Greens to force Airtrain showdown with buyback bill

The Queensland Greens will attempt to force Brisbane’s Airtrain into public hands a decade early, through a private members bill to compulsorily acquire the privately operated rail line.Maiwar MP Michael Berkman said he would introduce the Airtrain Buy Back Bill to Parliament on Wednesday. Given the makeup of the Queensland parliament, however, it was highly unlikely to pass.“At this point it’s plain negligence to allow the Airtrain operators another 10 years charging ridiculous fares for a crappy service, especially if Brisbane’s hosting the Olympics in 2032,” he said.Greens MP Michael Berkman will introduce a private members’ bill, to bring Airtrain into public hands, this week.Cameron Atfield“Our bill links the compensation amount for the Airtrain buyback to the corporate owners’ own valuation.“It would cost just over $46 million – for reference, that’s about a fifth of the cost of a single road upgrade, or less than a quarter of the government’s handouts to the racing industry this year alone.”The move comes amid an escalating dispute between the Queensland government and Airtrain’s owners over the state’s 50¢ fare scheme and follows recent legal action by the company.Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg’s office declined to comment on proposed legislation it had not yet seen.When approached for comment, a spokesman referred this masthead to previous comments from Airtrain chief executive Chris Basche about the value of the asset.“The statutory balance sheet is backward-looking, based on historical cost amortised under applicable accounting standards,” he said in June.“It does not reflect the economic value of the Airtrain concession.”A Brisbane Airtrain service at Fortitude Valley station.Cameron AtfieldLabor opposition transport spokesman Bart Mellish said Premier David Crisafulli should live up to his June 2024 comments that he would be willing to negotiate an Airtrain buyback.“We’ve seen nothing since from this premier, whose modus operandi is to say one thing and do another,” he said.“Queenslanders were told there was a solution under the LNP, but all they’ve got is a lawsuit.”The Greens’ bill would require the government to implement legislation within three months to terminate the Brisbane Airport Rail Link Deed and transfer operations to Queensland Rail.Under the proposal, compensation would be limited to the company’s valuation of the service concession intangible asset, listed at $46.6 million in 2025-26. The bill would also require airport line fares to be capped at 50¢, in line with the state’s broader public transport fare policy.Berkman said the government could no longer afford to wait for a negotiated outcome.“We’re sick of waiting. If Airtrain’s corporate owners won’t come to the table, parliament must legislate to ditch the contract,” he said.“Every day that passes with the Airtrain in private hands is a loss to Queenslanders. We could have a new station at DFO and trains every 15 minutes, but the private operators are blocking progress.“Airtrain’s corporate, foreign owners are charging sky-high prices, blocking public transport upgrades, dodging tax, and now suing Queensland over our wildly popular 50¢ fares.”USS Axle, a subsidiary of British-based pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme, acquired Airtrain in 2013.Berkman said the existing deed was preventing improvements to the airport rail corridor, including increased service frequency and the potential construction of a station serving the nearby DFO shopping precinct.He rejected suggestions that terminating the contract would expose the state to unacceptable legal risks.“There’s no legal or constitutional reason the government can’t legislate to extinguish the deed with Airtrain,” he said.“For anyone worried about the risk of ending a contract early, I ask you this: do we want Queensland to have a reputation as a state of suckers, where greedy multinational corporations can play us like a fiddle?“Companies looking to invest in Queensland should be clear that we’re not open for raw deals.”Airtrain was developed through a public-private partnership, with private operators retaining concession rights, due to expire in 2036, over the service.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.More:Brisbane AirtrainFor subscribersPublic TransportGreensQueensland RailMichael BerkmanBrisbane AirportFrom our partners