I’m looking forward to participating in the Australian Institute for Progress’s upcoming Queensland Budget and Beyond event at Jones Lang LaSalle in Central Plaza One in Brisbane CBD on Thursday 18 July:

Come to this analysis and networking event and join our panel of Professor Tony Makin (Griffith University), Professor Judith Sloan (University of Melbourne), Gene Tunny (Adept Economics) and Natasha Doherty (Deloitte Access Economics), to discuss the recent state budget and alternative ways forward…

…The last state budget saw Queensland increasing debt and expenditure, with a heavy reliance on coal royalties to maintain surpluses. The government stressed its expenditure on job creating infrastructure, while the opposition stressed the need for financial prudence.

Who is right? Could they both be right?

That’s a nice summary of the issues from the AiP. As with all things in life, the challenge is achieving the right balance. I’m a great believer in fiscal prudence from governments, but, at the same time, I recognise the need to take the business cycle into account, so fiscal policy isn’t perverse. Austerity can be counter-productive in weak economies. That said, we should be forensically examining all our state government activities to identify savings we can make over the medium to longer-term, as I discussed in my 2018 book Beautiful One Day, Broke the Next.

If you’re in Brisbane on the 18^th of July, please consider attending the AiP panel discussion. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.

The Qld Government “Tower of Power” dominates the skyline of the southern end of Brisbane CBD.