2016–17 Activity Statement—Infrastructure

Queensland’s infrastructure includes our energy, transport, communications and water assets, as well as our schools, hospitals and healthcare facilities. Queenslanders’ vision for infrastructure is that all Queenslanders will have access to the services they need through world-class infrastructure. Our infrastructure will drive economic growth and be a key enabler in the digital economy.

Infrastructure and services need to encompass the significant distances that separate our regional communities. Our seasonal weather sees flooding isolate entire communities, causes extreme heat damage to our roads and increases demand on our power generators. Population growth and lifestyle changes will continue to increase demand for infrastructure and services.

In 2016–17, the Queensland Government:

Creating jobs and a diverse economy

• delivered the Building our Regions Program, committing $225 million to support 174 projects, and attracting a further $353.5 million in investment from local governments and other organisations
• completed the construction of GC2018 competition venues, including the development of three new venues—Carrara Precinct, Coomera Indoor Sports Stadium and the Queensland State Velodrome at Chandler—and major upgrades to a further seven venues
• progressed the Stage 2, Market-Led Proposal to build a $100m Brisbane International Cruise terminal facility at Luggage Point, potentially adding as much as $1 billion to Queensland’s economy over the next 2 decades
• reached contract close on Transurban Queensland’s $512 million Market-Led Proposal for the Logan Motorway Enhancement Project, supporting an estimated 1300 jobs during the construction period
• engaged Australian Unity as the master developer for the $1.1 billion Herston Quarter project, which will support over 700 full-time equivalent jobs annually during construction
• committed $140 million and secured $100 million in federal funding for the $250 million North Queensland Stadium, and commenced work on design and delivery of the stadium
• invested $1.417 billion on essential upgrades to health facilities and supporting infrastructure across Queensland, providing up to 1,500 jobs across the state—significant projects under delivery include: Aurukun Primary Health Care Centre redevelopment, Caboolture ED, Cairns Base Hospital redevelopment, Rockhampton Hospital Expansion, and Townsville General Hospital expansion
• delivered more than $56 million for replacement of health technology equipment as part of the Health Technology Equipment Replacement program and facilitated the sale of more than 900 items of health technology equipment raising more than $645,000
• replaced the Collinsville Ambulance Station, and constructed the new Rainbow Beach and Yandina ambulance stations
• acquired and redeveloped the Emergency and Fleet Management Precinct, including the Geebung Ambulance Station
• approved funding through Get Playing Places and Spaces, to support development or improvement of sport and active recreation infrastructure projects across Queensland
• continued the development of the Parkland site at Southport which will be home to GC2018 Athlete’s village
• released Building Information Modelling – draft policy and principles for Queensland for public consultation, to advance digital management processes for infrastructure assets to drive efficiency and deliver value for money, productivity, innovation and safety
• commenced the review for the 2017 State Infrastructure Plan Part B Program update, to continue managing Queensland’s growth
• established the Community Infrastructure Reference Group in May 2017, with an initial focus on understanding community attitudes to infrastructure, and research into social return on investment
• established the Infrastructure Innovation Taskforce in June 2017, to examine and report back to government on matters associated infrastructure planning, delivery and utilisation
• established monthly whole-of-government capital reporting to increase transparency and track program delivery
• progressed projects across regional Queensland under the Priority Economic Works Projects Program and Significant Regional Infrastructure Projects Program
• progressively implemented the Maturing the Infrastructure Pipeline Program, identifying projects through the consultation phase of the State Infrastructure Plan and local government infrastructure priorities
• made infrastructure decisions informed by the advice of Government’s independent infrastructure advisory body Building Queensland, including funding commitments for procurement or delivery of 6 projects identified on Building Queensland’s December 2016 and June 2017 Infrastructure Pipeline
• received a preliminary business case for Nullinga Dam and detailed business cases for the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail Upgrade and the Smithfield Transport Corridor Upgrade, led by Building Queensland
• approved 21 borrowing applications for local governments in 2016–17, totalling $786 million, to support local government investment in capital needs
• delivered the $20 million Betterment Fund, supporting local governments impacted by Tropical Cyclone Marcia, to design and build back to a more disaster-resilient standard
• approved $70.1 million in funding under the Catalyst Infrastructure Programs for 6 projects which will deliver a range of infrastructure projects to catalyse development in Townsville, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Bromelton
• launched the Density and Diversity Done Well open ideas competition—a joint initiative of the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and the Urban Development Institute of Australia Queensland, with support from the Australian Institute of Architects, Planning Institute of Australia, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and Urban Design Alliance Queensland, which seeks to demonstrate that housing choice and higher densities does not always mean high rise development
• submitted high priority transport and road infrastructure initiatives to the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia for assessment and funding consideration
• established the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority to lead the development, procurement and delivery of a project which will remove a bottleneck at the core of our rail network and enable a ‘turn-up-and-go’ transport system that benefits the whole of South East Queensland
• continued a collaborative partnership with the Council of Mayors South East Queensland and the Property Council of Australia to investigate how a City Deal model approach to prioritising, programming and funding infrastructure can be applied to the South East Queensland region
• worked with the Federal Government under the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund to:
• establish agreements and project planning processes for 14 water supply feasibility studies
• implement an upfront funding mechanism for feasibility studies, allowing the Queensland Government to advance funding to enable studies to commence
• manage the reporting of progress of feasibility studies to the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and claiming of funding due for those studies
• make 3 applications for funding of water supply infrastructure projects
• completed a business case to consider a new Lyric-style performing arts venue for Brisbane
• commenced the $2.25 million Cremorne Theatre refurbishment including redesign of stage and seating.

