It’s a make or break day for Steven Miles.
As he stares down the indignity of losing the October election, the Queensland Premier is targeting what is overwhelmingly the biggest issue for voters: the rampantly high cost of living.
So concerned is he about Labor’s inability to address inflation — at state and federal level — he has been prepared to plunge mining-rich Queensland back into deficit to provide a suite of measures to ease people’s financial hardship.
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Last year, treasurer Cameron Dick announced a surplus of $13.9 billion for 2023/24.
When he hands down the state budget on Tuesday at 2pm, that’s expected to fall to a deficit of $3 billion this financial year.
So what are Queenslanders getting in return? The government has been spruiking a series of financial relief pre-announcements in the lead up to Tuesday.
Here is a list of the budget’s cost-of-living measures so far:
- Freezing of government fees and charges, including the cost of driver’s licences
- A household energy bill discount of $1000
- Public transport fares slashed to 50c from August 5
- Airtrain tickets reduced from $21.90 to $10.95
- Car registration costs reduced by 20 per cent
- Children’s sports vouchers increased from $150 to $200
- Threshold for the first-home owner concession on stamp duty increased from $500,000 to $700,000. Also applies to the first-home vacant land concession threshold, increasing from $250,000 to $350,000
This list will be updated when the budget is handed down.
More to come …