Queensland’s cement, concrete and aggregates industry has welcomed the 2026-27 Queensland State Budget, which sets aside a record $119.2 billion capital programme over four years, but warns that the success of the build depends on securing the raw materials needed to deliver it.
Of the total capital, $29.6 billion is allocated for 2026 to 27 alone, funding work across transport, health, housing, energy and infrastructure tied to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) said the announcement highlights the importance of the state’s quarrying and construction materials sector, which contributes $3.35 billion to the Queensland economy and supports close to 15,000 jobs.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the scale of the construction task ahead has no real precedent in the state’s history.
He said maintaining a public infrastructure programme worth roughly $30 billion annually would coincide with a surge in private investment across housing, resources, renewable energy and industrial projects.
According to Kilgariff, this combination of public and private spending will place significant pressure on construction supply chains, making productivity, workforce capacity and project delivery more important than ever.
He pointed to major projects such as the Bruce Highway upgrade, Cross River Rail, new hospital builds, social housing developments and Olympic venues as examples of work that cannot proceed without a steady supply of cement, concrete and aggregates.
Kilgariff stressed that the strength of Queensland’s infrastructure pipeline is tied directly to the strength of its supply chains.
While the Budget sets out funding for the infrastructure itself, he said attention now needs to turn to making sure the materials required to build it are available when needed.
He called for the protection of quarry resources, greater certainty in planning processes and formal recognition of construction materials as a key enabler of housing, infrastructure and broader economic growth.
CCAA also pointed to the government’s ongoing focus on construction productivity, noting that reform of planning and approval systems will be essential to supporting the state’s expanding infrastructure, housing and energy agenda.
The organisation said this includes tackling workforce and skills shortages, improving freight movement efficiency, and simplifying the approvals process so investment in future supply can proceed with confidence.
It added that quarry operators need enough flexibility and regulatory certainty to scale up operations in line with rising demand, ensuring they can keep supplying the materials required to support Queensland’s growth.
CCAA said these combined reforms will be critical in the years ahead, helping to ensure the state has the materials, workforce and productivity levels needed to meet its infrastructure, housing and economic development goals through to the end of the decade.
