(Photo: Stanwell)
June 3, 2014
The Tarong and Tarong North power stations and Meandu coal mine will be sold if the LNP State Government is re-elected.
No longer rumour or union speculation, it is official State Government policy as announced in today’s State Budget.
Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the electricity businesses of Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy, Ergon Energy’s retail’s arm, SunWater’s industrial pipeline business and “other non-core business functions such as a coal mine” would be sold.
The ports of Townsville and Gladstone and the Mt Isa rail line would be leased, and “private sector investment” would be invited into Powerlink, Energex and the remainder of Ergon Energy.
A government media release states: “None of the proposed transactions would take place until the government has secured a mandate for them at the next State election.”
Mr Nicholls said the transactions could “potentially deliver proceeds of $33.6 billion” .
He said three-quarters of this amount, $25 billion, would be used to pay down the State debt to $55 billion.
“The new debt level would mean Queensland’s annual interest bill would drop from $4 billion to $2.7 billion,” Mr Nicholls said.
“We proposed to then deposit the remaining quarter of the proceeds, about $8.6 billion, in the new Strong Choices Investment Program, a suite of new infrastructure funds designed to build more schools, hospitals, roads and other vital infrastructure during the next six years.”
Mr Nicholls said the Strong Choices Investment Program would include:
- Rural and Regional Roads Fund – $1.5 billion
- South East Queensland Roads Fund – $1.5 billion
- Public Transport Rail Infrastructure Fund – $1 billion
- Bus and Train Project – $1 billion
- Future Schools Fund – $1 billion
- Rural and Regional Economic Development Fund – $700 million
- Local Government Co-Investment Fund – $500 million
- Future Fund (Natural Disasters) – $500 million
- Entrepreneurial and Innovation Fund – $500 million
- Community Hospitals Fund – $300 million
- Cultural Infrastructure Fund – $100 million.
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