Inflated debt claim ignores the facts

Treasurer Curtis Pitt says claims of a total state debt of more than $100 billion are wrong. 

Mr Pitt said total state debt including government-owned corporations, which as commercial operations carried their own debt — repaid by their customers — was forecast to be $75.2 billion in 2016-17. 

“General government debt in 2016-17 — the debt for which taxpayers are responsible — is expected to be $37.7 billion,” he said. 

“This is $10.4 billion less than the LNP said it would be in their last 2014-15 Budget.” 

Mr Pitt said the claim was based on including the borrowings the Queensland Treasury Corporation managed on behalf of local councils. 

“Using QTC’s debt position, which has no relationship to the State Government’s liabilities, gives a wrongly inflated figure for debt. 

“The report also takes Queensland’s debt position from 2014-15 – the last Budget by Tim Nicholls – and ignores a full year of our Debt Action Plan. 

“The claim that Queensland is borrowing to pay for basic services, such as hospitals, is also untrue. 

“The Budget Papers clearly show we have a surplus this year and we’re forecasting operating surpluses for the next four years of the forward estimates. 

“Which means our operating costs are paid out of revenue, with no borrowing needed.” 

Mr Pitt said the government’s Debt Action Plan was working to pay down debt without resorting to asset sales as favoured by Tim Nicholls and the LNP. 

He said the state’s debt-to-GSP ratio had fallen under Labor after hitting a high under Tim Nicholls as Treasurer. 

In 2014-15 under the LNP the ratio was 24.6 per cent for which fell to 23 per cent in 2015-16 and was forecast to be 22.4 per cent in 2016-17. 

For general government debt the ratio was 14.1 cent in 2014-15 and fell to 11.3 per cent in 2015-16 with a forecast 11.3 per cent for 2016-17. 

Mr Pitt said comparisons with the governments of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen were inappropriate. 

“Sir Joh was notorious for underfunding basic frontline services such as health and education,” he said. 

“And any infrastructure plans were based on cronyism not sound decision-making or value for taxpayers.” 

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