[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":422},["ShallowReactive",2],{"active-categories":3,"blowouts":28,"story-\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion":83,"related-\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion":377,"surround-\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion":411},[4,6,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27],{"category":5},"follow-the-money",{"category":7},"cost-of-living",{"category":9},"government-waste",{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":5},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":5},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},[29,39,49,58,66,75],{"path":30,"title":31,"category":9,"date":32,"blowout":33},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on","One year on: the BOM website that cost $96.5 million, not $4 million","2026-10-24",{"project":34,"originalCost":35,"currentCost":36,"announced":37,"note":38},"BOM website",4100000,96500000,"2025","$4.1m was the figure first given to the public.",{"path":40,"title":41,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":43},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion","Cross River Rail was sold as a $5.4 billion project. The government now says it costs $19 billion","2026-10-25",{"project":44,"originalCost":45,"currentCost":46,"announced":47,"note":48},"Cross River Rail",5400000000,19041000000,"2017","Queensland Government figure (Oct 2025). It includes 25 years of tunnel maintenance and network works; Labor disputes counting them.",{"path":50,"title":51,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":52},"\u002Fstories\u002Fhunter-class-frigates-27-billion-three-ships","Hunter-class frigates: sold as nine warships for $35 billion. We're now paying $27 billion for three",{"project":53,"originalCost":54,"currentCost":55,"announced":56,"note":57},"Hunter-class frigates",35000000000,45600000000,"2018","2020 Force Structure Plan estimate for nine ships. The program is now six ships; close to $27bn is allocated for the first three, including the Osborne shipyard.",{"path":59,"title":60,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":61},"\u002Fstories\u002Finland-rail-cost-blowout-45-billion-parkes","Inland Rail was sold as a $10.7 billion project. It now costs $45.6 billion, and stops at Parkes",{"project":62,"originalCost":63,"currentCost":55,"announced":64,"note":65},"Inland Rail",10660000000,"2015","Both P90 estimates for the full Melbourne to Brisbane line. Only Beveridge to Parkes is now being built.",{"path":67,"title":68,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":69},"\u002Fstories\u002Fnorth-east-link-cost-blowout-26-billion","North East Link was sold as a $10 billion road. It now costs $26 billion",{"project":70,"originalCost":71,"currentCost":72,"announced":73,"note":74},"North East Link",10000000000,26100000000,"2016","Victoria's December 2023 estimate. Includes the Eastern Freeway and M80 upgrades added since.",{"path":76,"title":77,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":78},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsnowy-2-0-cost-blowout-25-billion","Snowy 2.0 was sold as a $2 billion project. It could now cost $25 billion",{"project":79,"originalCost":80,"currentCost":81,"announced":47,"note":82},"Snowy 2.0",2000000000,22200000000,"Target cost. Up to $25bn with contingency; transmission not included.",{"id":84,"title":41,"author":85,"bigNumber":86,"bigNumberLabel":87,"blowout":88,"body":89,"category":9,"date":42,"description":337,"draft":338,"extension":339,"featured":338,"focusKeywords":340,"image":341,"imageAlt":342,"meta":343,"navigation":344,"path":40,"people":345,"readingTime":346,"refresh":347,"seo":348,"shareImage":347,"sources":349,"stem":368,"tags":369,"updated":347,"__hash__":376},"stories\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion.md","Aussie Outrage","3.5x","Cross River Rail's cost now, on the Queensland Government's count, compared with the $5.4bn first promised",{"project":44,"originalCost":45,"currentCost":46,"announced":47,"note":48},{"type":90,"value":91,"toc":327},"minimark",[92,101,112,115,121,126,136,214,218,221,246,253,256,259,263,269,275,281,285,288,292,295,298,308],[93,94,95,96,100],"p",{},"Cross River Rail is Brisbane's second river crossing for trains: a 10.2-kilometre line with 5.9 kilometres of twin tunnels under the CBD and the Brisbane River, and