Infrastructure Investment

Ensuring a prosperous future for Queensland will require immense investment, particularly in the State’s infrastructure. This type of large scale funding will need to be secured either from government or  from the private sector.

Brisbane's Proposed Cross River Rail Project Click image to zoom

In practice, it is likely that some of the investment from government could be undertaken in partnership with the private sector. Most of the private sector portion of any finance will be sourced from public capital raisings and superannuation funds (government, industry or DIY funds). This will be channeled through investment structures such as companies, limited partnerships, incorporated limited partnerships or public unit trusts.

ELRI, as a research body, is tasked with finding the following answers:
  1. Which frameworks are currently used in Queensland for investment, especially in infrastructure?
  2. Which Commonwealth and State laws (including State taxation laws) apply in Queensland to those frameworks, particularly public unit trusts?
  3. Are the laws which apply to public unit trusts inhibiting the efficient investment of funds, especially in infrastructure?
  4. If so, what changes should be made to those laws?
  5. How would any adjustments to those laws affect the revenue base of the State?
  6. If the revenue consequences are significant, what changes should be made to State taxation laws to make up for any loss?

ELRI’s  research may need to be be narrower and to concentrate on public unit trusts in the first instance.

In this case ELRI’s questions could be:
  1. What public unit trust structures are currently used in Queensland for infrastructure investment?
  2. What Commonwealth and State laws (including State taxation laws) apply in Queensland to those structures?
  3. Are those laws (including State taxation laws) inhibiting the efficient investment of funds, particularly in infrastructure?
  4. If so, what changes to those laws should be made?
  5. What would be the consequences of any changes to the revenue base of the State?
  6. If those consequences are significant, what changes should be made to State taxation laws to make up the shortfall?