Queensland budget 2015: Winners and losers

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Neutral: Employment

  • Unemployment to stay at 6.5 per cent until at least 2017, falling back to about 6 per cent in 2018-19.
  • Implementing a $1.6 billion Working Queensland jobs plan to create the conditions for growing jobs and building new businesses.
  • The jobs plan will focus on five key priorities: improving skills and training, enhancing business productivity, boosting government services, fostering emerging and innovative industries and building regions.
  • The jobs plan includes $240 million over four years to reinstate the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, aiming at helping up to 32 000 Queenslanders to find work through targeted skills and training programs.
  • Providing $40 million over four years to establish Jobs Queensland as an independent statutory authority to provide advice to government on skills demand and long-terms workforce planning.

Winner: Education

  • Providing $34 million over three years and ongoing funding of $500,000 a year from 2018-19 to restore TAFE Queensland’s status as the state’s premier provider of vocational education and training.
  • Almost $250 million over four years to lower class sizes and provide an extra 875 teachers – including 275 specialist teachers for high schools.
  • A total of $6 million over three years to develop an enhanced new teacher classification system and pay structure to modernise and improve the teaching profession.

Winner: Health

  • Queensland Health’s budget to grow by 4 per cent this year to $14.2 billion.
  • $361 million over four years to implement the Outpatient Long Wait Reduction Strategy to address the “wait list for the wait list”.
  • Up to 4,000 new graduate nursing places.
  • Employing 400 Nurse Navigators to help patients navigate across the health system.
  • $27.2 million over four years for Health for Life! Taking Action on Diabetes – a program targeting 10,000 Queenslanders at high risk of developing diabetes and helping them make positive changes to their lifestyle.
  • $193.5 million over four years for the start up of the Sunshine Coast Public University Hospital – to support the transition of clinical services, staff recruitment and medical school placements.
  • $180 million over four years for the Enhancing Regional Hospitals Program to upgrade Caloundra Hospital Service, Roma Hospital, Hervey Bay Emergency Department and Gladstone Emergency Department.

Loser: Business

  • Payroll tax threshold increase on hold.
  • The former LNP Government had promised to lift it by $100,000 from July 2015.
  • Labor will maintain current arrangements, resulting in a saving of $40 million this financial year, and up to $160 million by 2018-19.

Neutral: Senior concessions

  • No additional benefits, but pensioner concessions for electricity, water, gas and transport will be fully funded ($347 million) by the State Government, after the Federal Government withdrew funds.
  • Concessions of up to $710 a year are available for eligible pensioners, and discounts of 50 per cent will be available for car registration and public transport fares.
  • The Queensland Government says it’s covering a $52 million shortfall after the Federal Government cut its funding to the pensioner scheme.

Winner: Infrastructure

  • An estimated $10.1 billion for infrastructure across Queensland, supporting 27,500 direct jobs.
  • It includes funding of $20.2 million to establish a new independent statutory authority, Building Queensland, to provide independent, expert advice on infrastructure priorities.
  • It includes funding of $4 billion for a Transport and Roads program to build and upgrade key transport arteries: upgrading the Gateway Motorway North to six lanes, the commencement of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, a suite of roads projects on the Gold Coast in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, and further duplication works on the Bruce Highway.
  • It includes $300 million for rail improvements, including 75 new trains by December 2018.

Winner: Public safety

  • $32 million over four years to address alcohol-fuelled violence across the state.
  • A further $20 million will be provided over four years to the police service to target organised crime, alcohol-fuelled violence and the drug ice.
  • $6 million allocated over three years for body worn cameras to improve safety for Queensland Police officers.
  • Police frontline services will be bolstered with 266 new police officers and 977 new and replacement police vehicles.

Loser: Car owners

  • Car registration increased by 3.5 per cent on July 1 after a three-year freeze. The cost of putting a four-cylinder car on the road rose by $12 while the cost of putting a six-cylinder car on the road rose by $17.