The Liberal National government will unveil its mid-year budget update on Thursday, showcasing the first of its financial management since ending Labor's nine-year reign at the October 2024 state election.
Treasurer David Janetzki has promised to return the budget to an operating surplus in 2026/27 and save nearly $7 billion over four years by cutting back on consultancies and contractor costs.
In the months since taking office, the LNP has unveiled a plethora of cost blowouts it claims were hid by the former government.
Today we can reveal yet ANOTHER Labor Budget Black Hole 🤦�♂— Jarrod Bleijie (@JarrodBleijieMP) The former Palaszczuk-Miles Labor Government only allocated $155 million to build the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Athlete Villages - leaving an almost $3.5 BILLION black hole. pic.twitter.com/d4sGAF3f7yJanuary 22, 2025
The LNP claims the construction cost of the athletes' village for the 2032 Olympics is set to balloon to $3.5 billion.
Queensland Hydro revealed the Sunshine Coast's Borumba Pumped Hydro project had blown out by $4 billion to a total of $18 billion.
The government also claimed the centrepiece Cross River Rail project connecting Brisbane will cost at least $17 billion when it was originally slated to have a $5.4 billion price tag.
Concerns have been raised that the state's 15-year-long S&P Global AA+ credit rating could be at risk due to overspending and debt increasing beyond expectations.
The former Labor government's June budget for 2024/25 was delivered with a $2.6 billion deficit through spending on cost-of-living concessions.
That budget forecasted state debt to grow to $188 billion in four years.
Deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie said the mid-year budget will show the consequences of nearly a decade of Labor governments and how the LNP plans to fix the balance sheets.
"It will expose how bad Labor was in government in the last 10 years," he told reporters on Thursday.Â
"It will expose the lies and deceit of the Labor Party but it will also show the LNP is up for the challenge, up for the challenge of dealing with the chaos and crisis of the former Labor government."
Former treasurer and now deputy opposition leader Cameron Dick defended his government's financial responsibility, claiming Labor had a budget surplus in the financial year ending in 2024 and halved projected net debt.
"That's what we left the government in our fiscal outlook," he told reporters.
"The government has to now explain to Queenslanders what it's going to do to not only deliver cost of living relief but provide strong budgetary outcomes for the state as we did."
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