Coronavirus: Stimulus ‘masking Queensland border damage’

Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn says the economic pain wrought by coronavirus in Queensland is being masked by the federal government’s stimulus measures.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick. Picture: Liam Kidston

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says the economic pain wrought by coronavirus restrictions in Queensland is being masked by federal government stimulus measures.

Mr Comyn told a parliamentary inquiry the impact on the tourism industry would become more evident as the income support measures decreased.

JobKeeper rates are set to decrease from $1500 a fortnight to $1200 a fortnight or $750 a fortnight for some recipients from later this month, and even further from January.

“At the moment, the substantial federal income support is probably masking some of the underlying stress and so I think it will become more evident, if the borders remain closed, as that ­income support reduces,” Mr Comyn told the Standing Committee on Economics.

“There’s no question that the Queensland economy has a higher proportion of reliance on tourism and a significant reliance around hospitality, so there have to be some sectors of the business community there that would be suffering from the ongoing border closures and lack of clarity about when those borders may reopen.”

The Palaszczuk government has put its faith in the closure of its borders to travellers from the ACT, NSW and Victoria to allow the intrastate economy to function while virus numbers remain low. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to buckle to pressure from her NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and some businesses to open the borders and has stated they will not be opened until the affected states go for 28 days without community transmission.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick told parliament on Tuesday that controlling the virus was key to the economy.

He said Queensland’s 5.9 per cent contraction of state final ­demand in the June quarter was lower than the contraction in Victoria and NSW because the state had been able to better control the spread of the virus.

He attributed increased retail trade and building approvals to the border closures.

“These are the dividends from being able to relax restrictions and open up our economy because community transmission has been contained,” Mr Dick said.

The government has borrowed an additional $4bn which it will roll out ahead of the October 31 election in a wave of stimulus measures.

The Liberal National Party opposition opened the final sitting week of the term with an ­attack on the government over its failure to produce a budget.

Instead, Mr Dick on Monday provided a short-term fiscal update which revealed the government’s total debt would hit nearly $102bn by the middle of next year.

He committed to delivering a budget in late November, if the government is re-elected.