Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt hands down his first state budget tomorrow afternoon, following the ALP’s surprise return to power at the January election.
Whether the Palaszczuk government’s first budget is an opportunity for political gain or a political banana skin is, arguably, the question of the week.
Researchers at Griffith Business School have come up with six other questions they believe should be addressed by Minister Pitt tomorrow, ranging from how the budget will be funded to what the budget speech may not cover.
Energy policy, sustainable tourism and the management of the National Disability Insurance Scheme are among the key themes identified.
Six questions the 2015 Queensland Budget should address are:
- Is the government going to make the same mistake as the previous one and think about the budget only in terms of balancing accounts or will they realise the budget is a tool to achieve a greater economic good?
- Where is the money going to come from?
- What is the new government’s plan for the NDIS rollout?
- How does the government plan to address energy poverty?
- To build on UNESCO’s decision not to place the Great Barrier Reef on its ‘in danger’ list, is the government prepared to invest in management and infrastructure as well as marketing?
- What’s ‘not’ in the budget?
Professor Fabrizio Carmignani (left), Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, highlights what he sees as the need to use the budget as a tool for a greater economic good.
Dr Alex Robson, Director of Griffith’s Economic Policy Analysis Program, will be monitoring the overall fiscal strategy and Labor’s plans to run down debt.
Professor Anne Tiernan (left), School of Government and International Relations, will focus on the policies the new government has in place with an eye on where exactly the money will come from?
Economics lecturer, Dr Liam Wagner, will ask how the government plans to address the rate of electricity disconnections throughout Queensland, while also considering policy around bio fuels and royalty rates.
Investment in management and infrastructure around the Great Barrier Reef will be a key focus for Professor Susanne Becken, Director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism.
PhD researcher, Todd Winther, will be looking closest at how the new Labor Government goes about rebranding the Smart State, in the wake of its surprise election win this year.
Griffith University expert commentators will also review the budget from a range of angles including education, health, policing, social policy, courts, and political gains and losses.