A three-minute guide to the Queensland 2024-25 budget

“That means zero state government impact on council rates bills,” Dick said.

“If council rates bills rise, that is entirely a matter for those councils.”

Brisbane City Council will hand down its budget on Wednesday.

Dick delivered a record health (a 10.6 per cent increase for Queensland Health, whereas the historical average was 6.9 per cent) and education ($20.9 billion in 2024-25) budget.

Revenue will be $6 billion higher than expected, compared with last year’s budget forecast, reaching $88 billion in 2024-25.

But growth in tax revenue will be offset by an expected decline in royalties and spending on cost-of-living measures, housing, health and community safety.

Spending will increase to reach more than $90 billion this year.

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General government sector debt will balloon to more than $100 billion, hitting $111 billion by 2027-28.

A $3 billion savings plan over four years will aim to return the budget to surplus from 2026-27.

Dick insisted the state’s credit rating would not be at risk, arguing NSW and Victoria had higher levels of debt and had kept their credit ratings.

There will be an extra $1.3 billion over five years for community safety, including supporting victims, boosting the frontline and “preventing crime before it occurs”.

Key projects include $5.5 billion for the new Direct Sunshine Coast rail line between Beerwah and Maroochydore; $7.1 billion over nine years for Olympic and Paralympic Games venue infrastructure; and $16.5 billion for renewable energy and storage projects.

Global geopolitical tensions remained a key risk to Queensland’s economic outlook, including the war in Ukraine and the ongoing risk of an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East, which could affect oil prices and threaten global trade routes, budget papers said.