Privatising the Sunshine State

The tax reductions would be partly financed by reducing concessional expenditures, such as subsidies for tariffs and petroleum, and some allocations included under the rubric of “general public services”. These reductions would involve no more than bringing Queensland’s spending in these areas down to the same as the average for the states.

Further expenditure savings could be made by reducing the excessive number of departments and statutory authorities - by amalgamating those with similar functions and eliminating functions such as the government printer, and by centralising public works maintenance that the private sector could perform more efficiently

There is also a case for limiting the annual growth in public service employees to, say, 1 per cent after their recent growth of over 3 per cent in circumstances where the annual population growth has been only 2 per cent.

Over time, significant savings in expenditure would also emerge if the policy of an enhanced private sector role in providing intra-government services was seriously pursued. That would include implementing the Audit Commission’s purchaser-provider model.

But the most important initiative would be the pursuit of policies to actively encourage both non-government schools and private hospitals, and to replace services provided by most public corporations with those provided by private sector enterprises. I outline possible such policies in my report, but mention four main themes here.

First, an announced government policy intent of a comprehensive and enhanced private sector role in Queensland in relation to so-called government services, and more generally.

Second, an announced intention that most of the $22 billion of public corporation assets will be sold.

Third, an announced intention of active encouragement of non-government schools and private hospitals, and an indication of specific policies designed to achieve that end.

And fourth would be an inquiry into establishing an elected upper house as a house of review as a means of having additional accountability testing of the government.

The challenge to all state political parties is to recognise that state government action along these lines will be beneficial to residents (and visitors) - and to the government itself.

By beneficial I mean not simply an improved economic situation but a society that will be more satisfied with life because individuals will make more decisions themselves - and the role of governments will be limited to no more than what cannot be performed by individuals or private enterprises.