The Queensland government has delivered a budget aimed at tackling cost-of-living pressures after pocketing a $10bn windfall from increased coal royalties.
This year’s budget centres on health, housing and youth crime, with another $89bn slated for infrastructure projects over the next four years.
Here is a breakdown of the winners and losers in Queensland’s 2023 state budget:
Winners
Parents
The Queensland government has announced it will fund up to 15 hours of free kindergarten for all four-year-olds across the state each week.
The $645m measure will save Queenslanders up to $4,600 a year in kindergarten fees.
The government will also provide up to $150 for swimming lessons for eligible children aged 0 to four years old, and $2.7m over the next two years to expand school breakfast programs in areas experiencing financial hardship.
Households
All Queensland households will receive a $550 electricity rebate this year, with concession holders to receive an additional $150 energy payment.
Vulnerable Queenslanders will continue to receive the existing $372 rebate, bringing total support for this group to $1,072 in 2023-4.
The treasurer, Cameron Dick, said the rebate was the most generous of all the states and territories and meant many Queenslanders won’t pay for electricity at all next year.
Regional Queenslanders
Regional Queenslanders will benefit from an additional $70.3m over four years in the budget for the patient travel subsidy scheme. The program provides financial support to patients who need to travel more than 50km from their nearest public health facility to access specialist medical services.
An additional $16bn will also be invested in regional infrastructure projects across the state, including for the CopperString 2.0 transmission project, long-duration pumped hydro projects, the Fitzroy to Gladstone pipeline and the Burdekin Falls dam.
Losers
The coal lobby
The Palaszczuk government has stood its ground on progressive coal royalties introduced last year, despite fierce criticism from the Queensland Resources Council, which has run a $40m advertising campaign against the scheme.
Dick said the increased tax was the reason the government was able to invest more than $8bn in a range of cost-of-living measures and pay down the state’s debt.
“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,” he said.
Vulnerable children and families
The budget papers show clearly the state’s priorities have shifted when it comes to helping vulnerable children and families. There is money to hire more youth justice workers, and more police.
But at the same time, staffing numbers for next year have been cut – in actual terms – from the department responsible for child safety, seniors and disability services.
Renters and people in housing stress
The Queensland government will spend an additional $1.1bn for social and affordable housing, with $250m slated for housing and homelessness support services. It promises 1,200 new dwellings via a build-to-rent pilot program.
The government says these measures will strengthen housing supply, but community organisations say a much more aggressive response is needed.
The Queensland Council of Social Services “called into question the government’s commitment to putting a roof over the head of every Queenslander” saying that pre-budget announcements did not go far enough.
