# A proposal to fund ambitious new public transit projects **URL:** \ **Category:** Greater Brisbane\ **Tags:** buses, brt, infrastructure, discussion\ **Created:** [2 November 2026 07:01 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804 "2026-11-02T07:01:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:01 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/1 "2026-11-02T07:01:21Z")
At no expense to the taxpayer, the Queensland government should seriously consider releasing up to $50 billion worth of capital. This would involve completely selling off both the state electricity grid (which could return as much as $35 Billion) and SEQ water (which could return an additional $15 Billion). This $50 billion could then be used to both finish the Eastern and Northern busways (metro expansions) as well as upgrades to the Cleveland line and the delivery of heavy rail expansion to Maroochydore, Ripley/Yamanto, Browns Plains and the Southern Gold Coast, with enough money to spare for regional transport upgrades as well. Selling off existing assets can release previously locked capital to fund more infrastructure and state investments that can be beneficial for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/cygnus/32/513_2.png) [@Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Cygnus)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:12 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/2 "2026-11-02T07:12:30Z")
Selling off existing assets almost always results in higher costs to the consumer. England is suffering right now from having privatised its water supply, because everyone’s water bills keep going up to ensure the shareholders enjoy large profits. Basic utility infrastructure should remain in public hands. ---
**Author:** ![nathandavid88](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/nathandavid88/32/1258_2.png) [@nathandavid88](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/nathandavid88)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:16 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/4 "2026-11-02T07:16:44Z")
Anna Bligh took this idea to the 2012 State Election… And that’s how we ended up with Campbell Newman. ---
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:17 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/5 "2026-11-02T07:17:13Z")
Yeah but firstly, I disagree. I believe it’s still more benefitial to the taxpayer. Secondly, it makes government debt more manageable. Although the bulk of it would go to fund infrastructure projects, a portion will also go towards paying off some gov debt. And as for the consequences of selling off such assets, well that’s a future problem for a generation of taxpayers that haven’t been born yet, to deal with in several decades time. ---
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:18 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/6 "2026-11-02T07:18:07Z")
That was over 15 years ago. Very different political climate today. ---
**Author:** ![nathandavid88](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/nathandavid88/32/1258_2.png) [@nathandavid88](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/nathandavid88)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:20 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/7 "2026-11-02T07:20:29Z")
I think you will find that the public opposition to selling off public utilities would be much, MUCH stronger today than it was back then. ---
**Author:** ![Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/cygnus/32/513_2.png) [@Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Cygnus)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:33 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/8 "2026-11-02T07:33:08Z")
You’re suggesting we impose a big cost on future generations, who will already be having to deal with an aging population and the effects of climate change. I don’t think we can just handwave that away. It’s an important consideration if the long term consequences outweigh the short term benefits. ---
**Author:** ![tazzer9](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tazzer9](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/tazzer9)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 07:33 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/9 "2026-11-02T07:33:35Z")
Just remember you can only sell off so many things before you end up with nothing. And then you have no get out of jail free card ---
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 08:45 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/10 "2026-11-02T08:45:23Z")
Mate, future generations probably won’t even afford to live here anyways due to high house prices etc. Many of them might end up leaving the state anyways. ---
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 08:46 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/11 "2026-11-02T08:46:25Z")
That’s why a portion of the excess will be reinvested into the S&P 500. Because that always brings in a lot of economic growth in the long run ---
**Author:** ![tazzer9](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@tazzer9](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/tazzer9)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 10:03 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/12 "2026-11-02T10:03:31Z")
Can we vote to privatise the local road network first? BCC spent 110 million just on road resurfacing, no other maintenance, no upgrades, just churning up asphalt and putting it back down again. Think about how much money the rate payers of brisbane will save by having a far more efficently run private road network. And with the savings the council can put the money int the stock market. ---
**Author:** ![Mitchell\_Sam](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/mitchell_sam/32/1456_2.png) [@Mitchell\_Sam](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Mitchell_Sam)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 10:04 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/13 "2026-11-02T10:04:25Z")
Others in this thread have already correctly explained how bad privatisation is so I won’t double down. An alternative to this (albeit it would generate less revenue) could be if possible to direct the Queensland Investment Corporation to invest in Rail + Property developments like the state-owned MTR Corporation does in Hong Kong. For example, QIC fills in funding for an extension to a railway line and gets the surrounding land to develop higher density housing and commercial precincts. ---
