"I think all levels of government understand that money is not limitless, but what we've got to do is make sure we get our voices heard in south-east Queensland, that we push the case and that we get our fair share of it," he said. Scenic Rim mayor Greg Christensen, Redlands mayor Karen Williams, Lockyer Valley councillor Karen McLean and Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk with the Council of Mayors' federal wishlist. Credit:Cameron Atfield "…There is always an unmet need in the infrastructure area and I don't think it's fair to say that all of these are going to be met at this election, but what we've got to do is keep pressing the case." Projects included the Northern ($2-3 billion) and Eastern ($1.74 billion) busways, the inland rail freight project ($4-6 billion) and the North Coast Rail Line between Beerburrum and Nambour ($2 billion). The Gold Coast Light Rail stage three ($480 million) and the Sunshine Coast High Quality Bus Corridor ($350 million) also made the list.

Noticeably absent, however, was Brisbane Cross River Rail project. Cr Quirk said that project, along with his own Brisbane Metro public transport system, were not ready to seek federal funding. "(Cross River Rail) is a project that doesn't have a business case in Canberra at the moment," he said. "You'll find there's no Metro there (in the list) either and, again, that's because I stated when I announced the Metro that we will not be seeking funding until the business case is complete (in May 2017)." The mayors also asked the federal government to "commit to detailed engagement (with a south-east Queensland Olympic bid) from mid-2016".

Given the SEQ Council of Mayors' pre-feasibility study into hosting the 2028 Olympic Games was due for release in July, that was the biggest hint yet that the bid would move on to the next level. "The pre-feasibility is going well, in terms of the detail of work that we've done around it," Cr Quirk said. "There has been a lot of work done and that report will be down for what will be a very appropriate debate come July." The Council of Mayors will launch a radio-based advertising campaign in the weeks before the July 2 election, calling on residents to push candidates for infrastructure funding. Cr Quirk said it would be a campaign in which he, as a Liberal National Party politician, would not personally feature.

"It will be a professional voice-over (artist) that will be used, but we, as a body, will be approving those ads," he said. Cr Quirk said the Council of Mayors was apolitical and wanted pressure put on all sides of politics to deliver for south-east Queensland. "I'm calling on all south-east Queenslanders to contact your candidates, to push the case, to make sure we get our voice heard in south-east Queensland for our infrastructure needs," he said. "… We're pushing all political parties and all candidates to make sure that they commit to south-east Queensland. "There's a raft of projects across all local authority areas and that's why we collectively work as a group to push the case.