Editorial: Labor Government should concentrate on the regions to boost overall health of economy

WHILE the southeast is performing well economically, the rest of Queensland is at best patchy, with unemployment as high as 10 per cent in key regional centres.

Unemployment is as high as 10 per cent in key regional centres such as Townsville. Picture: Wesley Monts

AS we head toward the close of the year in Queensland, there are two countervailing forces at play.

Firstly, looking at most of the indicators, the state is slowly starting to get its economic mojo back. We are far from booming, but the transition from the mining investment phase of the recent cycle to a more diversified economy is under way.

The other factor in the equation is the huge uncertainty that now faces the world economy. What exactly will a Donald Trump presidency mean for trade, international credit markets, currencies and geopolitical stability? What will the medium-term impact of Britain’s exit from the European Union be, and just how well will China manage its slowdown as it shifts from an export-driven economy to one more based on domestic consumption and services?

Navigating this scenario, and ensuring Queensland is sufficiently resilient to withstand any sudden external shocks, will be the great challenge for the Palaszczuk Government over the next 12 months.

At this stage, though, it would appear that Queensland as a whole has been dealt a slightly stronger hand than many would have projected at the start of the year.

Unemployment is, while still too high, at least in check. The Australian dollar remains at more comfortable levels than the overpriced highs that damaged our trade-exposed sectors at the peak of the commodities boom.

This is feeding into a solid rebound for the tourism industry, and providing an added fillip for our agricultural and pastoral sectors which have (finally) benefited from some decent rain.

Residential construction is healthy and has soaked up some of the labour force shed as major projects such as the Gladstone LNG plants reached completion – although there are some caveats when it comes to a possible slump as more than 40,000 new units hit the market over the next 18 months.

Add into this an export lift as the production phase of the mining boom takes hold just as commodity prices are resurgent, and according to economic forecasters Queensland’s economic growth is likely to outstrip that of other states in the medium term.

All this is positive news, and in the midst of it the Government has been pushing economic diversification with initiatives such as Advance Queensland.

It is, however, still a two-part story. While the southeast is performing well, the rest of Queensland is at best patchy, with unemployment as high as 10 per cent in key regional centres such as Townsville – a divide that is reflected in sentiment surveys that show a gulf of difference between Brisbane and the regions. At the same time much of the expected growth will come from exports, which do not tend to have a direct impact on how households feel about their economic fortunes.

Those exports, now at much higher forecast prices for coal in particular, will feed into royalty revenues which are likely to see Treasurer Curtis Pitt overshoot surpluses forecast in the June Budget.

The key for the Palaszczuk Government as it heads into the last year of its term is to use the economic upturn and Budget windfall wisely.

The benefits of the export surge need to be spread across the state, and any temptation to assume that a spike in revenues is the new normal must be strenuously resisted.

Now is the time to concentrate on the regions and devote any extra cash to investing in economy-growing projects such as Cross River Rail, state highways and water infrastructure in the north and west of the state. It is not the time to be committing to pre-election policy sops that lock in what may – if the world turns against us – prove to be unsustainable recurrent expenditure.

The Government is now in a slightly less constrained position where it has some levers to pull. The focus must be on long-term investment that will underwrite our economic future.

Triggs saga must come to end

THE saga of Professor Gillian Triggs and her tenure as president of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) has been one of controversy. Prof Triggs raised the ire of Coalition ministers because of her determination to promote investigations of asylum policy under former prime minister Tony Abbott while downplaying what occurred when Labor was in power and her defence of using sections of the law to deny free speech.

Cases brought under the insult and defend section of the Racial Discrimination Act have sparked calls for the law to be amended or scrapped. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was more supportive of Prof Triggs after he took over from Mr Abbott, referred the law to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights to see if it should be reworked or done away with. Prof Triggs has ended up in an impossible position. She no longer has the confidence of the Government that has a direct impact on the ability of the HRC to do its work.

As Queensland journalist Peter Greste, the broadcaster jailed for reporting from Egypt five years ago, said yesterday, if you chip away at freedom of speech, there’s a real risk of damaging our democracy. It seems absurd the HRC could be part of endangering our democratic freedoms, but that is what has occurred. That is why Prof Triggs is not suitable to stay on as HRC head.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Lachlan Heywood, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at www.couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us