Buy back the AirTrain and make it 50c

Thanks to a bad privatisation deal announced by Labor and signed by the LNP, our airport train is being held to ransom by an offshore corporation. The 35-year contract bans any other public transport to the airport until 2036, giving Airtrain Citylink Ltd a huge monopoly and total control over prices.

The corporate owners have refused to come to the table to negotiate a fair buyout. Now, the Greens have introduced a Bill to end the AirTrain privatisation contract early, bring it into public hands and make fares 50c.

Under our bill, compensation would be linked to the …

Thanks to a bad privatisation deal announced by Labor and signed by the LNP, our airport train is being held to ransom by an offshore corporation. The 35-year contract bans any other public transport to the airport until 2036, giving Airtrain Citylink Ltd a huge monopoly and total control over prices.

The corporate owners have refused to come to the table to negotiate a fair buyout. Now, the Greens have introduced a Bill to end the AirTrain privatisation contract early, bring it into public hands and make fares 50c.

Under our bill, compensation would be linked to the owner's valuation in their own financial statements, which puts the AirTrain at just $46.6 million in 2025/26. This is about a fifth of the cost of a single major road upgrade, and would allow us to secure a crucial public asset ahead of Brisbane 2032.

By ending the private contract and bringing the AirTrain into public hands, we could boost train frequency, build more stations, and bring fares down to 50c like the rest of the Translink network.

The Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee for consideration, and public submissions are now open!

Email the Committee and your local MP before submissions close on Monday 12 October 2026, and show your support for buying back the AirTrain.

Want more info? You can watch my speech introducing the Bill here, or read it here. Find the full bill and explanatory notes, plus details of the committee’s inquiry, here.

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Use this form to make a submission on the Greens Bill to buy back Brisbane’s AirTrain. Your email will go to the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee and CC your State MP. Please use the email below as a template - edit and add to it to make it relevant to your experience and perspective.

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Subject:

and CC my local MP:

I’d like to comment on the Brisbane Airport Rail Link (Airtrain) Buy Back Amendment Bill 2026, and express my support for buying back the AirTrain.

*INSERT YOUR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE HERE - WHY DO YOU WANT THE AIRTRAIN IN PUBLIC HANDS?*

The privatised AirTrain deal is a ripoff. Fares for a family cost more than a 20-minute Uber, and services run so infrequently that we aren’t incentivised to take the train. As a result, most people drive instead, and traffic is a nightmare. Meanwhile, Council can’t even run buses to the airport, because the contract gives the AirTrain’s owners a total monopoly.

We can’t let this contract stay in place for the 2032 Olympics, let alone until 2036.

The AirTrain deal has clearly outstayed its welcome. Since the corporate owners have refused to negotiate a fair buyout, I support Parliament legislating to terminate the contract early.

I urge you to support the passage of the AirTrain Buy Back Bill, make fares 50c, and introduce more frequent public transport services to the airport.

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