Qld budget update: David Janetzki blames Labor for ‘sea of red’

Treasurer David Janetzki has revealed the mid-year budget review will be a sea of red when handed down later this month.

Treasurer David Janetzki with Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm at Parliament on Tuesday. Picture: Richard Walker

A major state budget update will show a sea of red, Treasurer David Janetzki says, while refusing to say if he will borrow to cover project blowouts.

Mr Janetzki, who is also the Energy Minister, will also need to deal with major cost blowouts on key projects such Borumba Pumped Hydro and CopperString 2.0.

The mid-year budget review, usually delivered in mid-December, was delayed amid warnings from rating agencies of Queensland facing its first credit rating downgrade in 15 years.

The “true state” of Queensland’s books will be handed down on January 23.

“It will be a sea of red, and the former Labor government is to blame for it,” he said.

“They have left a serious legacy of fiscal vandalism, as we have been exposing over the last couple of months … and next week in (the budget update) we will be outlining the true state of the books.”

The total cost of project blowouts unveiled by the LNP since taking government across health, water, energy and transport has grown to $21.8bn.

Mr Janetzki must now also find $1.8bn to hold up the state government’s end of a $9bn Bruce Highway overhaul after a surprise backflip by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to fork out more federal cash.

His first official budget in mid-2025 will also need to deal with a potential $2.8bn increase to public sector wages over three years as negotiations for a new pay deal kick off with major frontline unions covering nurses, midwives, police, and teachers.

Mr Janetzki, in his first press conference in more than a month, would not say if he would borrow to pay for cost blowouts – a move that would add to the state’s mounting debt figures.

“We have said that debt would be lower under a Liberal National government than what it would have been under a former Labor government,” he said.

But the LNP has ruled out raising taxes, cutting public servants, selling assets, or cutting projects – leaving them with no levers to pull in order to raise cash and bring down debt, according to independent economist Saul Eslake.

Two major blowouts within Mr Janetzki’s own energy portfolio include Borumba Pumped Hydro, which has grown from $14.2bn to $18bn and the CopperString transmission project which increase from $6.2bn to $9bn.

Mr Janetzki said he had asked Queensland Hydro to look at “optionality” in relation to the Borumba Pumped Hydro project.

“We want to save key projects around Queensland … we’re committed to saving them,” he said.

“And for example, with Borumba, we’re doing the additional work that’s necessary, looking at other options that are available.”

Queensland’s latest budget, handed down by Labor in June, had the total debt hitting nearly $172bn in 2027-28, with ­interest repayments of $7.733bn.

It is expected those figures have significantly worsened.

Originally published as Qld budget update: David Janetzki blames Labor for ‘sea of red’