APPROPRIATION (PARLIAMENT) BILL; APPROPRIATION BILL; REVENUE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL; BETTING TAX BILL
Mr MELLISH (Aspley—ALP) (3.39 pm): Today I rise to talk about the budget. This budget is about creating jobs in a strong economy and building the economy of the future. We are delivering for today’s Queensland and also planning for the economic future of the state. I congratulate the Deputy Premier and Treasurer on a great fourth budget of the Palaszczuk government—a budget that delivers for all Queenslanders with a record Health spend, a record Education spend and sensible fiscal management which honours our election commitments. The world is changing, how we communicate is changing and technological innovation is increasingly impacting on every aspect of Queenslanders’ lives. I am very pleased to be part of a government that is tackling these issues head-on and a government that is striving to improve the lives of all Queenslanders.
In terms of the raw figures, this government delivers for Queenslanders in this budget and also delivers to Queensland communities on a real basis, with strong investments in Health, Education and Transport, particularly in the Aspley electorate. The budget expects a surplus of $1.5 billion in 2017-18, which only has a few weeks to run, which is more than three times the size of the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review forecast. The budget also forecasts operating surpluses over the forward estimates, starting with $148 million in 2018-19, and economic growth is forecast to accelerate from 2.5 per cent to three per cent by 2018-19. Queensland now has the second highest annual employment growth in the country. Employment growth is forecast to strengthen to 2¾ per cent over the year to the June quarter 2018, the strongest growth in more than a decade. More than 150,000 jobs have been created since we came to government in 2015. That is the equivalent of 4,000 new jobs in Queensland every month since January 2015.
In this budget we see the biggest capital works program since the 2011 floods recovery. Yesterday I heard a lot of noise from those opposite about infrastructure, specifically infrastructure and funding they want in their areas, but not once did I hear anything from those opposite about standing up to the federal government and demanding our state’s fair share in funding. There was nothing about honouring 80-20 funding splits on either the M1, the Bruce Highway or the north coast rail line. There was nothing about the lack of federal funding for Cross River Rail—a crucial project that is the precursor to any future additional capacity on the entire South-East Queensland network—and absolutely nothing about the pending Turnbull government response to the Productivity Commission’s review into GST.
Our delivery of the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project is still sadly opposed by those opposite, but we are getting underway with it. When in government those opposite had a chance in 2013 with federal money on the table, but instead they pursued the fanciful BaT tunnel which has not been heard of since. What a joke that project was, but we are getting on with it. During the five-year construction period, Cross River Rail will support an average of 1,500 jobs every year and up to 3,000 jobs in the most intensive year of construction. There will be an economic benefit of $1.41 to every $1 invested on the project. It will reduce commuting times for people of Aspley by up to 15 minutes a day by unlocking half of the CBD which is currently more than a kilometre away from any station and allowing more express trains to come from my electorate. In contrast to the smoke and mirrors approach of the budget reply of those opposite, this budget actually delivers.
Looking more locally, this budget is a great win for the Aspley community, with funding for new projects locally as well as delivery of my election commitments. The Palaszczuk government and I are delivering on transport solutions in Aspley, with local sporting infrastructure and schools also getting a boost in this budget. No-one wants to be stuck in traffic, which is why I am getting on with real transport solutions in the electorate. Some $2 million is being allocated for a detailed design into a completely new interchange at the intersection of Gympie Arterial Road and Strathpine Road in Bald Hills. Money is being set aside for design works for an on-ramp extension at the intersection of Linkfield Connection Road and Gympie Arterial Road in Bald Hills.
Geebung Bowls Club is a fantastic asset to our community. However, a number of its facilities are outdated and in need of repair. Some $500,000 has been allocated in this budget to assist in the upgrade of the toilets and other infrastructure at the club. The bowls club has recently become the new home for the Queensland Blind Bowlers Association which bowls there every Monday, so these improvements will also make the facilities much more useable for the vision impaired. Congratulations to Ron, Richard and everyone down at the Geebung Bowls Club for taking the blind bowlers on board. These funds will definitely provide a much needed boost locally.
Aspley State High School is receiving a $10 million funding boost for new and upgraded infrastructure as part of the Palaszczuk government’s Renewing Our Schools program. This funding will be a great boost for a quality local school that is going from strength to strength. I am very pleased to see that the hard work of the Craigslea State High School and the Craigslea State High School P&C is coming to fruition in that we are backing in its canteen upgrade. We are putting in more than $150,000 to match its $142,000 commitment to upgrade the canteen at the school.
Geebung Station is a major train station in our area and I am very excited to confirm that there has been money allocated for 70 extra car parks at the park-and-ride to get more people on public transport and relieve some congested local roads. This budget also delivers funding for the Northern Transitway, a $53 million project that goes from Kedron to Chermside with dedicated bus lanes during peak hours without losing any existing car lanes. That will certainly reduce commuting times into the city.
Basketball has been growing fast in Brisbane for quite some time now and the Northside Wizards Basketball Association has done a fantastic job of creating a welcoming and inclusive community. I am extremely happy to announce that this budget confirms $5.5 million for converting a disused shed in Zillmere into a new home for basketball on the north side. The proposed plans include five indoor courts, with the potential to expand into the future. I am very excited about this project and the local benefits it will bring to the whole community. In fact, the location for this project is a disused shed that used to be the home of the SDS, the government stationery supplier, until it was closed down by Campbell Newman in 2012. We are re-using a disused government facility and this is just a great community outcome all round.
Speaking more broadly, of course we realise that the workforce is changing and we need to be constantly poking and pulling economic levers where needed to correct market failures and the take-up of new technologies in particular. The Premier and Treasurer are to be commended for seeking out that new overseas investment in new and non-traditional industries which drive the economy into the future. The opposition likes to mock our industry attraction efforts, but at the end of the day no-one is going to back a state and invest in it if it does not have the confidence to back itself and to actively seek out new investment. Investors do not just fall into your lap; you have to chase them down. In this vein I congratulate the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, the member for Woodridge, and the former minister, the member for Stafford, in getting Rheinmetall to choose Queensland as part of its massive Defence bid which will deliver quality jobs for Queensland for many years to come.