Des Houghton: Queensland debt growing at $44m every day

While Premier Steven Miles and Treasurer Cameron Dick shower Queenslanders with unsustainable sweeteners in a crass attempt to buy votes, the state’s debt is soaring, writes Des Houghton.

Queensland’s debt is growing at a staggering $44m a day. That is around $1.8m every hour.

While Premier Steven Miles and Treasurer Cameron Dick shower Queenslanders with unsustainable sweeteners in a crass attempt to buy votes, our total debt will pass $125bn by June next year.

No government in our history has borrowed more or taxed more or spent more. And there is little to show for it with a decline in living standards of working families since the ALP came to power.

The Palaszczuk-Miles government inherited a Treasury with $72bn in debt in 2015 and it will jump to $172bn by 2027-28 according to its own budget papers.

It means that after 10 Labor budgets we are $100bn worse off.

Surely that points to economic mismanagement on a grand scale.

I’m sorry to say so but Dick reminds me of that dodgy car dealer Arthur Daley (George Cole) who wound back the odometers on the television show starring Dennis Waterman.

Treasurer Cameron Dick and Premier Steven Miles. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

As the cost-of-living crisis hits families and young house hunters, frugality seems to be a word lost on our cabinet ministers.

The debt doesn’t seem to matter to Steven Miles who won’t apologise for spending $170,000 jet-setting around the state on electioneering jaunts in not one, but two jets.

We still don’t know who was on the planes, but we do know there were film crews and spin doctors to churn out propaganda for the Miles government in the lead-up to the election. The Courier-Mail reported taxpayers forked out for the two jets between April 22 and April 26, with Miles zipping between Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, and Rockhampton, while the other jet carried the Police Minister Mark Ryan and unlisted others.

Miles again defended the extravagance this week telling reporters the spending was “entirely appropriate”.

One who did fly north was Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski.

He told parliamentary Estimates hearings he had no confidence in the flight records. “I do not appear on the manifest.” He added: “I know I did not get a bus; I was on a plane, but I do not appear on the manifest.

Meanwhile, shadow treasurer David Janetzki accused Miles and Dick of damaging our reputation as a safe investment harbour.

“By 2028 the interest costs alone will be $7.73bn a year or $21m a day,’’ he told me.

“That is more than double what we pay each year to maintain the police force.

“The Treasurer has received record rivers of revenue gold, yet we are left with record debt, record taxes and declining services.

“We have record numbers of Queenslanders living in tents, record numbers of victims of crime and record numbers of the sick waiting to receive medical treatment.

“Cameron Dick has damaged Queensland’s investment reputation by breaking promises, declaring war on our key industries such as the resources and the property sector and has damaged Queensland’s investment reputation.’’

Janetzki said the LNP, if elected, would bring back the Queensland Productivity Commission axed by Labor.

Shadow Minister for Shadow Minister for Investment and Trade David Janetzki. Picture: Scott Powick

“It’s more important than ever that Queenslanders get the best bang for buck,” he said.

“Queenslanders need to trust that their government is spending their hard-earned taxpayer dime to deliver better services and not enrich their union mates.”

“A restored productivity commission will provide an independent voice to make sure that every dollar spent by the future government delivers the best possible outcomes for Queenslanders.”