Economist Warns Queensland LNP Budget Driven by Fear of Newman-Era Backlash

One economist says the Queensland LNP government has approached its latest budget too cautiously and that the party remains “spooked by the ghost of [former leader] Campbell Newman.”During its announcement, the Liberal National Party claimed the state’s debt was $73.5 billion lower than it would have been under a Labor government, and will be in surplus by the end of the decade despite a current $140 billion shortfall.The budget promises cheaper living, major infrastructure, regional development and record funding to health, housing, education and emergency services.Funds will also be stumped up for new hospitals, social housing and fire stations alongside ecotourism initiatives and preparations for the 2032 Olympics.“We are delivering what we said we would, with the hospitals, schools, generational infrastructure, housing and police we promised, all with no new or increased taxes,” Crisafulli said as the budget was handed down on June 23.“We’ve got more frontline workers than ever before including more police, more teachers, more nurses and more doctors, and we’re delivering more healthcare and better transport, with relief you can rely on.”But economist John Humphreys and member of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, says the LNP is anxious about its last, brief foray in government from 2013-2015.“It looks like the LNP is spooked by the ghost of Campbell Newman, and scared of Labor running a fear campaign about spending cuts, so they’ve gone the other direction, and are now increasing spending faster than the New South Wales, Victoria and federal Labor governments,” Humphreys told The Epoch Times.“It might be safe politics for the premier, but it’s bad policy.“The LNP needs to relearn how to defend responsible economic management, or they will only ever be a placeholder.”While LNP still holds a firm lead in the polls in the state compared to other jurisdictions where the conservative-leaning One Nation has largely supplanted the traditional centre-right option.Humphreys says the budget lacked ambition, spends too much, and shows signs of deficits long into the future.“As a result, the budget forecasts a $6.2 billion operating deficit and an eye-watering $15.3 billion fiscal deficit, which is the highest in the country,” he said.“More deficits means higher debt, and the Queensland net debt is on track to increase from 3 percent of GSP last year up to 15 percent by 2030.“The Queensland budget was released on the same day as the New South Wales budget this year, in a fiscal rematch of the state of origin … but unfortunately we lost this contest badly.”With One Nation soaring in recent polls, Humphreys says the party is currently an “unstoppable force” and the Queensland LNP may need to become more assertive to compete.“If the state government wants to withstand the orange wave, they need to rediscover some political bravery,” he said.“If One Nation want to keep the momentum, they need to put forward some credible state leaders.“The most immediate threat is to the National Party. They may not exist in two years’ time.”Mixed ReactionsThe Queensland Resources Council called the budget “short-sighted“ and criticising the continuation of elevated mining royalties that were introduced under Labor to capitalise on higher commodity prices as the state sunk under rising debt.“Higher royalties are not delivering a stronger state—they are reducing investment, hurting regional businesses and workers,” CEO Janette Hewson said.The organisation did praise the funding directed at the industry in the budget though, which allocates $146 million to critical minerals development, including a $100 million investment fund and $19 million for fuel security initiatives.Property Council Queensland Executive Director Jess Caire said the budget’s infrastructure focus was welcomed, but called for an emphasis on growth to follow.“Queensland’s property industry pays more tax and generates more jobs than any other sector. The real opportunity for us now is to grow the pie by attracting more capital to deliver more homes, more jobs and stronger long-term revenue,” he said.Housing group QShelter said the budget had some good measures for addressing homelessness but now needed to move from crisis management to genuine prevention.“We can’t afford to wait until people’s circumstances are desperate to intervene,” CEO Fiona Caniglia said.“There is so much more work we can do to move upstream in our focus to prevent crises from emerging.”