22 June 2020

 

UNITE AND RECOVER JOBS FOR QUEENSLAND

 

Yesterday the Premier released Stage 2 of the Queensland’s Economic Recovery Strategy: Unite and Recover for Queensland Jobs.

The COVID19.qld.gov.au  website has been updated to reflect Stage Two of the Unite and Recover for Queensland Jobs.

In summary,  it focuses on building the infrastructure needed for the future and to greenlight jobs now especially in regional Queensland. The package also addresses the small business and tourism sectors which have been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic. The Strategy includes:

• Up to $100m in small business grants – further funding to help sustain small businesses so they can respond quickly post COVID-19 with half of the funding allocated to small businesses in regional Queensland.
• $15m airline route support – to support and encourage domestic tourism spend across Queensland. 
• $8.93m national parks works and jobs boost – to provide visitor infrastructure upgrades and enhancements to re-energise nature-based tourism.
• $106m support for home building: to stimulate the building market for new homes valued at less than $750,000:
  • first home owners grant – re-affirm our commitment to the $15,000 first home owner grants program for any Queensland first home buyers purchasing a new home.
  • regional home building boost – to provide a $5,000 grant for buyers of a new home (as principal place of residence) in a regional location (in addition to the $15,000 for first home owners).
• $100m housing construction – works for tradies – to boost housing supply, drive economic activity and support construction across Queensland.
• $50m SEQ community stimulus program – further funding to local government to support minor works and projects that create local jobs in our most impacted areas.
• $1.175m regional training infrastructure – to upgrade existing TAFE training campuses
• $2m agribusiness diversification assistance – to build capability and explore potential diversification opportunities in agricultural businesses, including for tourism.
• $5.5m digital transformation in agribusiness – to develop integrated supply chains that improves traceability, biosecurity and food safety.
• $5m reinvigorated agricultural trade relationships – to support e-commerce and virtual trade facilitation in key markets and assist coordination of demand for additional regular air freight services.