Live: Queensland budget details and reaction

Advertisement

Live: Queensland budget details and reaction

Reation: The Queensland Opposition

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the budget contained a “great Labor lie” about borrowing to fund infrastructure.

“The Labor Party is borrowing more and building less,” the LNP leader said.

“Over the forward estimates we’ve seen a cut in the infrastructure spend.”

Ms Frecklington said the government’s focus on regional Queensland was actually a “kick in the guts”.

“After five years of power, all Labor are delivering is higher taxes, more debt, less jobs and less infrastructure.”

“No regional Queenslanders would be looking at a $90 billion tax bomb and a budget that means higher taxes and less jobs and think this is a good budget.”

Reaction: Standard & Poor's

Here is Standard and Poor's Queensland budget bulletin, issued this afternoon:

S&P Global Ratings today said that the State of Queensland's (AA+/Stable/A-1+) budget is likely to remain in operating surplus despite weaker goods and services tax and property stamp duty forecasts. Strong mining royalties and new taxes should partially offset these weaknesses, in our view.

Queensland's share of GST will likely fall by $1.5 billion over the next four years because of the latest Commonwealth Grants Commission's relativity update and weaker national consumer spending, which are weighing on the GST pool's growth. Likewise, stamp duty forecasts are also about A$1 billion weaker over the next four years because of Australia's slumping property market.

We expect favorable commodity prices to offset weaker-than-expected revenues and add $1.4 billion to the budget over the next three years. Coal remains the state's largest mining export and royalty earner, and we expect liquefied natural gas exports to increase contributions to royalty revenues due to climbing volumes. The government is also introducing new taxes to raise about A$1.1 billion over the next three years.

The 2019-20 budget demonstrates continuing health and education spending and a focus on job creation, including infrastructure spending. The state will spend about $45 billion on new infrastructure over the next four years. Similar to other states, adopting AASB 16 - new accounting standards from the Australian Accounting Standards Board - has added to its debt stock. We expect Queensland's tax-supported debt as a percentage of consolidated operating revenues as likely to remain more than 120 per cent over the medium term.

Queensland's wealthy economy, strong financial management, and exceptional liquidity continue to underpin our rating on the Australian state.

This report does not constitute a rating action.

Advertisement

Reaction: RACQ

After a “shocking” few weeks on Queensland roads, RACQ head of public policy Rebecca Michael said it was a “good budget for Queensland road and transport”.

She said investments in key corridors such as the Bruce Highway, the Pacific Motorway and the Cairns and Mackay ringroads, would “save the live of Queenslanders”.

But Ms Michael was not happy “Queenslanders had to pay for it”.

“We have seen an increase in those licence and registration fees for forecast CPI [consumer price index] as opposed to real CPI and that is costing Queenslanders money," she said.

It worked out to be an extra $20 over four years, she said.

Reaction: Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland

CCIQ was “delighted “ that more than a thousand Queensland businesses will no longer pay payroll tax from July 1, with the exemption threshold lifting from $1.1 million to $1.3 million of annual wages.

“Payroll tax relief for small business in terms of a threshold increase is absolutely crucial in boosting employment whilst the discount for regional areas recognises the need to lift confidence in the private sector,” spokesman Dan Petrie said.

“This will be transformative for a number of small businesses within the state which, for really the last decade have endured incredibly high power prices and escalating costs.”

Reaction: United Voice union

The United Voice union asked for 250 new paramedics to replenish numbers when ambulances are forced to wait outside crowded southeast Queensland hospitals. The government has promised 200 to be hired over the next 12 months.

“Insufficient paramedic numbers have had ambulance services straining at the seams as they struggled to keep up with population growth and winter flu spikes in many parts of the state,” union coordinator Fiona Scalon said.

“Our members have been vocal over recent months that they are desperately in need of extra resources.

“The 200 extra paramedics announced today will go a long way to ensure enough ambulance crews are adequately staffed and on the road attending to the emergency needs of Queenslanders.”

Reaction: Property Council of Australia

The Property Council's Queensland executive director, Chris Mountford, called the Palaszczuk government's land tax increase for property holdings worth more than $5 million a "cash grab" that could see some offshore investors' tax bill almost double.

"It is simply not accurate to suggest these taxes won’t be paid by Queenslanders, or won’t affect job creating investment in the state," he said.

“Almost all of the properties that will be impacted by this tax hike are home to businesses employing thousands of Queenslanders in industries like manufacturing, tourism, logistics and trade.

“The reality is that land tax is paid - either directly or indirectly - by the business that operates on the land."

Advertisement

Reaction: Deloitte Access Economics

“In a challenging global economy and a slowing Australian economy, the Queensland budget has taken a $3.8 billion hit to the bottom line," partner Pradeep Philip said.

“So to deliver surpluses over the forward estimates with expenditures on programs and infrastructure, is the equivalent of pulling the proverbial economic rabbit out of a hat.”

Reaction: Queensland Economic Advocacy Solutions

“The state government talks about backing Queensland and certainly it is Queensland’s coal industry that is backing Queenslanders,” director Nick Behrens said.

He said the budget showed the economy was “performing well”.

“The surplus is very good news for Queenslanders and the coal industry has absolutely delivered that surplus result."

Reaction: Together union

The Together union represents many of Queensland's prison guards.

“Today’s budget is good news in relation to the government finally accepting the fact that this system [corrective services] has been under funded by successive governments,” Together secretary Alex Scott said.

Mr Scott said as corrective services was not a “sexy” issue, he was happy to see long-term good investment to keep prisons safe.

Speaking of resources…

Miners in north Queensland will be given millions of dollars in discounts on freight charges in a win for the state's resources industry.

Treasurer Jackie Trad announced the $80 million scheme in Townsville on Sunday, saying the plan will boost mineral exports from the state's north-west.

She said the state Labor government had also promised $30 million for construction of a new freight terminal at the Townsville port, with another $18 million to come from the Port of Townsville.

It comes after a $350 million commitment to upgrade the Mount Isa rail line over the next five years.

Traeger MP Robbie Katter welcomed the spend but said the freight issue would not go away unless the rail pricing structure set by the Queensland Competition Authority was addressed.

- with AAP

Most Viewed in Politics

Loading