Queensland short-changed in federal budget, says state treasurer

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has accused the Morrison government of “writing the state off” after Josh Frydenberg delivered his federal budget in Canberra on Tuesday night.

The pre-election budget made an $8.6 billion pitch to voters in the form of cash payments, tax rebates and a cut to the fuel excise, but Mr Dick said that came at the expense of critical infrastructure and services in Queensland.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has accused the Morrison government of turning its back on the state.Credit: Attila Csaszar

“This is a budget for the next six weeks, not the next four years,” the Labor state treasurer said.

“Instead of giving Queensland our fair share, Scott Morrison has clearly decided that he needs votes more in other states than in Queensland.

“He’s spending big in those states, and in doing so, showing his scorn for Queenslanders. It’s a deliberate pattern that you can see right across the budget.”

Mr Dick said there had been significant funding reductions for Queensland hospitals and a lack of investment in the state’s renewable energy industry, housing and transport.

“Scott Morrison says this budget contains $3.3 billion for road and rail in Queensland, but when you check the figures, there’s only $446.5 million across the four years of this budget,” he said.

“Scott Morrison has denied Queenslanders 86 per cent of his own announcement.”

Sunshine Coast MP Ted O’Brien earlier explained the apparent funding disparity by pointing out that the bulk of construction would occur beyond the budget’s forward estimates.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane, who served as a minister in the Abbott government, was more complimentary.

Mr Macfarlane said a $1.3 billion commitment to develop a reliable supply of domestic gas for Australian manufacturers would lower domestic gas prices.

“It’s great to see four of the seven gas infrastructure projects identified as critical by the federal government are in Queensland, which is indicative of how much heavy lifting our producers have been doing to increase Australia’s domestic gas supply,” he said.

“In these times of growing geopolitical uncertainty, there’s tangible value in having local supply chains, and having a strong domestic manufacturing sector will help insulate the Australian economy from the supply risks associated with imports.”

Former Queensland LNP premier Campbell Newman, who is running in the election as the Liberal Democrats’ lead Senate candidate for the state, accused his former party brethren of “empty rhetoric” and reckless spending.

“Here we are with spiralling debt and the LNP had the opportunity to stick to Liberal economic values, but they didn’t,” he said.

Another former LNP member, one-time National Bob Katter, was more even-handed.

The member for Kennedy said cost-of-living measures, such as the cut to the fuel excise, were “somewhat short-sighted”, but he welcomed funding for regional medicine and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, as well as a $1.3 billion regional telecommunications package.

“People need the internet and phone reception to work from home, whether it’s small business, farmers or miners, they work hands-free while driving, children study at home, and people do university online,” Mr Katter said.

“And, most importantly, having phone reception can save lives in an emergency. It has been a disaster since the major parties privatised Telstra.”