23rd July, 2020
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Treasurer has today confirmed that Queensland’s debt bill will break through the $100 billion barrier in less than 12 months.
That’s a $17 billion blowout since December last year, increasing the interest bill for Queensland taxpayers and putting additional pressure on our credit rating.
It’s even more reason why we need to invest for growth and rein in wasteful spending.
The Labor government needs to stick to its fiscal principles, which it has all but abandoned, to secure our economic future.
The LNP’s fiscal principles ensure that Queensland builds a stronger economy to secure more jobs and improve services like health, education and policing.
With today’s update by the Commonwealth, Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to deliver a full state budget before the next election.
Anything less is keeping Queenslanders in the dark about the state’s finances and how their taxes are being spent.
While the Palaszczuk Labor Government is the only state to cancel its budget this year the LNP has committed to deliver a full budget within the first 100 days of government.
No budget means no economic plan to lead Queensland out of recession.
The LNP will stabilise Labor’s debt and deliver our economic plan to get Queensland working again.
We have already released the LNP’s fiscal principles:
- Strive to be the lowest taxing government in the nation by guaranteeing no new taxes and a 10-year royalty freeze.
- Boosting business confidence
- Attracting more investment
- Creating more jobs
- Target fiscal balances across the economic cycle by limiting general government expenditure to less than revenue.
- Improving government efficiency
- Ending Labor’s wasteful spending
- Investing in quality service delivery
- Stabilise and begin repaying Labor’s debt with the target of regaining the state’s AAA credit rating.
- Implementing a budget repair strategy
- Strengthening the balance sheet by building new assets
- Expanding economic activity
- Set improved standards in public service delivery and accountability across the whole of Queensland.
- No forced redundancies
- Improving frontline services
- Enhancing services with technology
- Build the job-creating infrastructure Queensland needs to boost state growth and improve productivity.
- Establishing the Queensland Infrastructure Fund
- Building new roads and dams
- Delivering the New Bradfield Scheme