Health, school and cops top leaders state budget wishlist

The Queensland government is set to hand down its 2024-25 budget on Tuesday which will carry to the October election, meaning will be fat with spending promises. Here is what our leaders want for the Garden City.

Roads, hospitals and police numbers will top the list of items our city’s leaders will look for when the Queensland Budget is handed down on Tuesday.

It has been widely reported the Miles Governments 2024-25 budget will come with a $3bn deficit after the Treasury revised its estimates down from a modest $122m surplus.

But with an election due in October, there are likely to be plenty of sweeteners to entice voters to stay loyal to Labor for another term.

The Chronicle understands health will feature highly, with the government committing to increasing hospital staff numbers across the board, including in Toowoomba.

Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts said he would like to see firm commitments on the new Toowoomba Hospital, to future proof the region and reduce wait times.

Ideally, he wants to see upgrades that would lift our Clinical Services Capability Framework to allow for more complex operations closer to patients’ homes.

“The number of beds is one measure, but also the ability to do more complex procedures so we don’t have to keep sending people to Brisbane for surgery,” he said.

Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts.

“We need to be a service centre for the whole of the Darling Downs and South West Queensland, so we need more capacity for specialists to be able to do a higher level of service for our community.

Mr Watts said he was looking for money earmarked for upgrades to the Bridge and Stuart Street intersection near Mt Lofty State High School, expanding parking at Fairview Heights State School and a scramble crossing at Wilsonton State High School on Richmond Drive.

The $270m Cressbrook Dam Safety Improvement project will loom large, as it has been mandated to be complete by 2025.

To date, the Toowoomba Regional Council has been saddled with the cost, which is reportedly set to delay other key projects.

Mr Watts said he hoped the state government would come to the party.

“We need a long term water solution for our region,” he said.

“For the LNP, it is not our turn to say what we would or would not do, we first have to see what Labor will commit to.

“If they commit to something, if it is fully funded and there are contracts signed, then we will support it.

“If they give the money to the council and the project goes to tender, then we will honour it, if they don’t, then stay tuned and we’ll tell you what we are going to do about.”

Funding for a second connecting road from the western flank of Highfields to Toowoomba is another of Mr Watts key initiatives.

He said the need for a road remains, despite the government walking away from the proposed Western Bypass earlier this year.

Deputy Premier and Treasurer Cameron Dick will hand down the 2024-25 budget on Tuesday.

“We need a well-thought through, well-consulted solution to the traffic to the west of Highfields,” he said.

Shadow Treasurer and Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki echoed his colleague’s call for more spending on health and school safety.

“There are targeted school safety projects that should be in the budget including flashing lights on McDougall St at Glenvale State School and improved safety on Wuth St at Darling Heights State School,” he said.

“Southern Toowoomba also needs a 24/7 police presence at Drayton and the government to remove the principle of detention as a last resort.

“Our region needs targeted funding and policy making to address the housing crisis to clear backlogged social housing waitlists and to create opportunities for young people to get their chance at home ownership.

“We’ve never had a state government that’s taxed more, borrowed more or spent more and yet Queensland has less to show for it.”

Originally published as Health, school and cops top leaders state budget wishlist