Treasurer Cameron Dick says Queensland will be out of recession by next year
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick says the state could pull off an economic recovery in 2021 yet slammed LNP predictions of a surplus as ‘damaging’.
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Queensland will be out of recession next year, Treasurer Cameron Dick says, but he has resisted nominating an unemployment target.
He also ruled out new or increased taxes for four years if Labor was re-elected.
Mr Dick has weaponised borrowing and debt during the election campaign, criticising the LNP Opposition for insisting it could bring the budget back into surplus and that it would stabilise debt.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington today said the party would work really hard and not waste money.
But she was forced to clarify what the time frame of the economic cycle was, initially claiming it was three years before later saying it was four.
It comes after Ms Frecklington yesterday said it was a fiscal principle for the LNP to achieve a surplus over the economic cycle.
“Our fiscal principle is of course to not spend more than we earn but I’ll say this again, the Labor Party in Queensland have not had a budget this year,” she said today.
Ms Frecklington said the LNP would try and achieve a surplus by backing manufacturing businesses, growing the economy and not wasting money.
“Let’s remember under Labor, they have reduced the infrastructure budget by $14 billion,” she said.
Labor has flagged it will borrow an extra $4bn to pay for its campaign promises, on top of existing borrowing for infrastructure funding. Mr Dick and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a new $1bn fund to improve school infrastructure today, all of which will be borrowed.
Of the $1bn, $415m will come from the $4bn extra borrowings Mr Dick announced in September. But he said there was no shame in borrowing to build infrastructure.
“The budget is in deficit, that’s the reality in Queensland. But we are borrowing to create more jobs for Queenslanders, in the far north and across all parts of our state,” Mr Dick said.
“The LNP has promised to deliver a budget surplus, and they’ve said they’ll do that over the forward estimates, over the next four years. Deb Frecklington said it today…she said they’d do it in three years.”
“It is their policy, it is not our policy.”
Mr Dick said he agreed with the federal Treasurer that it would be damaging to the economy to target surpluses over the forward estimates, given what it would require in terms of “significant increases in taxes” and cuts to services.
“The LNP are hellbent on delivering a surplus and they will cut to do it. They’ve only left themselves a pathway to a surplus…that’s natural attrition, that’s cuts and it’s austerity.”
“It is not our priority.”
“There is now no clearer point of difference between the LNP and between Labor and it is on this point. We will borrow to pursue jobs, and the LNP will pursue a surplus over the next four years.
Mr Dick was asked when his much-vaunted economic plan would see Queensland out of recession and back into economic growth next year.
“It’s so difficult to say. We’re going to go back into economic growth next year. So, we look to see a 3.75 per cent growth in the economy in calendar year 2021. So we’re looking to get back into economic growth next year, we want to have some consecutive quarters of economic growth next year, but really this calendar year and this financial year is going to be the toughest Queensland has faced,” he said.
Former Labor Premier Peter Beattie nominated a five per cent unemployment target. Mr Dick declined to nominate what his target would be.
“To get unemployment as low as possible and as quickly as possible, but we made clear our position during the Fiscal and Economic Review. When JobKeeper comes off, the risk is more Queenslanders will go onto the unemployment queue…but we’re working so hard to reduce that.
He said there would be no new or increased taxes for the entire next term of government, if Labor won the October 31 election.
“There won’t be any increased taxes, we’ve said that very clearly from the start, no new taxes from the Labor government,” he said.