Delivering quality frontline services

• recommissioned the third stage of the Borallon Training and Correctional Centre, which has a strong focus on education, training and employment skills as part of the rehabilitation process
• relocated the Southport Probation and Parole District Office to support the significant growth in offender numbers in the region
• commenced planning for the expansion of Capricornia Correctional Centre
• released Connecting Brisbane, in conjunction with the Brisbane City Council, on 6 June 2017—a roadmap for the future of Brisbane’s public transport system and Brisbane's transformation into a vibrant world city with a modern, high-frequency mass transit system
• implemented personalised transport reforms with the taxi industry to provide greater choice for passengers, while ensuring safety, accessibility, affordability and accountability for everyone in the industry
• mitigated the impacts to public transport from serious weather events
• delivered a $180 million capital program to fund the upgrade or replacement of properties, facilities, vehicles, vessels, aircraft and information and communications systems and equipment to improve public safety service delivery
• completed the rollout of the Government Wireless Network across South East Queensland to maximise emergency response capabilities and improve radio communications for police, fire and ambulance services
• commenced development of QldSmartFreight, a journey planner and congestion management application for the freight industry and business for South East Queensland during GC2018
• opened 4 new primary schools at Cairns, Redbank Plains, Caboolture and Bellbird Park, and delivered 4 major school stages for the commencement of the 2017 school year at Burpengary, Pimpama and Highfields
• established the new Inala Early Years Service in 2016–17 to provide support to families with young children including a long day care, family and parenting support programs and a visiting child health nurse
• committed $13.67 million to Round 2 of the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, leveraging funding for a further 76 new or upgraded mobile towers by the end of 2018 to improve mobile coverage for businesses and communities
• 280,000 Queenslanders now have a re-usable Queensland digital ID that lets them easily access a range of services online—avoiding repeat trips to government counters with their proof of ID documents
• delivered the first personalised dashboard for Queenslanders that brings together the information, services and services they need—personalised to them and linked to their digital ID
• completed and registered all 19 roads in mainland Indigenous communities, and 12 of 15 Torres Strait Island communities
• negotiated 17 Social Housing Indigenous Land Use Agreements in 2016–17 in the Torres Strait, securing 140 lots since the start of the program
• made 1,022 serviced lots available for housing in Indigenous communities.

Protecting the environment

• continued implementing the Sustainable Ports Development Act 2015, delivering key Reef 2050 Plan actions (master plans for the priority ports of Gladstone, Abbot Point, Townsville and Hay Point/Mackay).

Building safe, caring, and connected communities

• continued to provide 13 free public Wi-Fi hotspots in national parks and forests
• continued to strengthen engagement with national park customers through Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
• established the Non-Conforming Building Products Taskforce to identify, investigate and coordinate risk mitigation strategies for owners and occupiers of buildings identified with products such as combustible façade cladding
• enabled infrastructure development through the delivery of 14 planning schemes and 2 Township Indigenous Land Use Agreements for Pormpuraaw and Mapoon
• reconstructed the Mornington Island Runway, restoring a vital lifeline for the remote community after the airstrip was damaged during the Christmas 2015–16 wet season—the 1.6 km airstrip was reconstructed in 38 days, enabling flights to resume before Christmas 2016
• worked with the Maranoa Regional Council, delivering a number of infrastructure projects and developing the project management and supervisory capability of the local government workforce.

Read more about the Plan’s goals, targets and measures for infrastructure.