Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has announced her government’s intentions to prioritize the reconstruction of the state ahead of any bid to reclaim its AAA credit rating, according to a report in The Financial Review.

 

The pledge by Ms Bligh comes as the total cost inflicted by the spate of natural disasters suffered by the state tops $6 billion. Economic growth for the year has also been all but wiped out, with revised economic figures down from 3% to 1%, but forecasts predict a return to economic stability with an expected growth of 5% next financial year, backed by a booming state resource sector.

 

Ms Bligh voiced her confidence to the Australian Financial Review that such an economic turnaround would lead to substantially increased business and consumer confidence despite the $84 billion in debt currently owed by the government. 

 

Queensland lost its AAA credit rating with Standard & Poor in February 2009, when the Bligh government revealed that the state budget had plunged $1.6 billion into deficit.