The Queensland Government announced it has aligned closely with budget forecasts for the first half of the financial year after releasing its Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review (MYFER) for 2025-26.
The state is estimated to hold $146.9 billion in debt by the end of this financial year, eliminating $910 million from the forecast in the 2025-26 Budget. This positions Queensland at $204.9 billion by June 2029, representing a $761 million decrease to the $205.7 billion forecast.
The previous government forecast total debt to reach $218 billion by 2027-28.
Treasurer David Janetzki says the budget was intended to lay the foundation for repairwork “with MYFER revealing that plan remained on track”.
“We promised a calm and methodical approach to begin the challenging task of budget repair, while bringing forward investments to address the health, housing, crime and cost of living crises facing Queenslanders,” Janetzki says.
The Queensland Government intends to deliver additional funding for key initiatives, including supporting the future of Mount Isa and North West Queensland.
Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment, and Training Ros Bates says the government illustrated “responsible and disciplined expenditure management in the MYFER”.
“The MYFER demonstrates that the Crisafulli Government is delivering the plan we outlined in the budget and restoring respect for taxpayers’ money,” Bates says.
“Unlike Labor’s reckless financial mismanagement, which saw expenses rise by an average of 2.5% between each budget and MYFER in their last four years, the Crisafulli Government is being responsible and disciplined with expenses growth of just 0.2% this year since the budget.”
While debt concerns loomed on the release of the budget in June 2025, the government highlighted a focus on infrastructure in the 2025-26 financial year, with $116.8 billion invested into Queensland’s infrastructure ahead of the 2032 Olympics, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Queensland will allocate $9 billion into the Bruce Highway upgrade, The Wave all the way to the Sunshine Coast Airport, and Faster Rail to the Gold Coast.
Key developments for the Olympics will see a new stadium in Victoria Park in Brisbane, which is forecast to hold a crowd of up to 63,000 people as reported.
The Victoria Park stadium could require at least 15,000 tonnes of steel, in comparison to the UK’s largest stadium, Wembley Stadium, requiring 23,000 tonnes of steel for its holding of 90,000 seats.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Stock