four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street. The former Labor government promised it would be finished for ",[97,98,99],"strong",{},"$5.4 billion"," by 2024.",[93,102,103,104,107,108,111],{},"In October 2025, the Crisafulli government put the \"final cost\" at ",[97,105,106],{},"$19.041 billion",", after 11 months of negotiations with the contractors. First passenger trains are now expected in ",[97,109,110],{},"2029",".",[93,113,114],{},"Labor says that number counts things no government has ever counted as the cost of building a railway. Both sides agree it's a lot more than $5.4 billion.",[116,117],"big-stat",{"label":118,"source":119,"value":120},"Cross River Rail's cost on the Queensland Government's count, against the $5.4bn first promised","Queensland Government, October 2025","$19bn",[122,123,125],"h2",{"id":124},"the-price-tag-year-by-year","The price tag, year by year",[127,128],"line-chart",{":data":129,"note":130,"prefix":131,"source":132,"subtitle":133,"suffix":134,"title":135},"[{\"x\":\"2017-06\",\"y\":5.4,\"label\":\"Promised: $5.4bn\",\"position\":\"right\"},{\"x\":\"2022-06\",\"y\":6.3,\"note\":\"$960m increase announced by Labor\"},{\"x\":\"2024-12\",\"y\":17,\"label\":\"LNP review: $17bn+\"},{\"x\":\"2025-10\",\"y\":19.041,\"label\":\"Now: $19.04bn\",\"note\":\"After contract renegotiations\"}]","Under Labor (to 2024), the cost counted the build. The LNP government's figures from December 2024 also include 25 years of tunnel maintenance, network integration and new signalling. Labor disputes counting them.","$","Queensland Government statements (Dec 2024, Oct 2025); Railway Journal (2022)","Official cost estimates, billions of dollars","bn","Cross River Rail's price tag, estimate by estimate",[137,138,139,158],"table",{},[140,141,142],"thead",{},[143,144,145,149,152,155],"tr",{},[146,147,148],"th",{},"When",[146,150,151],{},"Estimated cost",[146,153,154],{},"First trains",[146,156,157],{},"Who said",[159,160,161,176,189,202],"tbody",{},[143,162,163,167,170,173],{},[164,165,166],"td",{},"Labor's original budget",[164,168,169],{},"$5.4bn",[164,171,172],{},"2024 (completion)",[164,174,175],{},"Labor government",[143,177,178,181,184,187],{},[164,179,180],{},"2022",[164,182,183],{},"$6.3bn (+$960m)",[164,185,186],{},"Early 2026",[164,188,175],{},[143,190,191,194,197,199],{},[164,192,193],{},"December 2024",[164,195,196],{},"More than $17bn",[164,198,110],{},[164,200,201],{},"LNP government",[143,203,204,207,210,212],{},[164,205,206],{},"October 2025",[164,208,209],{},"$19.041bn",[164,211,110],{},[164,213,201],{},[122,215,217],{"id":216},"whats-in-the-19-billion","What's in the $19 billion?",[93,219,220],{},"This is the fight at the centre of the story. When the LNP government first revealed its figure in December 2024, it broke it down roughly like this:",[222,223,224,234,240],"ul",{},[225,226,227,230,231],"li",{},[97,228,229],{},"More than $10.5 billion"," to build the tunnel and stations, including private financing payments and ",[97,232,233],{},"25 years of maintenance",[225,235,236,239],{},[97,237,238],{},"About $5 billion"," for integrating the line into the network, a new signalling system and temporary rail replacement buses, which the government says Labor \"chose to hide\" by spreading it across other budget lines",[225,241,242,245],{},[97,243,244],{},"About $1.5 billion"," for running late and contractor claims",[93,247,248,249,252],{},"The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority now says ",[97,250,251],{},"$12.4 billion"," of the total is for the design, construction and maintenance of the twin tunnels and underground stations, and the rest covers works such as new and rebuilt surface stations, stabling yards and the European Train Control System signalling.",[93,254,255],{},"Former transport minister Bart Mellish says no government, business or person has included the cost of maintenance for the life of an asset when working out what it cost to build. In December 2024, shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman called it \"a world-first, very creative accounting measure\".",[93,257,258],{},"Even taking Labor's side of the argument, the line was already late and over budget on Labor's own figures by 2022, and the extra integration and signalling work still has to be paid for by someone.",[122,260,262],{"id":261},"what-went-wrong","What went wrong",[93,264,265,268],{},[97,266,267],{},"Delays that pushed the opening