Dr Jon Stanford comments on the announcement by the Treasurer, Curtis Pitt, that the government has no option but to occupy all floors of the bulding at No 1 William Street, to which the Newman Government committed the State, when it opens in 2016. He suggests that the development of a long-term capital works program does not need to be shaped by short-term political stunts. ‘Project Queensland’, he writes, is an inadequate vehicle for progressive decision making.
Dr Stanford also analyses the financial arrangements entered into over 1 William Street, and concludes:
It must be admitted that losing $118 million by not borrowing $653 million takes unusual and, hopefully, rare skills in finance and public administration.