Queensland Greens MP Michael Berkman says the LNP’s Budget is “uninspiring” and has again called on the Government to raise mining royalties to fund public services, infrastructure and cost of living relief for Queenslanders.
Quotes attributable to Michael Berkman, Greens MP for Maiwar:
“What an unambitious, uninspiring shell of a Budget this is. The most exciting thing they’ve done since winning the election is begrudgingly adopt 50 cent fares and rebranded club sport vouchers, two ideas they lifted from Labor who took them from the Greens!
“The LNP moves like greased lightning when it comes to cutting off trans kids’ access to healthcare, evicting people from social housing or ditching their Treaty commitments, but they’re all “slowly, slowly” when it comes to actually governing for Queenslanders.
“As compensation for the 22 year delay in meeting minimum school funding requirements, families will get a hundred bucks a year for school expenses - maybe they can buy one shoe and half a textbook?
“The LNP’s crisis housing funding drops off a cliff after next year, and their supposed home ownership plan is limited to 1,000 applicants over two years - or, up to 0.05% of the 1.8 million Queenslanders who are currently renting.
“What neither major party will admit is that you can’t fix the housing crisis without taking on the big banks and banning unlimited rent increases.
“If the LNP had the guts to raise gas royalties to 35% as the Greens propose, we’d have an extra $19 billion over the next four years to give Queenslanders what they deserve.
“If they’d raised coal royalties instead of letting Labor’s short-term boost trail off into the ether, there’d be an extra $32 billion to spend.
“They could be funding universal school meals, a publicly owned housing developer, free psychology sessions and a better public transport network if they weren’t so scared of the fossil fuel industry’s wrath.”