Jackie Trad could be forgiven for wanting to move to Melbourne

Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad’s political career hangs in the balance as she grapples with sharp declines in GST and stamp duty revenue as well as big licks of unfunded spending requirements, writes Steven Wardill.

FOR no shortage of reasons, Jackie Trad was probably wishing inner Melbourne, with its picturesque laneways and plethora of coffee shops, was her home this week.

Queensland’s irrepressible Deputy Premier and Treasurer has been at the vanguard of a political maelstrom of late.

Trad is bearing the brunt of the blame for state issues that poisoned federal Labor’s support in regional and outer metropolitan seats at last month’s election.

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With big swings to the Greens in West End, deep in the heart of her South Brisbane seat, and the Government spooked into setting a deadline to decide on Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, Trad’s political career looks as good as over.

Right faction forces within the Palaszczuk Government have been pushing to oust her from the deputy role and she’s been forced to mount a rearguard action to stop this occurring.

Meanwhile, Trad is at the pointy end of piecing together the most problematic state budget in Queensland since the global financial crisis. All will be revealed on June 11.

Treasurer Jackie Trad is bearing the brunt of the blame for the state issues that poisoned federal Labor’s support in regional and outer metropolitan seats. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

But it’s already clear that the Palaszczuk Government is grappling with sharp declines in GST and stamp duty revenue and big licks of unfunded spending requirements.

These include the multi-billion dollar cost for flood recovery, a bill that the State has to pay upfront for before being partly reimbursed by the Commonwealth.

Then there’s $111 million to bring privately-run prisons back under public sector control and significant new spending to get troubled kids out of adult watch houses.

Before these unforeseen costs, the budget was already precariously positioned with wafer-thin surpluses forecast on the back of heroic spending restraint.

Given these fiscal circumstances, it was little wonder Trad this week issued Queensland miners with an ultimatum to tip in $70 million towards a regional infrastructure fund or face royalty rises.

It was one of the most bizarre revenue raising episodes in recent memory.

In progressive Victoria, Trad would not be such a contentious figure as she is in her home state with her views on the future of thermal coal mining.

However what must have got her really green with envy was watching her Victorian counterpart, Tim Pallas, hand down the Andrews Government’s latest state budget.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas speaks during the Victorian budget hand down at Parliament House in Melbourne on Monday. Picture: AAP/Daniel Pockett

Amid what was pitched as a “budget of hard choices”, Pallas borrowed big, raided reserves and hiked taxes to fund a prodigious array of infrastructure that will be welcomed by Victorians.

The centrepiece of Pallas’ budget was a $27.4 billion “suburban transport blitz” that included $15.8 billion to fully fund a missing link in Melbourne’s freeway network and $6.6 billion to remove 25 level crossings.

This is five times the price of Trad’s pet project, Cross River Rail, which the Palaszczuk Government will now struggle to complete by 2024 given its budget predicament.

Just imagine the projects the Palaszczuk Government could fund to appeal to a disgruntled electorate, not to mention a frightened backbench, with such spending.

However, Pallas was able to get away with such an approach because Victoria’s budget is in much better shape than Queensland’s.

Even after raising net debt from $22.8 billion to $54.9 billion over the next four years, Victoria’s gross borrowings-to-revenue ratio of almost 100 per cent will remain below what Queensland’s figure is already.

Trad’s predecessor, Curtis Pitt, already raided every revenue hole he could find last term to keep capital spending going and pay for a ballooning public sector wage bill.

Pallas’ tax hikes were much the same as the ones Trad turned to last year with imposts on foreign property buyers and luxury car purchases.

Further imposts now appear inevitable in Queensland although after milking a meagre $70 million from miners Trad has ruled out royalty rises, the one advantage Queensland has over Victoria.

It leaves the Queensland Treasurer with revenue levers like payroll tax and transfer duty where there’s a risk of applying a break to the state’s domestic economy at a time when key sectors are struggling.

