Queensland election 2017: Treasurer Curtis Pitt’s talk on budget dividends doesn’t add up

CURTIS Pitt’s talent for verbal contortionist knows no end, but the Treasurer has tied himself in knots with one of his more outrageous claims about paying down debt, writes Steven Wardill.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) watches Treasurer Curtis Pitt speaking at a press conference during a visit to Cairns yesterday. Picture: AAP/Dan Peled

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TREASURER Curtis Pitt is prone to acts of verbal contortionist.

There was the time, for example, when he claimed 100 per cent Government-owned assets could be “even more owned by Queenslanders”.

However, Pitt’s insistence yesterday that “there’s no case in Queensland where you will ever see zero debt” was not one of the times when he bent logic beyond comprehension.

He’s talking about total debt, the figure that includes the balance sheets of Government businesses.

It’s the same figure he recently insisted was “magical” because Queenslanders don’t directly pay the interest costs.

Pitt’s right to declare Queensland will never be debt free, and nor should we want it to be while the State owns these power, port and rail businesses.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt’s claims on budget dividends don’t add up, Steven Wardill says. Picture: Stewart McLean

These assets borrow to expand and supply services and that grows the economy.

However, where Pitt really tied himself in knots was with his claim that dividends would still be used to pay down debt.

Labor claimed the same before the last election, promising $5.4 billion in debt would be retired over two terms using dividends.

However, while dividend income ballooned beyond forecasts, only $600 million ever went towards debt.

Pitt’s claim is also problematic considering Labor announced last month that all the energy dividends would be used to subsidise power prices.

It becomes even more tricky given Labor will also use these same dividends to hook up renewable projects to the power network.

So that’s three times Labor has spent the same money.

What a shame we all can’t bend our budgets this way.

Originally published as Queensland election 2017: Treasurer Curtis Pitt’s talk on budget dividends doesn’t add up