Concerns regions fall behind south-east cities in budget
One concern from the budget is that public sector employment will continue to increase faster than population growth and inflation.
Gladstone
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OPINION: The most notable outcome of the Queensland budget for the central Queensland region, including the Gladstone area, is a number of infrastructure projects.
These are welcome, as they will help to address the current slowdown and stimulate the construction and supply sectors.
Allocating the funds across a number of smaller projects in the area will help to engage a broader cross-section of local businesses.
The Queensland economy is generally pretty lacklustre at present, and regional businesses from Gladstone through to Townsville have been finding it tough going in the past few years.
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There are some upsides: tourism, mining and agriculture are generally doing better than 12 months ago, and the increase in coal royalties from higher prices has provided a major boost to the coffers of the Queensland Government.
However overall business activity and business investment remains quite subdued.
The Queensland Government is addressing this in part by increasing public spending on infrastructure to make up for the deficit in private investment.
This will help compensate for the current gap in business investment, although the public sector spending is largely focused on south-east Queensland, with some larger commitments in Toowoomba, Townsville and Cairns.
One concern from the budget is that public sector employment will continue to increase faster than population growth and inflation, coming after rapid growth in both public sector employment and average salaries.
Ultimately this growth is unsustainable, especially considering the very high debt levels that Queensland faces.
While the budget papers emphasise how funding is being allocated across the regions, the reality is that many of the extra public service jobs and the flow-on effects from infrastructure spending will grow south-east Queensland faster than the regional areas.
CQUniversity School of Business and Law, resources analyst Prof John Rolfe
Originally published as Concerns regions fall behind south-east cities in budget
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