Queensland does very well out of the Albanese Labor Government, and as a proud Queenslander and as Treasurer I will always ensure that remains the case.
From Caloundra to the Cape, Queenslanders are benefiting from the Commonwealth’s record investment in our great state and from billions more in GST and stamp duty revenue.
In fact, stamp duty has soared by 58 per cent in Queensland over the last two years.
It’s one of the fastest growing revenue sources for the state budget, raking in almost $9 billion last year.
More than half of the increase in tax revenue over the past two years in Queensland has come from stamp duty.
Coal royalties are pouring in as well – almost $5 billion last year and almost $7 billion this year.
GST payments to Queensland are the highest they’ve ever been at almost $20 billion this year, up $2.6 billion compared to last year, and expected to go up every year for at least the next four years.
We’ve made sure our support for Queensland’s industrial facilities like the Gladstone aluminium smelter, the Townsville copper refinery and Mt Isa copper smelter, and the Phosphate Hill fertiliser facility are all exempted from GST calculations.
Our contributions to the 2032 Olympics are exempt from those calculations too.
At the same time, our government is delivering the single biggest ever investment in the Bruce Highway of up to $7.2 billion to bring the entire road to a three‑star safety rating.
There was more than $800 million extra for the Bruce in the May Budget alone.
Our recent Budget confirmed Queensland is receiving more funding from the Commonwealth’s Infrastructure Investment Program than any other state or territory.
We’re delivering tens of billions more for Queensland hospitals, schools, Medicare and aged care, more money for cost‑of‑living relief and more tax cuts for Queensland workers.
This record investment has coincided with some big state revenue upgrades for the Crisafulli Government.
This should all be good news for the state’s bottom line.
That’s why the continuing alarm bells ringing inside credit rating agencies for the last year or more, well before the Commonwealth Budget, are so concerning.
State Treasurer David Janetzki is getting billions more in Commonwealth support, billions more in stamp duty and GST, and billions more in coal royalties.
At the same time, he has been softening Queenslanders up and telling them that a credit downgrade is “inevitable.”
That’s a damning indictment on the Queensland Government’s economic credibility after almost two years in charge of the coffers.
A credit downgrade risks higher debt costs and less money for the services Queenslanders deserve.
David Janetzki has some real questions to answer.
Of course, governments around the world, including state governments, are facing big challenges.
We recognise that, which is why the Albanese Government is stepping up and delivering real change with bold reforms and difficult decisions.
As a result, ratings agencies S&P Global and Moody’s reaffirmed our AAA credit rating just last month.
S&P specifically called out our ambitious tax and savings reforms as helping to improve the nation’s fiscal position over the next decade.
The agency said that “Australia’s fiscal performance is sound,” and “Australia has modest public debt by international standards.”
Moody’s made similar comments, saying “debt ratios at the Commonwealth level remain low” and that our fiscal strategy is “supported by expenditure reforms and a record of conservative budgeting.”
It shows what’s possible when a government takes fiscal responsibility and responsible budget management seriously.
Unfortunately, David Janetzki will point the finger instead.
There are a number of reasons why ratings agencies have a dim view of the LNP’s state budgets, but given the billions of extra dollars we are pouring into the state, the Commonwealth is not one of them.