A Queensland family could receive as much as $10,000 in household cost-of-living relief from the 2024-25 budget, treasurer Cameron Dick said.A Queensland family could receive as much as $10,000 in household cost-of-living relief from the 2024-25 budget, treasurer Cameron Dick said.treasurer, Cameron Dick, says the government made a “deliberate choice” to put the budget into deficit in order to fund a series of temporary cost-of-living measures ahead of the October election.
“Delivering a deficit, spending more than the government collects in revenue, is not, and should never be an easy choice,” Dick told parliament on Tuesday. Polling has suggested Labor was facing a heavy defeat in October, after almost 10 years in power, after the retirement of long-serving premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last year.
The slide back into deficit has coincided with a crash in the metallurgical coal price, meaning royalties revert to prior rates. Next year, the state’s income from coal royalties will drop back below 2022/23 levels.Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersThe budget also anticipates a 10.6% increase to health spending next year – a direct response to concern about hospital wait times, particularly in regional areas.