Unlike their parallels in Canberra and some other states,there’s no while journalists are “locked up” to look over documents before details are released to the world at 2pm as Treasurer Cameron Dick stands up in parliament.
Despite the smiles in newspapers across the past week,one of the carefully choreographed stories accompanying them featured Dick explaining this budget was his toughest yet.Jamila Toderas
Apart from the usual slow-drip of details from senior government members in the months,weeks,and days ahead to set the vibe – including interviews with and fresh smiling newspaper photos of the money man himself – of course.
And despite the toothy grin,one of the headlines accompanying those carefully choreographed stories handed to some media this year featured Dick explaining this budget was his toughest yet.
The reasons are largely due to the rising costs pressing on Queenslanders,but the solutions have to be carefully threaded to avoid adding to the driving up.
(The reasons behind the smile maybe to do with the buckets of extra cash last year’s coal royalty tier changes are pouring into the budget equation – tipped to be,for now,despite an ongoing resource sector effort to have the higher tiers dumped).
Kindergarten could be made free to thousands of families across Queensland,under a cost-of-living shake-up.
In a budget-eve press conference to announce some extra money for a social housing construction pipeline,Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was keen to paint the budget as one focused on helping people with “national cost of living pressures”.
Additional energy bill rebates for concession cardholders. Last month,the government revealed it was considering further assistance with.
Swim lesson vouchers for some families,as will,funding for and cash for regional-bound health workers or students.
Housing and crime,topics which have this year,will also feature.
On the former,Dick remains coy about some levers his government could pull – despite Victorian counterparts suggesting last month they were open to looking at.
Asked about the broader benefit of the budget process for Queenslanders,Dick toldBrisbane Timesin an interview last week that it still formed an important legal and constitutional framework for the spending of public money.
And in allowing governments to give a regular update to citizens on how much they’ve made and how they propose to spend it,also “set out their vision of where they see their community going”.
LNP Opposition Leader David Crisafulli will deliver a budget reply speech on Thursday,in which he’ll either attack some of the government’s measures and/or lay out some ideas of his own.
One of the Queensland LNP’s “Pressure Relief fund” ads running on Facebook.Facebook
Speaking to reporters on Monday,shadow treasurer David Janetzki suggested Palaszczuk and her team were “blaming others” for cost of living pressures while failing to offer any long-term fixes.
To date,. The party,at least,is instead running a raft of social media ads calling on Queenslanders to “stand up to the pressure” and donate to its “pressure relief fund” (aka 2024 election campaign fund).
“Help Queensland go from good to great!” a slightly more upbeat one suggests.
Beyond the messaging of both major parties,if Queenslanders even hear it while focused keenly on their own budgets,is the bigger question:will they like what they see?
ICYMI
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