Qld to lease ports, rail infrastructure to cut A$80bn debt
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland government on Wednesday announced plans to place some of its assets, including the ports of Gladstone and Townsville, and the Mt Isa rail line, up for hire in an effort to reduce its A$80-billion debt.
Premier Campbell Newman said that the Strong Choices plan to lease some government-owned assets would retain the state government’s stake in public assets, but would allow it to reduce its debt.
“We have had an in-depth discussion about these issues in the Cabinet and the party room today and we have agreed to a plan to reduce debt and build infrastructure that will potentially create up to 25 000 jobs,” the Premier said.
Treasurer Tim Nicholls said Queenslanders had made it clear they wanted the government to deal with the A$80-billion debt problem, but they also wanted the government to retain control over the assets.
“Leasing some assets is the strongest and smartest choice because it will generate the funds needed to bring the state’s debt back under control, while ensuring Queenslanders always retain ownership,” Nicholls said.
“Under our plan the government would write strict lease conditions to ensure Queenslanders’ interests were upheld.”
The leases would be for 50 years with an option to extend for a further 49 years and would include conditions around the appropriate use of the land and assets, safety requirements and service levels.
The plan was expected to yield A$37-billion.
In August, the Western Australian government took a similar tack, announcing that its port handling facilities had been targeted in the first round of asset sales to reduce the state’s debt levels and to regain its AAA credit rating.
Port handling facilities in Port Hedland and Kwinana would go on the chopping block, along with marketer and distributor Market City, in Canning Vale, and the assets were expected to generate between A$1-billion and A$2-billion.
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