Federal Budget 2023: Eight ways Queenslanders will be better off

Modest cost-of-living relief, rent help and power bill rebates are among the benefits to Queenslanders under the federal budget.

Modest cost-of-living relief, rent help and power bill rebates for Queensland’s most vulnerable.

It’s a stark contrast to the budgets of recent years, with next to no mention of the Bruce Highway, or cash for dams so far in the future you need a set of binoculars.

Welcome to Queensland’s finance son Jim Chalmers’ budget of fiscal responsibility and “laying the groundwork for the future”.

RENTERS

A total of 247,600 Queenslanders are set to benefit from the federal government’s increase to the Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment.

It’s the “largest increase of the payment in more than 30 years”, which translates to an extra $31 a fortnight. The amount is small in comparison to the rent increases hitting across the state, but the government likely had to dodge adding to inflation.

BATTLERS

Hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Queenslanders, particularly women, set to benefit from modest increases to government payments. This includes a $40 a fortnight increase for those on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance which will benefit 241,000 in the state. While 11,000 people aged 55 to 59 will get a $92 increase per fortnight to their JobSeeker allowance.

BILL RELIEF

Electricity prices are truly biting and 1.1 million eligible households in the state will get access to up to $500 in bill relief. This comes after the state and federal government struck a deal to temporarily cap call prices. More importantly it sets the groundwork for the Queensland government to firm up how much its promised rebate – of more than $175 at least – will be when the state budget drops in June.

HOUSING

Build to rent tax concessions are on the way, in a move that will complement the Queensland government’s recent moves to make the state more attractive for investors. The federal government’s $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund remains in the crippling vice grip of the Greens – many of whom are from Queensland since the last election – who are still refusing to back the plan.

WATER

Queensland is parched out here when it comes to water infrastructure projects and the federal budget. North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority, gone. Emu Swamp Dam, put on hold indefinitely. Hughenden Irrigation Project, on hold pending final plan. The state is two-for-two in budget water slaps. Federal MP Bob Katter will be apoplectic.

FIRE ANTS

Queensland is ground zero for one of the nation’s deadliest imported pests – the red fire ant. The destructive insect was recently found on North Stradbroke Island. Programs over the years have been arguably disjointed and ineffective. The budget revealed the federal government is expecting a recent review to have “significant financial implications”.

HEALTH

The centrepiece of the budget is set to make a significant impact in Queensland’s flagging health system – or at least in the discourse around it. There is a $3.5bn boost to help GPs provide free consultations to around 11.6 million “eligible” Australians – meaning pensioners, children, and others on welfare. Others will continue to face gap fees of about $42 on average.

FLOODS

A “commercial-in-confidence” amount of cash will go to building a “new national cell broadcast messaging system”. This is incredibly important, with the complexities of sending out mass evacuation text messages in the 2022 catastrophic southeast floods revealed as a hurdle in the disaster response. There is also $8.6m to generate a national emergency stockpile of lifesaving resources.

Originally published as Federal Budget 2023: Eight ways Queenslanders will be better off