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 (US$831 million) surplus for 2022/23 was the largest ever for any 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.
Dick said the largesse was possible thanks to the government’s progressive royalties regime introduced last year, which brought in an extra $10.5b 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,” the treasurer 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.”
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 $645m 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,” Dick said.
With the government under pressure over the state’s health system, the treasurer announced a boost of more than nine per cent to bring 2023/24’s funding to $25.8b.
The money includes more than $7640m to reduce ambulance ramping and emergency department wait times.
A $1.1b increase for social housing as the state continues to deal with a shortage of affordable housing, including $322m for an additional 500 social homes.
Dick touted the state’s infrastructure spending, which is forecast to be $89 billion over four years, including $20b in 2023/24 new and ongoing projects, including infrastructure for the 2032 Olympics, the Fitzroy to Gladstone water pipeline, the Borumba Pumped Hydro project, and Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector motorway.
The royalties bonanza is not expected to continue, and 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 two percent in 2022/23 and then increase to three per cent over the next two years.
Inflation is expected to drop from 7.25 percent in 2022/23 to 3.75 percent in 2023/24, while unemployment is expected to edge higher to 4.25 percent in 2023/24.
The state’s population is forecast to increase two percent in 2022/23, then increase 1.75 percent in 2023/24.
STATE OF QUEENSLAND BUDGET IN 2022/23
* Surplus: $12.3 billion surplus
* Revenue: $87.6 billion
* Expenditure: $75.3 billion
* Net debt: $5.8 billion
* GST revenue: $17.8 billion
* Unemployment: 3.75 percent
* Economic growth: 2.0 percent