back five years."," Labor's 2022 update had first trains in early 2026, three months later than planned. The LNP government's review pushed that to 2029.",[93,270,271,274],{},[97,272,273],{},"Industrial disputes."," The government says more than 140 days were lost to protected industrial action, with knock-on effects from unprotected action, which it blames on the CFMEU.",[93,276,277,280],{},[97,278,279],{},"COVID-19, floods and supply chains."," When he announced the 2022 increase, then transport minister Mark Bailey blamed the pandemic, La Niña, the war in Ukraine and supply chain disruption, and said a 17 per cent increase was a lot lower than other megaprojects in the country.",[122,282,284],{"id":283},"what-youre-getting-for-it","What you're getting for it",[93,286,287],{},"The authority says journeys will be quicker, with new stations closer to where people want to go, and that the line will add room for more trains as south-east Queensland grows. Beyond the four underground stations, the project includes a new Exhibition station, seven rebuilt suburban stations between Dutton Park and Salisbury, and three new Gold Coast line stations at Pimpama, Merrimac and Hope Island. The government says it is part of a wider rail program to support south-east Queensland's growth \"in 2032 and beyond\", the year Brisbane hosts the Olympics.",[122,289,291],{"id":290},"whos-to-blame","Who's to blame?",[93,293,294],{},"Labor promised the line, set the $5.4 billion budget, and was in charge for most of the build until the October 2024 election. The LNP government blames Labor's \"mismanagement\" and the CFMEU. Labor says the LNP inflated the number to make it look worse.",[93,296,297],{},"Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg says the new contracts include performance-based payments: \"We've put contractors on notice. There are now clear expectations and consequences.\"",[93,299,300,303,304,307],{},[97,301,302],{},"Your share:"," the jump from $5.4 billion to $19.04 billion works out to about ",[97,305,306],{},"$2,400 for every Queenslander"," (on a population of about 5.6 million). On Labor's way of counting, it would be less, but no one has published that number.",[93,309,310],{},[311,312,313,314,321,322,111],"em",{},"Top photo: the Roma Street construction site for Cross River Rail, Brisbane, April 2021. Photo: Chris Olszewski, ",[315,316,320],"a",{"href":317,"rel":318},"https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby-sa\u002F4.0",[319],"nofollow","CC BY-SA 4.0",", via ",[315,323,326],{"href":324,"rel":325},"https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFile:Construction_site_of_new_underground_Roma_Street_railway_station_for_Cross_River_Rail,_April_2021_in_Brisbane,_01.jpg",[319],"Wikimedia Commons",{"title":328,"searchDepth":329,"depth":330,"links":331},"",2,3,[332,333,334,335,336],{"id":124,"depth":329,"text":125},{"id":216,"depth":329,"text":217},{"id":261,"depth":329,"text":262},{"id":283,"depth":329,"text":284},{"id":290,"depth":329,"text":291},"Brisbane's Cross River Rail was promised for $5.4bn by 2024. The Queensland Government now puts it at $19.04bn, with first trains in 2029. Labor says the books were cooked.",false,"md",[],"\u002Fimages\u002Fcross-river-rail-roma-street-site.jpg","A large grey Cross River Rail construction shed at the Roma Street station site in Brisbane",{},true,[],5,null,{"title":41,"description":337},[350,353,356,359,362,365],{"title":351,"url":352},"Queensland Government: Labor's Cross River Rail blowouts costs Queenslanders $19 billion (Minister Brent Mickelberg, 16 Oct 2025)","https:\u002F\u002Fstatements.qld.gov.au\u002Fstatements\u002F103713",{"title":354,"url":355},"Cross River Rail Delivery Authority: Frequently asked questions","https:\u002F\u002Fcrossriverrail.qld.gov.au\u002Fabout\u002Ffrequently-asked-questions\u002F",{"title":357,"url":358},"Queensland Government: Cross River Rail statement (Minister Brent Mickelberg, 11 Dec 2024)","https:\u002F\u002Fstatements.qld.gov.au\u002Fstatements\u002F101708",{"title":360,"url":361},"InDaily (AAP): Rail project blowout sparks a 'cooking the books' claim (11 Dec 2024)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.indailyqld.com.au\u002Fnews\u002Fjust-in\u002F2024\u002F12\u002F11\u002Frail-project-blowout-sparks-a-cooking-the-books-claim",{"title":363,"url":364},"Railway Journal: Cost of Brisbane Cross River Rail soars by A$960m (2022)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.railjournal.com\u002Finfrastructure\u002Fcost-of-brisbane-cross-river-rail-soars-by-a-960m\u002F",{"title":366,"url":367},"Queensland Parliament: Bart Mellish, speech of 12 Dec 2024","https:\u002F\u002Fdocuments.parliament.qld.gov.au\u002Fspeeches\u002Fspk2024\u002FBart_Mellish-Aspley-20241212-698171472541.pdf","stories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion",[370,371,372,373,374,375],"cross-river-rail","queensland","brisbane","rail","tunnels","blowouts","Ni0N2g25Ykocq0_Vg3xM2gRLJHJjPvnmtkTh6oXO6yc",[378,386,395,403],{"path":379,"title":380,"description":381,"date":382,"category":9,"author":85,"image":347,"imageAlt":347,"bigNumber":383,"bigNumberLabel":384,"readingTime":385,"featured":338},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsuburban-rail-loop-cost-96-billion","Suburban Rail Loop cost: $50bn promised, $96.4bn forecast","How much will the Suburban Rail Loop cost? $33.3bn for stage one, says the government, but the Auditor-General says it could top $36bn. Two stages: $96.4bn.","2026-11-01","$96.4bn","What Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in 2024 it would cost to build two sections of the loop. All of it was promised for $50bn.",12,{"path":387,"title":388,"description":389,"date":390,"category":9,"author":85,"image":391,"imageAlt":392,"bigNumber":393,"bigNumberLabel":394,"readingTime":329,"featured":338},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbig-build-office-pot-plants-1-6-million","$1.6 million on pot plants for Big Build offices","Rail Projects Victoria spent an estimated $1.64 million on plant hire and maintenance, and the Suburban Rail Loop Authority almost $200,000 more, according to the state opposition.","2026-10-26","\u002Fimages\u002Foffice-plants-desk.jpg","Small potted succulents on a timber office desk","$1.6m","Estimated spend on plant hire and maintenance at Rail Projects Victoria",{"path":396,"title":397,"description":398,"date":390,"category":9,"author":85,"image":399,"imageAlt":400,"bigNumber":401,"bigNumberLabel":402,"readingTime":329,"featured":338},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcommonwealth-games-cancelled-589-million","$589 million to host nothing: what cancelling the Commonwealth Games cost Victoria","Victoria pulled out of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to save money. The Auditor-General found walking away cost $589 million with no discernible benefit, and the $6.9 billion figure used to justify it was overstated.","\u002Fimages\u002Feureka-stadium-ballarat.jpg","An aerial view of Eureka Stadium in Ballarat, with a blue athletics track behind it","$589m","What Victoria paid to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games",{"path":404,"title":405,"description":406,"date":390,"category":9,"author":85,"image":407,"imageAlt":408,"bigNumber":409,"bigNumberLabel":410,"readingTime":329,"featured":338},"\u002Fstories\u002Fmachete-ban-13-million-bins","The $13 million machete ban: what the money actually pays for","Victoria set aside $13 million for its machete ban and amnesty bins. The bins cost about $2,400 each. The government still hasn't said where the rest of the money goes.","\u002Fimages\u002Fmachete-amnesty-bin-echuca.jpg","A navy steel bin labelled Machete Amnesty Safe Disposal Bin outside Echuca police station","$13m","Budgeted for Victoria's machete ban, including about 45 disposal bins",[412,417],{"title":413,"path":414,"stem":415,"description":416,"children":-1},"The $15 billion question: what corruption on Victoria's Big Build may have cost you","\u002Fstories\u002Fbig-build-cfmeu-15-billion-corruption-estimate","stories\u002Fbig-build-cfmeu-15-billion-corruption-estimate","A senior barrister estimates criminal infiltration of the CFMEU added about $15 billion to Victoria's Big Build. The government disputes it. A premier has resigned, a royal commission is under way, and Victorians vote on 28 November.",{"title":418,"path":419,"stem":420,"description":421,"children":-1},"Three-quarters of east coast gas is shipped overseas. Australians pay export prices for the rest","\u002Fstories\u002Feast-coast-gas-exported-australians-pay-more","stories\u002Feast-coast-gas-exported-australians-pay-more","Before the Gladstone LNG plants opened, east coast gas cost about $4 a gigajoule. Now it's around $14, and the regulator is warning of shortfalls. Follow the gas, and the money.",1793586230217]