Today’s state final demand figures reveal Queensland’s domestic economy contracted during the June quarter 2015 due to the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s inaction.
Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek said the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealed Queensland had the worst result of any state, with seasonally adjusted state final demand falling 0.8 per cent in the last quarter.
“The next worst state was South Australia with a drop of 0.2 per cent over the same period, while New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia all saw strong growth,” Mr Langbroek said.
“The trend figures also show domestic economic activity falling by more than $300 million in Queensland during the June quarter.”
Mr Langbroek said he was worried Queensland was falling behind the other states under a do-nothing Labor government with no plan for growing the economy.
“It’s important to note state final demand figures exclude net exports, which is particularly important in Queensland, so it doesn’t give the total picture of Queensland’s economy,” he said.
“Queensland is by no means in a recession, and we’re not going to claim it is just to score a cheap political point - like Treasurer Curtis Pitt has done in the past.
“Mr Pitt has previously said ‘state final demand is a key ABS measure of domestic spending in the economy’.
“The Treasurer’s lack of an economic plan has seen the Palaszczuk Labor Government fail in this key measure.
“Unfortunately, today’s figures are the latest in a series of economic releases that show Queensland is falling behind the rest of the pack.
“The latest trend building approvals released this week have declined for five consecutive months, compared to ten straight months of growth just prior to the January election.
“Last week’s Sensis business survey showed net confidence in Queensland is the lowest in the nation.
“This goes to show Labor is more focused on reviewing projects and internal squabbles than growing the economy and delivering more jobs for Queenslanders.”
