New anti‑privatisation protections are to be introduced into the new $5 billion Future Fund to ensure the State’s strategic assets are kept in public hands.
Treasurer, Cameron Dick said his Department had identified opportunities for the Fund to hold non‑cash investments such as the Queensland Government’s equity stake in Virgin Australia, commercial land and unregulated infrastructure.
Mr Dick said the anti-privatisation measures were part of the Government’s plan to reduce debt and recover from the economic damage wrought worldwide by COVID-19.
“Importantly, strategic assets such as commercial power or water infrastructure will be put into this ‘locked box’ to protect them from being privatised,” Mr Dick said.
“Assets placed in the Fund that are deemed to be strategic assets will be placed in a unit trust and, by law, can only be sold or traded with other State Government entities.”
The Future Fund was announced as part of the Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review (MYFER) in December last year, to be seeded with surplus moneys from the defined benefit fund.
The Treasurer also confirmed the defined benefit fund was still in surplus, despite harsh global economic conditions caused by COVID-19.
“By vesting a prudent proportion of that surplus into the Future Fund, we can free up borrowing capacity to invest in job creating infrastructure to support our economic recovery,” Mr Dick said.
“Regional jobs will also be protected with service-level agreements put in place to ensure that there is no impact on any employees who work on these assets.”
