Qld to spend $18bil on infrastructure
The Queensland Government says its State Budget is designed to protect existing jobs and create new ones.
Key spending in the Budget includes $18 billion on infrastructure in FY2010, including $7 billion on transport and roads, $1.3 billion on health, $3.2 billion on energy, $1.8 billion on education and $1.45 billion on social housing.
Specific projects to receive funding include the Wyaralong Dam ($171 million), the Northern Pipeline Interconnector ($211 million), the Toowoomba pipeline ($121 million), the Traveston Crossing Dam ($75 million), a research centre at the new Children’s Hospital ($80 million) and the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project ($135 million).
The State Government has increased the exemption for stamp duty on the purchase of housing land. First-home buyers currently can buy land worth up to $150,000 without paying stamp duty and the threshold will rise to $250,000 on 1 July. The saving for first-home buyers is $5,675 on a block worth $250,000.
The forecast Budget deficit for FY2010 is $1.95 billion, with reduced revenue from property taxes and mining royalties. The State Budget predicts unemployment to rise from 5.3% now to 7.25% in two years.
The state’s economy is forecast to decline 0.25% in FY2010, the first contraction since FY1983. But positive growth of 2.75% is predicted for FY2011.