A factional warrior forged in the time when Labor’s Left were perennial losers, Trad will weather the internal storm around her role.

She’s also more pragmatic than what she’s publicly given credit for.

But trading South Brisbane for South Melbourne must have its appeal for the feisty Treasurer who’s become the totem for everything that’s wrong with the Palaszczuk administration.

THIS COULD GET AWKWARD

OH TO be a fly on the wall at Michael’s Oriental restaurant in Eight Mile Plains on Monday night.

Treasurer Jackie Trad will be the guest star at a pre-Budget dinner to be hosted by Stretton MP Duncan Pegg and the man she’s long been rumoured to be ousting from his electorate, Toohey’s Peter Russo.

Stretton MP Duncan Pegg.

Toohey MP Peter Russo. Picture: Kristy Muir

We’d imagine the conversation would go something like this:

Russo: “Do you want my seat?”

Trad: “I don’t know who you are but I’m already seated thanks.

Russo: “Seriously Jackie, am I going to be out of a job soon?”

Trad: “Just eat your spring roll, whatever your name is”.

RUMOUR MILL’S IN OVERDRIVE

MEANWHILE, tensions still remain at boiling point within the Palaszczuk Government after federal Labor’s election drubbing.

Every phone call is generating conspiracy theories while some MPs are refusing to talk to each other.

Right faction figures have staunchly denied pushing for the ousting of Jackie Trad from the deputy’s job, a sure sign something is up.

According to some senior Labor figures, a “s--t sheet” is doing the rounds of some of Trad’s greatest hits on the resources sector, specifically the future of coal.

Things may get worse before they get better.

HUTS IN THE FIRING LINE

CRUSADERS within the Department of Environment are at it again, this time trying to tear down fishing huts built by generations of Ingham families.

The huts at Halifax Bay are used to store fishing gear but the Department reckons they’re “inconsistent with the natural and cultural values of this National Park”.

Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto is fighting for the fishing huts at Halifax Bay.

Local Katter’s Australian Party MP Nick Dametto has taken up their cause and has a petition running on the state parliament website which has attracted 551 signatures.

The is not the first time that the green-tinged Department has accused locals of squatting and had the huts in its crosshairs.

It attempted to remove them in 2015 but was fought off by former Hinchinbrook MP Andrew Cripps.

BURNING QUESTION

ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk couldn’t have picked a better time to jet off on a trade trip to Japan as the members of her administration took behind-the-scenes pot shots at each other.

The trip was a rather low profile affair but the Premier did sign a Memorandum of Understanding with JOGMEC, Japan’s peak resources investment body.

This was at least the third time this agreement was signed. The last was when Palaszczuk visited in 2016.

Annastacia Palaszczuk signed a Memorandum of Understanding with JOGMEC, Japan’s peak resources investment body, while on her recent trade mission. Picture: Nigel Hallett

According to JOGMEC, Palaszczuk asked about advancements in clean coal technology last time.

Given Labor’s conniptions over the future of coal, the topic was unlikely to have been on the agenda this time around.

FLIPPING HELL MATE

THERE goes our hero. Kudos to the kid who managed to have this picture published in the new Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s guide for Year 12 students.

A Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s guide showing a student "flipping the bird".

Look closely and you’ll notice the industrious young fellow appears to be flipping “the bird”.

The image is causing laughs for students across the state.

They’re probably not finding it so funny in Education Minister Grace Grace’s office, however.

GOOD WEEK

SPEAKER Curtis Pitt who got name dropped at the Origin launch when Gordon Tallis’ bare noggin was compared to his own.

BAD WEEK

STATE Development Minister Cameron Dick who insisted he wasn’t pushing for Jackie Trad’s deputy gig.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“A, I have never done numbers for anyone and B, I wouldn’t know how to do it to start with.” – Mines Minister Anthony Lynham confesses he can’t count.