Queensland's government insists it's found a way to ensure the long-touted Cross River Rail project will actually go ahead and no longer be a political football.
But with no business case and no funding to build a second river rail crossing in Brisbane, the opposition has accused the government of using the project as a publicity stunt for federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
Mr Shorten campaigned in Brisbane on Thursday, announcing a federal Labor government would help fund the project and suggested the private sector, particularly superannuation funds, should also invest.
His comments came just hours after acting Premier Jackie Trad announced plans to establish a delivery authority to take the project out of the hands of politicians of the day.
The authority, which is yet to be set up, would have statutory powers and feature a board made up of representatives from all tiers of government and the private sector.
The Bligh Labor government first released plans for the project in 2010, but they were scuttled when the Newman government came to power in 2012 and instead pushed ahead with its BaT (bus and train) tunnel.
The latest plan, which includes a realignment of the proposed track through Brisbane's CBD, is expected to cost about $5.2 billion, but Ms Trad conceded the business case wouldn't be finished until the middle of the year.
She refused to say what the funding split between the state and federal governments would look like and whether the state was planning to increase debt or borrowings to pay for the infrastructure project.
"I'm not ruling anything out, I'm not ruling anything in," she said.
"This is a key project for Queensland and we will make sure it gets its full attention and consideration through the state budget process."
Opposition infrastructure spokesman Tim Nicholls said Labor was dragging the chain on what was supposed to be its priority project.
"We don't have a plan, we don't have a funding source, we don't have a start date - all we have is more talk," Mr Nicholls said.
"This is quite clearly a stunt designed to support Bill Shorten on his pop-up trip to southeast Queensland this morning."
Opposition transport spokesman Scott Emerson also questioned why the realigned track proposes a CBD station in Albert Street, given the area is notorious for flooding.
The plan also isn't popular among state and federal MPs based in north Queensland.
"What does north Queensland have? Nothing," Kennedy MP Bob Katter said.
"We struggle to fund even one road."
However, Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the infrastructure was vital to deal with crippling congestion expected to hit Brisbane's roads by 2026.
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