Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt says key indicators show the Newman Government failing in its first year to create jobs and deliver the economic growth it promised.
“In just over a year the only obvious talent exhibited by the LNP has been its ability to throw up to 20,000 people out of work, cut funds to non-government groups which themselves then shed staff, and to cut frontline services,” Mr Pitt said.
“All of those destructive policies impact on confidence and growth and also contradict LNP election promises.
“These key indicators only add to arguments for the Newman Government to release its secret Costello Audit report which is its economic blueprint.
“We have already felt the destructive effects of the interim report that led to mass sackings and savage cuts to frontline services. We need to see what’s in store when it comes to asset sales, privatisation and outsourcing of jobs and services.
“The Premier and Treasurer have contributed nothing so far to help Queensland grow and to generate the estimated 420,000 new jobs needed to reach a 4% jobless rate.
“The LNP continues to fuss over its new Executive Building in the Brisbane CBD for the Premier and Ministers as its only major capital works project while regional centres need job-creation projects.
“The jobless figures released last Thursday show a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.9% for March this year compared with the 5.5% it inherited in March 2012,” Mr Pitt said.
“While Campbell Newman promised conditions would improve under the LNP with unemployment heading to 4%, conditions have in reality substantially worsened on his and Treasurer Tim Nicholls’s watch.”
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“There are now 28,000 fewer full-time jobs in Queensland than when the Newman Government came to office in March last year. In addition a 1.1% fall in the participation rate shows tens of thousands of people have given up looking for work
“The alarming truth is that if the same percentage of the population were looking for work now as at this time last year both the trend and seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Queensland would now be over 7%.
“The Treasurer as usual tries to cover this up by cherry picking figures, but Queenslanders know the truth and are feeling it.
“Even on the trend figures more than 2,400 full-time jobs were lost in March but the Treasurer is suggesting these results are ‘great’.”
Mr Pitt said the LNP’s mass sackings and savage cuts to frontline services had also impacted on economic growth even before the flooding of earlier this year.
He said the state’s growth as measured by State Final Demand was substantially slower in 2012 compared with 2011.
Growth had also contracted by 0.8% from the June to December Quarters last year compared with growth of 4.6% over the same period in 2011.
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“Even prior to flooding events Queensland Treasury was forecasting slower economic growth in its Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review,” Mr Pitt said.
“No matter how many times the Premier and Treasurer say that they have got Queensland ‘back on track’ and that conditions are now ‘great’ it won’t change this reality.
“Another reality is that matters will only get worse once the Newman Government begins implementing its Costello Audit blueprint and begins selling assets, and privatising or outsourcing government services.”
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