk's metro has been a shambles since it was thought up on one weekend in January 2016 in a panicked response to Labor's plan for modern light rail in Brisbane.”
Cr Quirk said, despite receiving the needed one-third of extra funding from the federal government, he would not rule out additional money coming from the state government.
“We’re always hopeful,” he said.
“Particularly say in the case of the land. If they won't gift us the land we will sit down and negotiate.
“We also believe that it was fair and reasonable that other levels of government should share in the cost.”
Cr Quirk said now the $300 million commitment had been made the council hoped to go to tender for some of the work in the early second half of this year.
“There’s nothing to stop us now ... we’re pretty keen to get on with this,” he said.
RACQ spokesman Paul Turner welcomed the federal funding.
“Transport infrastructure and public transport spending has been lacking in Queensland in recent years so it’s good to see we’re getting our fair share,” he said.
