Adept Economics Director Gene Tunny was recently quoted in the Australian Financial Review in an article written by Mark Ludlow titled Economists warn of $118b Queensland debt bomb (pay-walled). The article discusses Queensland’s ever-growing state debt, border closures, and the Queensland election campaign which is currently underway.
While acknowledging the Queensland Government has done a good job to stop the spread of Coronavirus, Gene discusses the adverse effect that the ongoing Qld-NSW border restrictions have had on the Sunshine State. The Qld-NSW border restrictions are arguably unnecessary and represent a disproportionate response to the risk, in Gene’s view. Furthermore, as the total debt figure for Queensland increases, it is suggested that the Government needs to present a clear plan for stabilising debt to avoid leaving a ‘debt bomb’ for future generations.
The AFR article was based on a report Gene co-authored with Joe Branigan on Queensland’s budget outlook. This report was prepared for the Australian Institute for Progress and you can read more about it here:
Qld budget update report for Australian Institute for Progress