**Author:** ![MossPickle](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@MossPickle](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/MossPickle)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 10:09 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/14 "2026-11-02T10:09:16Z")
Then OCR would become a toll road probably 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Metro](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/metro/32/237_2.png) [@Metro](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Metro)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 21:05 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/15 "2026-11-02T21:05:48Z")
> [@yourbro21](#): > > At no expense to the taxpayer, the Queensland government should seriously consider releasing up to $50 billion worth of capital. This would involve completely selling off both the state electricity grid (which could return as much as $35 Billion) and SEQ water (which could return an additional $15 Billion). This $50 billion could then be used to both finish the Eastern and Northern busways (metro expansions) as well as upgrades to the Cleveland line and the delivery of heavy rail expansion to Maroochydore, Ripley/Yamanto, Browns Plains and the Southern Gold Coast, with enough money to spare for regional transport upgrades as well. > > Selling off existing assets can release previously locked capital to fund more infrastructure and state investments that can be beneficial for everyone. This is precisely the mechanism that the NSW Government used to fund the metro expansion. You also don’t need to sell the asset, it can also be leased or fractionally sold, for example, selling 49% in a utility but retaining a controlling stake of 51%. The ACT has done this. In the end, utility prices are often regulated, and so it is more about releasing equity and bringing the financial payout forward than getting payouts spread over a long period of time. On the other hand, you can also borrow against the asset, provided that bond markets see your government as low-risk. For Queensland, and most of the Eastern states, the key problem is the escalating unit cost of infrastructure. It has just become astronomically expensive to do even simple infrastructure projects. Sydney Metro, for example, cost around $1.2 billion/km. These rapidly escalating costs, combined with the culture of delivery in Queensland, that sees major projects go through a long cycle of announcement, delay, scrapping, resurrection, renaming, review, is not consistent with low cost and fast delivery. The other point, which others have mentioned, is that Queensland does not capitalise on land around train stations etc. It just lets them sit there as industrial or low density use. There has been no real effort to TOD like NSW or VIC, and even WA are currently doing. ---
**Author:** ![sherooda](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ba8739/32.png) [@sherooda](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/sherooda)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 21:15 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/16 "2026-11-02T21:15:33Z")
So you’re essentially saying that public transportation should be the only thing subsidised by the government and everything else needs to be privatised for funds? Healthcare, water infra, education, etc. to be for the private sector to take over? ---
**Author:** ![GonzoFonzie](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@GonzoFonzie](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/GonzoFonzie)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 23:14 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/17 "2026-11-02T23:14:57Z")
You will own nothing, and you will be happy. ---
**Author:** ![Ty\_D](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/258eb7/32.png) [@Ty\_D](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Ty_D)\ **Post date:** [2 November 2026 23:21 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/18 "2026-11-02T23:21:26Z")
I mean no one is going to want 49% of Qlds electricity generation when it’s lumping the cost of keeping Callide running. That plant is on the verge of blowing up again and is a huge future lead balloon of cost. ACT did this because their grid was moving to renewables. Fine idea, wrong Government. ---
**Author:** ![yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/yourbro21/32/4018_2.png) [@yourbro21](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/yourbro21)\ **Post date:** [3 November 2026 02:35 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/19 "2026-11-03T02:35:39Z")
I don’t want to pay tolls though, I already pay enough for fuel ---
**Author:** ![Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/cygnus/32/513_2.png) [@Cygnus](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/Cygnus)\ **Post date:** [3 November 2026 02:54 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/20 "2026-11-03T02:54:48Z")
Been a while since I’ve such a self-centred attitude to serious societal problems. ---
**Author:** ![SurfRail](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/user_avatar/forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/surfrail/32/418_2.png) [@SurfRail](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/u/SurfRail)\ **Post date:** [3 November 2026 03:52 UTC](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804/21 "2026-11-03T03:52:42Z")
Public ownership of the power assets is a 2-edged sword at the moment. If it had been sold off the State wouldn’t have had as much play when it comes to transitioning the grid to renewables. On the other hand, that level of play is what the current government is using to delay the transition because… reasons. [Next page](https://forum.bettertransportqueensland.org/t/a-proposal-to-fund-ambitious-new-public-transit-projects/1804.md?page=2)