Queenslanders are being showered with electricity bill relief, free kindy and a raft of other cost-of-living measures as soaring coal royalties powered the state budget to a historic surplus.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said the $12.3 billion surplus for 2022/23 was the largest on record for any Australian state or territory, while declaring “help is on the way” for people struggling with rising inflation and interest rates.
“In this budget, our government will deliver greater and more widespread cost-of-living relief than any other government in Australia, state or federal,” he said as he handed down the budget on Tuesday.
Mr Dick said the largesse was possible thanks to the state government’s progressive royalties regime introduced last year. It brought in an extra $10.5 billion amid high coal and gas prices.
“We can deliver our state’s biggest cost-of-living program, our state’s biggest building program and deliver lower debt because of one simple reason – progressive coal royalties,” he said.
“Our decision, to take on the mining lobby, to stand our ground, and to fight for the people of our state, has delivered a rich reward for Queenslanders.”
Mr Dick announced $1.6 billion in new and expanded cost-of-living relief, including an increase in the electricity bill rebate to $550 for all households – up from $175 – and more than $1000 for eligible concession holders.
He said the rebates meant low-income households, such as pensioners, might pay nothing for electricity in the next financial year.
The other big-ticket item was $645 million over four years to provide 15 hours a week of free kindergarten for all four-year-olds.
“Over the course of a year, that means an average saving of $4600 for many Queensland families,” Mr Dick said.
With the government under pressure over the state’s health system, Mr Dick announced a boost of more than 9 per cent to bring 2023/24’s funding to $25.8 billion.
The money includes more than $764 million to reduce ambulance ramping and emergency department wait times.
There is also a $1.1 billion increase for social housing as Queensland continues to deal with a shortage of affordable housing. It includes $322 million for an additional 500 social homes.
Mr Dick touted the state’s infrastructure spending, which is forecast to be $89 billion over four years, including $20 billion in 2023/24 for new and ongoing projects. Among them are infrastructure for the 2032 Olympics, the Fitzroy to Gladstone water pipeline, the Borumba Pumped Hydro project, and stage one of the Coomera Connector motorway.
The royalties bonanza is not expected to continue, however. Revenue is forecast to fall sharply in 2023/24, as the temporary surge in coal and other commodity prices unwinds, according to the budget papers.
This will result in a forecast deficit of $2 billion in 2023/24.
Queensland’s economy is forecast to grow 2 per cent in 2022/23, then increase to 3 per cent over the next two years.
Inflation is expected to drop from 7.25 per cent in 2022/23 to 3.75 per cent in 2023/24, while unemployment is expected to edge higher to 4.25 per cent in 2023/24.
The state’s population is forecast to increase 2 per cent in 2022/23, then a further 1.75 per cent in 2023/24.
– AAP
