South East Queensland City Deal

On Monday, the 21st of March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced the South East Queensland City Deal. South East Queensland is one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia and the $1.8-billion deal outlines a 20-year pipeline of projects to help maintain the region’s liveability through investing in critical projects such as waste management and public transport. 

Governance 

The role of the Leadership Group will be to ensure that the agreed milestones are met and to resolve any issues that that remain unresolved at the Executive Board level.

The Executive Implementation Board will provide strategic oversight of the delivery and implementation of all City Deal initiatives and agree upon membership and terms of reference for Implementation Working Groups. 

Working Groups will co-design and discuss the implementation of agreed projects and commitments as well as provide technical and strategic advice to the Executive Board. The Industry Reference Group will be a forum for interested business, industry, research and community leaders and representatives to discuss and guide the implementation of the Deal. 

Timeline 

Deal Partners will publish an Implementation Plan by the end of 2022. The Implementation Plan will define how and when these commitments will be delivered and who will be responsible for its delivery. This Plan will be reviewed as required throughout the life of the Deal.

Progress reports will be released on an annual basis to track the progress of the Deal. The City Deal will be formally evaluated after three years to confirm commitments are delivered consistently with the objectives of the Deal.

​​To monitor the impact of the commitments delivered through the SEQ City Deal, parties will agree and publish key performance indicators and evaluation metrics. These metrics will consider the Deal’s impact on housing, jobs and skills, transport, connectivity and liveability.

Projects funded under the SEQ City Deal

The funding will be divided between all three levels of government, with an additional 75 million to come from industry. 

• The federal government will invest $667.77 million
• The state government will invest $618.78 million
• The Council of Mayors of South East Queensland will invest $501.62 million

Brisbane City Council ($644.2 million)

• $450 million: A new Woolloongabba Brisbane Metro station to make it a major interchange between the South East Busway and under-construction Cross River Rail.
• $190.2 million: Green Bridge to connect Kangaroo Point 
• $3 million: Business case into a centre dedicated to First Nations culture
• $1 million: Brisbane Metro South Bank transport study.

Logan City Council ($46 million)

• $45 million: Loganlea – Meadowbrook infrastructure.
• $1 million: Southern Gateway business case for a proposed transport corridor to connect Park Ridge, Flagstone and Yarrabilba. The connection would provide a direct link to the Logan and Gateway motorways.

Other Localised Projects across SEQ ($210 million)

• $40 million: Wellcamp Entertainment Precinct.
• $25 million: Toowoomba Railway Parklands.
• $40.5 million: Brisbane Valley Highway safety upgrades.
• $35.3 million: Blue Heart Sunshine Coast, to establish wetlands to provide flood management, include sediment reduction work, and provide protection for the Maroochy River catchment.
• $41 million: Dunwich Ferry Terminal upgrade.
• $13.3 million: Water initiatives in the Lockyer Valley.
• $10 million: Springfield Public Transport Corridor options analysis.
• $5 million: Bromelton State Development Area business case.

Region-Wide Commitments 

• SEQ Liveability Fund ($285 million)
  • Investment to improve  community facilities, urban amenities, environmental infrastructure and open spaces.
• SEQ Innovation Economy Fund ($150 million)
  •  Investment for capital projects that promote and grow SEQ’s innovation economy.
• Resource Recovery Infrastructure ($105 million)
  • Investment to develop a regionwide approach to managing waste infrastructure, to improve SEQ’s resource recovery and progress the region towards a circular economy. Partners will harmonise waste management practices and policy, and align procurement guidelines to improve markets for recovered material
• Local Digital Priority Projects ($40 million)
  • To develop partnerships between the private sector and local governments to address localised connectivity gaps, and provide greater and more reliability of service.
• Resilient Rivers Initiative ($40 million)
  • Investment in capital works to improve the health of the region’s rivers and waterways and address water quality.
• SEQ Rail Corridor Digital Connectivity ($30 million)
  • Funding to deliver improved digital connectivity on selected commuter rail corridors.
• Green Urban Infrastructure ($20 million)
  • Investment to address urban heat and to consider opportunities for green connectivity across SEQ
• Public Art Initiatives ($10 million)
  • Funding to enhance place-making and promote a more liveable SEQ through public art and architecture.
• Strategic Approach under EPBC Act ($10 million)
  •  Funding to protect critical habitats and species
• Planning for Future Region-Shaping Infrastructure ($5 million)
  • Funding to identify the infrastructure and land use planning needed to keep pace with projected population growth. 
• Regional Freight Movement Study ($2.1 million)
  • Funding to identify key priority freight corridors and priorities for infrastructure investment to enhance supply chain logistics.
• Open Level Crossing Prioritisation ($2 million)
  • Funding to identify short, medium and long term priorities to improve rail level-crossing infrastructure.
• Smart Region Digital Plan ($750,000)
  • Funding to identify the digital requirements to drive productivity and lift global competitiveness across SEQ. 
• Regional Waste Management Strategy ($500,000)
  • Funding to develop a regionwide approach to managing waste infrastructure, to improve SEQ’s resource recovery and progress the region towards a circular economy. 
• Road Safety Mapping ($110,000)
  •  Investment to enable local government to evaluate their road networks to identify opportunities for safety improvements
• Small Business Friendly Region (no figure given)
  • Identify small business regulations that can be streamlined and harmonised to reduce red tape for SMEs across the region.

For more information on the SEQ City Deal, visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/city-deals/SEQ or contact Hawker Britton’s Queensland Director Elliot Stein +61 431 744 115