“Say no more than the Cross River Rail project,” leader Robbie Katter said.
He said building infrastructure that everyone gets some benefit out of “means spending money in north Queensland, spending money in the regions, and that’s not happening”.
“The only money you see being spent up there is cash being thrown around for short-term stimulus to try and keep everyone happy, but that’s not a mature way to run an economy.”
Treasurer Cameron Dick said it was the “ongoing position” of the Palaszczuk government to direct the majority of the capital spend outside Greater Brisbane.
“We recognise the vital role our regions will play in Queensland’s future prosperity, and we will continue to invest in them in this most decentralised state in the country,” he said.
LNP leader David Crisafulli would not weigh in on whether the regions deserved more cash than Brisbane.
“I’m not going to divide the state, and I’m not going to cherry-pick one area and say, ‘look at that’ and ignore another area,” he said. “That’s not my style.
“But Queensland, as a whole, can feel shortchanged by this [budget],” he added. “There is no generational infrastructure that’s being built, [just] a lot of borrowings.”
Cross River Rail in Brisbane, M1 Pacific Motorway upgrades, Bruce Highway upgrades, youth justice reforms, Port of Townsville channel capacity upgrades, the Smithfield Bypass, Rockwood Weir, a new performing arts venue at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, and refurbishment of Cairns Convention Centre are among the big projects listed in the 2020-21 budget’s capital statement.
