I rise to make my contribution on the budget debate for 2026-27. This budget builds on the fantastic work that the Crisafulli government has delivered across the state since being elected in October 2024. A large part of that work has been to remedy the damage caused by a decade in which Labor allowed the fundamentals of government to deteriorate—community safety, access to health care, housing supply, cost-of-living pressures and the delivery of essential infrastructure. Queenslanders elected this government because they wanted these problems confronted honestly. They wanted fewer excuses, fewer announcements that led nowhere and more practical delivery.
This budget is not a victory lap; it is the next stage of a long repair job. I spent more than 50 years
working in the building and construction industry, and I have learned that when you take over a project that has been badly managed you do not cover the cracks with a coat of paint and hope nobody notices; you inspect the damage, stabilise the foundations and establish a proper plan and get on with the work. This is exactly what the Crisafulli government has been doing since October 2024. We have been fixing the foundations of this state while continuing to deliver the services Queenslanders rely on every day. It shows that this government understands the difference between spending money and achieving results. Labor has always been very good at the former and desperately hopeless at the latter. When this government came to office, it uncovered the true state of Queensland’s finances. Under Labor, the 2026-27 operating deficit would have been $9.2 billion. This budget delivers an improvement of nearly $3 billion. Total state debt is now forecast to reach $216.5 billion at the end of the forward estimates in 2029-30. Labor’s debt trajectory at the same point would have been $290 billion. That is the difference between responsibility and an opposition that still refuses to account for the mess it left behind.
In our first budget, every one of my election commitments for Capalaba was funded. Work was advanced on the investigation of a future Metro connection to Capalaba, planning for the duplication of the EGW Wood Bridge is now underway, investigating the future of Leslie Harrison Dam, major upgrades to local schools and TAFE, the new RSPCA Wildlife Hospital at IndigiScapes and funding for improved tools to combat motor vehicle theft. This budget continues that momentum. It delivers an overdue intersection upgrade on Moreton Bay Road at the Capalaba Central Shopping Centre. This will help to keep drivers safe on what is already a busy arterial road. It also provides critical investment into local schools and TAFE, including $1.3 million for Alexandra Hills State High School for new and upgraded fire safety systems to keep our kids safe in an emergency. Further funding to schools around the electorate will ensure their facilities can keep pace with the growing demands of local students and families.
I am also pleased to see that $11,000 is being delivered to support the brilliant work that Capalaba Meals on Wheels is doing for those vulnerable people in our communities when they need it most. We are also delivering the very first MRI machine at Redland Hospital, ensuring that residents of the Redlands can access world-class health services sooner and closer to home. Together, these investments show that Capalaba and the broader Redlands are no longer being treated as an afterthought. The people of Capalaba elected me to be their advocate and to deliver practical outcomes. I will continue to push for safer communities, better transport, stronger local health services and the infrastructure our growing region deserves. This budget is another important step in that work. It is responsible, it is focused and it keeps Queensland moving in the right direction. The Speaker has reviewed and approved the remainder of my speech on the budget for incorporation. As such, I ask that the remainder of my speech be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings.
The speech read as follows—
Speaker, we are strengthening the foundation for a fresh start and investing in our state’s future. Queensland is a prosperous and growing state, and that growth brings real opportunity, but also real demand on hospitals, schools, housing, roads, police and essential services.
The cost-of-living challenge is front and centre in this Budget. In Labor’s last full year of office, Queensland experienced some of the sharpest cost-of-living increases in the country. In one year alone, power prices were up 19.9 per cent, three times the national average, and insurance was up 18.5 per cent.
This Budget delivers nearly $9.3 billion in cost-of-living relief supporting Queenslanders in 2026 27. That is a $700 million increase on last year’s package. More importantly, it is targeted, responsible and ongoing support designed to improve living standards now and into the future.
For families with children, the Back-to-School Boost will increase by 50 per cent to $150 for every primary school student in Queensland. Play On! Sports Vouchers have been locked in to support families who would otherwise have seen that assistance end under Labor. Free kindy health checks are being expanded, with $37.5 million over five years to help families manage cost-of-living pressures.
For commuters, the LNP’s permanent 50 cent fares will be legislated so Steven Miles can never leave them unfunded again. Bulk water prices in the South-East will be frozen for two years, saving households around $130. For vulnerable households, the Electricity Rebate Scheme, frozen by the former government, will again increase by 3.4 per cent to almost $400. The boosted First Home Owner Grant of $30,000 has also been extended for another four years.
