Spring has almost sprung upon us, and we look forward to the sunshine seasons bringing more tourists
to the Gold Coast economy. If anyone has been flying lately, you would realise the chaos inflicting our
airport travel at the moment with delays and cancellations of flights an everyday occurrence. It is to be
hoped the airports and airlines can sort out this major impediment to travel quickly before it has a major
impact on our tourism industry.
However, spring is also accompanied by The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) having raised interest
rates for four consecutive months with the board indicating that it is unlikely to be the last rise for 2022.
This will only contribute to existing mortgage stress for families and accommodation security as rents
remain high with low supply and rising energy costs. The fuel excise cut has provided temporary relief
however is due to return to the full levy at the end of September this year which will adversely impact
tight budgets. With Queensland’s inflation currently sitting at 7.3%, the second highest in the nation, well
above the national inflation rate of 6.1% tough times are here to stay for a while.
Parliament has just concluded the Estimates process where the Opposition gets to grill the Government
over its past and proposed expenditures for the coming years ahead. It was a damning exercise for the
Palaszczuk Labor Government with Government waste brutally exposed over the deal with the
Wellcamp quarantine facility showing the government had blown $237 million for a white elephant with
virtually no occupancy and no return. Similar government waste campaigns were highlighted in their
attempt to attract new tradies to Queensland spending $2 million with only 2 tradies being the final
outcome. $1 million each is a complete joke on the taxpayers of Queensland.
$1 million spent on a youth correctional facility in Caloundra that was abandoned to protect their sitting
Labor member, IT project blow-outs and the list goes on. Even spending thousands of Queensland
taxpayer dollars on a court case preventing the Crime and Corruption Commission publishing a report to
Parliament on the corruption investigation into former Deputy Premier Jackie Trad highlights the disdain
this Government has for financial responsibility of spending Queensland taxpayers’ money prudently.
The health crisis is rampant in Queensland again similar to the Premier Anna Bligh days when she said
our health system was a basket case and needed to be split in two. It’s not the amount of money they
spend on health it’s how they spend it and what they spend it on. Their focus has been on more union
members when it should be on more beds, more doctors and more nurses. There will not be one more
bed provided in Queensland until 2026 and that is causing the ambulance ramping at hospitals with
patients lying inside ambulance beds waiting to be admitted. This in turn reduces the capacity for
ambulances to attend real-life emergencies and the actual ramping figure of ambulances across
Queensland is an incredible 43%.
Should you have any State issues you would like to discuss please feel free to contact my office on:
Tel: 5600 0100 / Email: Mermaid.Beach@parliament.qld.gov.au
You can also find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RayStevensMP.
Best wishes
Ray Stevens MP
State Member for Mermaid Beach
