Budget Politics in Modern Queensland: An Examination of the Values and Policy Priorities of Queensland Governments 1989-2024

The politics of state governments have often been viewed as being less ideological than federal politics, and more concerned with managerial competence in the delivery of state services.  As the COVID-19 crisis has illustrated however, the values and policy priorities of the major parties matter immensely.  Whether it’s determining the severity and extent of lockdowns, the desirability of raising mining royalties, or the level of state debt, these decisions are inevitably informed by the values political parties bring into government.  My work looks at the recent history of Queensland politics, with a particular focus on state budget documents.  State budgets are an important reflection of the rhetorical and policy priorities of governments.  They also reveal how a government conceptualises the major economic and social problems of the state and are an opportunity to put forward a case for why their policies and values are the right ones to deal with these problems.  In this presentation, I will look at the first three state budgets of the Beattie Labor government.