Tag Archives: qldbudget

Economic impacts of the North & North West Qld floods – Initial views

All week we have been hearing the awful news about all the dead cattle in North and North West Queensland as a result of the recent floods. An estimate of around half a million dead cattle has been suggested, although … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Floods, Mining, North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

My ABC radio interviews on the Qld state budget for 2018-19

I made two trips to ABC’s South Brisbane studios yesterday. On the Breakfast program, hosts Bec Levingston and Craig Zonca and I chatted about Queensland’s growing state debt, the distinction between good and bad debt, and the state’s credit rating. … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How did the Qld government accumulate so much debt?

One of Queensland Deputy Premier-Treasurer Jackie Trad’s biggest challenges in her first state budget, to be delivered next month, is to demonstrate a credible debt reduction strategy. She needs to show how she can reduce state debt from its current … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Qld MYFER should factor in population growth pick up

Higher coal royalty revenue associated with higher coal prices will be the big story coming out of Queensland’s Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review, to be released today, but there should be some other important variations to note. Population growth … Continue reading

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Queensland State Election 2017: Week 2 review from Joe Branigan

I am again very grateful for Joe Branigan’s review of the previous week in the Queensland election. The views expressed in the guest post are Joe’s, and they should not necessarily be attributed to me. GT Winner must target the … Continue reading

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Is North Qld under-funded by the State Government relative to the South East?

In Saturday’s Courier-Mail, State Affairs Editor Steven Wardill reported on the unmovable perception among North Queenslanders that their region is under-funded by the State Government, despite official data showing otherwise. Wardill noted: Facts and figures are dismissed out of hand. … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure, North Queensland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Huge regional disparities in Qld Government capital spending per capita

The Queensland Government’s $10.2 billion capital program in 2017-18 is heavily skewed to regional areas outside SEQ and towards inner city Brisbane, but away from other areas in SEQ (see the chart below which I’ve created based on data in … Continue reading

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Qld Solar Bonus Scheme shows how bad government policy can cost taxpayers for a long time

The Queensland Government yesterday directed its electricity network business Energy Queensland to remove the cost of the Solar Bonus Scheme from its charges until 2020, which will reduce Energy Queensland’s earnings and hence adversely impact the State Budget (see the … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Courier-Mail’s public service wages-budget threat story based on Joe Branigan’s QEW guest post

Well done to Joe Branigan on having his QEW guest post from last week, “Moody Blues”, quoted by the Courier-Mail’s Steven Wardill today (Qld Budget 2017: Public service wages threaten bottom line): THE cash-strapped State Government will have to impose … Continue reading

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Higher royalties improve Qld budget bottom line, but work still needed on budget repair

As we have been expecting for some time, higher coal prices and thus royalties (see chart below) have translated into a much improved State Budget balance, with the Queensland Treasury now forecasting the biggest operating surplus ($2 billion) in a … Continue reading

Posted in Budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments