State Labor has promised a stadium for Townsville. It has set aside $100m to fund it, contingent on feds also contributing. It has lodged a business case for the Townsville stadium. In the order of things, it wants the stadium funded by the feds first, then CRR because that is the order in which State Labor has planned the rollout of the business cases. Its plan was for the stadium funding in 2016-17, then (following the lodgement of the CRR business case) CRR in 2017-18 and subsequent years, then SCL duplication from 2018-19. In other words, one project a year.
To lodge all 3 business cases together would allow the feds to have a choice, and they probably would not pick the Townsville Stadium under those circumstances.
For the State Government, to put Townsville Stadium behind the other projects and their respective business cases would antagonise Katter and Co. and North Qld defector ALP members who have become independents, because it would allow those people to claim Labor is looking after the SE corner and not directing funds to the north.
But why would Malcolm Turnbull cooperate? Why would he allow federal funds to top up state funds for a Townsville Stadium to be built and allow Anna MkII to fulfil a Labor promise and look good?
The whole situation gets turned on its head during a federal election campaign, of course. If the election is tight, parties will cast around for marginal electorates they believe they will win and will make political promises about infrastructure in those locations. The seat of Brisbane looks like going to the Greens after the retirement of Therese Gambaro. CRR would appeal to Green voters. Unfortunately for Sunshine Coast voters, they are rusted on conservative supporters. LNP knows it can count on those seats, Labor knows it can't win, so no little goodies for them, most likely.