Palaszczuk Government to establish Queensland Future Fund

The Palaszczuk Government is committed to delivering more jobs in more industries, in addition to building the infrastructure and providing the services Queenslanders need today and in the future.

To support our current economic plan and, importantly, guarantee Queensland’s future economic success, the government will establish the Queensland Future Fund with initial funding of $5 billion.

Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad said the Queensland Future Fund was the best means to ensure responsible budget management while continuing to ensure Queenslanders get access to the schools, hospitals, roads and other public infrastructure they deserve, no matter where they live.

“The Queensland Future Fund provides a guarantee for our future”, Ms Trad said.

“This Fund will form an integral part of the Palaszczuk Government’s plans to continue to deliver strong budgets which allow us to provide the services and infrastructure we need for future growth, while prudently managing our future for the next generation of Queenslanders”.

“Queensland is the only state in Australia which has fully funded our state’s future defined benefits superannuation requirements – a situation states like New South Wales may not reach for another decade.

“For some years, Queensland has set aside more money than we need to address these requirements.

“We now have an opportunity to ensure those defined benefit superannuation liabilities are guaranteed to remain fully funded, while unlocking the excess funding to create the Queensland Future Fund.

“The creation of the Queensland Future Fund aligns with the guidance of the independent ratings agencies by delivering a measured and responsible plan to address debt.

“With interest rates at record lows it makes sense to invest in a Queensland Future Fund because the returns from our investments are higher than the cost of interest payments.

“As returns from the Fund are used exclusively to pay down debt, we can continue to improve the key metric used by the ratings agencies, our debt to revenue ratio.

“We have lowered Queensland’s debt to revenue ratio and are keeping it below where the LNP left it.”

“Prudent financial management of our balance sheet means we can now start to provision for our future without compromising on the infrastructure and services we need now.

The Queensland Future Fund will be seeded with an initial $5 billion investment.

$2 billion will be redirected from the Government’s existing debt retirement plan and a further $3 billion will be invested from the surplus in the Defined Benefit fund.

The Defined Benefit fund will continue to remain in surplus.

The Queensland Future Fund will be managed by our internationally renowned investment arm, Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), who have been returning significant earnings back to the Queensland taxpayer for decades through the sound investment management of our fully funded Defined Benefits scheme.

The Fund will be added to over time and investment returns will be quarantined and returned to the balance of the funding.

That means that over time, the Fund’s balance will grow to offset any borrowings required to build the infrastructure we need for Queensland’s future growth.

The Fund, similar to the NSW Generations Fund, will be established under an Act of the Queensland Parliament, and will require that funds can only be used to pay down debt.

These laws will also provide a new 100% guarantee of the state’s future Defined Benefit liabilities, to provide strengthened protection in addition to other legislation already in place.

“The Palaszczuk Government is committed to delivering the services we need today, while making sure our best days are ahead of us,” Ms Trad said.

“We are building better budgets and delivering better infrastructure and services and, like all Queenslanders, we are planning for our future.”

The Palaszczuk government is delivering the jobs, infrastructure and services we need today but also ensuring we manage today’s budget with an eye to the future and the generations of Queenslanders who will follow.

The establishment of the Queensland Future Fund will ensure our generation have put in place a long-term sustainable plan – guaranteed by law – to alleviate the debt burden on future generations of Queenslanders.

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