[4] The contract was awarded to the consortium BrisConnections, composed of Macquarie Group, Thiess and John Holland, beating two other consortia (North Connect and Northern Motorway).

Conducted as a public-private partnership (PPP), the financial aspects of the Airport Link project has been mired in controversy from the outset.

Macquarie Group charged $110 million in fees for the financial engineering which used the equity from private investors to raise the necessary debt and planned to pay investor distributions from capital, an arrangement which resembles a Ponzi scheme and has been ridiculed as the "dead parrot model", after the famous Monty Python comedy sketch.

[6] Former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh enjoyed a free holiday at the Sydney mansion of Thiess director Ros Kelly just before the contract was awarded.

[7] Former Labor ministers Terry Mackenroth and Con Sciacca were paid a "success fee", (as government relations advisors) believed to be about $500,000, by BrisConnections after the consortium won the tender.

The value of initial $1 installments fell by 60 per cent on the first day of trading, and by late November had collapsed to 0.1c, the lowest possible price on the ASX.

"[11] It is believed that some of this negative market sentiment was in response to the traffic forecasts contained within the Product Disclosure Statement lodged by BrisConnections.

[12] Most of these shares were taken up by retail investors who were unaware that two further $1 installments on the stapled securities were owing and faced financial ruin as a result.

[13] BrisConnections has threatened to sue these investors in order to raise the capital necessary to continue the project, while reducing dividends by 99 per cent.

[15] While promoting BrisConnections at their media event in April 2009, Premier Anna Bligh denied any responsibility for the fate of the "Mum and Dad" investors saying, "it is not the role of the Queensland Government to underwrite private investment decisions made by people who were seeking to make a profit investing in the stock market".

[16] At this time, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) belatedly sought to act on behalf of investors and to seek an independent report of BrisConnections' finances.

Therefore, the special resolution fell short of the required 75% vote to pass and BrisConnections was allowed to continue operating under its current form.

[21] The controversy featured prominently in Brisbane newspapers: The name 'BrisConnections' was played upon as a 'con', the project and ensuing farce being dubbed by the media as 'BrisCon'.

[4] On 17 June 2009, CNI requested that the Coordinator-General evaluate a proposed change to the Airport Link project under section 35C of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971.

Due to the discovery during the first half of 2009 of less than favourable ground conditions in the vicinity of the Kedron ramps, BrisConnections proposed the establishment of a new worksite on vacant land at Rose Street, Wooloowin, between Kent and Park Roads to facilitate improved construction access to the mainline tunnels.

Vehicles entering or exiting midway at Kedron to or from Toombul will therefore only pass one gantry and will pay a partial toll.

Traffic forecaster Arup, acting for BrisConnections, had predicted 135,000 vehicles a day will use the road one month after its opening.