This Budget also recognises that energy reliability and energy prices matter. Through the Energy Roadmap, the Electricity Maintenance Guarantee increases to $1.8 billion over five years. Lower power prices for Ergon customers are being locked in as part of the Energy Roadmap Price Drop, saving families around seven per cent and businesses around eight per cent by passing on the full power price reduction.
Restoring community safety is another key area that we are focusing on. This Budget invests $7.2 billion into making Queensland safer. That funding supports stronger laws, more police, new early intervention and rehabilitation programs, better resourced courts, more prevention and victim support for domestic and family violence, reform for child protection and child safety, and more support for victims of crime. I know how important these measures will be to ensure victims of crime receive the help they need and that fewer Queenslanders will become victims of crime in the future.
There is also $23 million to recruit more frontline officers, because laws need police on the ground to enforce them. There is a $495.9 million investment over four years for new and upgraded police stations, facilities and police beats, including stage two of the Kirwan Police Facility. The expansion of the Woodford Youth Detention Centre will deliver an additional 32 beds. The Budget also funds new Crime Prevention Schools and Youth Justice Schools, along with targeted programs to break the cycle of reoffending, including $80 million for a remote rehabilitation-focused program for youth offenders.
We are continuing the electronic monitoring trial program for high-risk domestic violence offenders. The Budget also implements recommendations of the inquiry, with a $200 million investment in 2026-27 and the establishment of a new Queensland Protection Commission, with more than $250 million over four years to implement the In Plain Sight response. The Budget also provides $37.1 million over four years to clear the DNA backlog and recommence forensic testing at the state’s forensic laboratory.
Housing is another area where the foundations must be strengthened. This Budget invests $12.3 billion to unlock more land for homes, deliver social and community homes, support first homeowners and support Queenslanders at risk of homelessness. Land for more than 98,000 new homes has been unlocked through the Residential Activation Fund, and round two has been doubled to $1 billion.
The Infrastructure Activation Fund, with cumulative funding of $2.4 billion available to Queensland including federal funding, will unlock development-ready land to deliver 20,500 homes for first homeowners. The government is also investing a record $5.7 billion over four years as it works towards 53,500 new social and affordable homes by 2044.
This Budget also delivers a record $35.5 billion health budget and continues the work of healing Labor’s health crisis. The Hospital Rescue Plan is fully funded, delivering three new hospitals in Toowoomba, Coomera and Bundaberg, and ten expanded hospitals throughout the state to deliver more than 2,600 new hospital beds. The Budget provides $297 million in 2026-27 to deliver 30,000 surgeries under Surgery Connect. It invests $57.7 million over four years into maternity services across Queensland, including reopening maternity services in Biloela and Cooktown. It also invests $74 million to continue delivery of the Closing the Gap Priorities Fund for better health and essential infrastructure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The Budget also builds Queensland’s future. The 2026-27 capital program will deliver $119.2 billion over four years to 2029-30, supporting investment in critical infrastructure across transport, health, education, energy and water assets. It includes The Wave stage one progressing through design, the continued rollout of Country Roads Connect and ongoing targeted Bruce Highway safety upgrades. It develops a new Gold Coast Transport Plan and includes works to the new Brisbane Stadium as part of the $7.1 billion joint venture funding.
It also invests through the $300 million Games Legacy Fund and delivers the second round of the $250 million Games On Program for generational grassroots sporting infrastructure. It includes a record $3.2 billion investment to build the CopperString energy project, 22 new schools, a $200 million North West Energy Fund to unlock new resources and critical minerals projects, and $59.8 million in 2026-27 to continue planning for the rebuilding of Paradise Dam.
Water security is being further strengthened, with $545 million over six years for capacity-restoring upgrades to existing dams, starting with works to restore North Pine and Lake MacDonald towards full service levels. This is the equivalent of a new dam for the state, more than double the size of the Bjelke-Petersen Dam.
Speaker, this Budget is one which further stabilises and builds on the foundations that the Crisafulli Government has set since being elected in 2024. It repairs the Budget while continuing to deliver. It honours election commitments. It funds the services Labor left exposed. Most of all, it shows a government focused on the practical work of rebuilding Queensland. Responsible management of our state’s finances allows us to continue delivering for Queenslanders well into the future, and I look forward to carrying out that work for my local community.