Under Treasurer's report
The 2003–04 year brought a number of important fiscal and economic milestones for the State as well as some significant organisational developments for Treasury.
The Queensland economy is estimated to have grown by four per cent in 2003–04, the eighth consecutive year that Queensland has recorded higher growth than the rest of Australia. The 2003–04 year also saw a return to a strong fiscal surplus as investment returns recovered in a resurgent equity market. State revenue was well above Budget, reflecting the State’s robust economic and employment growth.
The State’s fiscal and economic strategy, set out in detail in the State Budget 2004–05, focused on delivering the Government’s Smart State agenda. A key priority for the 2004–05 Budget was the full implementation of a range of child safety reforms and the Government’s election commitments. Treasury is working closely with Government agencies to implement these Budget initiatives.
We also worked with agencies to coordinate the Government’s submissions for the 2004 Commonwealth Grants Commission Report on State Revenue Sharing Relativities. In its 2004 review report, the independent Commonwealth Grants Commission recommended Queensland’s share of GST revenue be increased by $262 million.
In addition to our work in managing the State’s resources, Treasury undertook a wide range of activities across its diverse business areas throughout the year.
QSuper, administered by the Government Superannuation Office, expanded its services to members during a year in which it ranked as one of the top-performing funds in Australia.
Business practices and payment methods for tax clients were improved through a realignment of the Office of State Revenue and the development of a new revenue management system to streamline pay-roll tax administration. A new state-of-the-art Client Contact Centre was opened at 33 Charlotte Street, Brisbane to deliver better service to clients.
Treasury continued to educate young people about responsible gambling through the Responsible Gambling Teaching Resource Kit. In 2003–04 the fourth responsible gambling education module In Control: Taking Responsible Risks was released to schools throughout Queensland.
Treasury, through the Shared Service Implementation Office, oversaw the transition to shared services by establishing shared service providers and CorpTech on 1 July, 2003. Over 4,700 people were transitioned in 2003–04, with minimal disruption to services and business continuity maintained. Importantly, after its first year of operations, CorpTech, our centre of excellence for business support systems, commenced fundamental re-engineering of sector-wide financial, pay-roll and document management systems.
Over 900 Treasury staff were relocated in 2003–04 to a new government building at 33 Charlotte Street, Brisbane. The relocation offers increased opportunities for collaboration between portfolio offices and information sharing.
Treasury was an active participant in sector-wide rotation programs, particularly at the senior executive level. As a result, we obtained the benefit of senior executive placements from other agencies while broadening the experience and knowledge of our own executives.
I am proud of Treasury’s achievements and that of its staff in 2003–04 and look forward to positioning Treasury for the future in the year ahead.
G. Bradley
Under Treasurer