Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt has promised a Hawke-Keating style reform budget to deal with a hit of almost $3 billion to the state's bottom line.
Mr Pitt says weaker commodity prices and a softer global outlook will force the state to write down $2.98 billion in mining royalties over the next four years, which affects next month's state budget.
Despite the loss of revenue, the treasurer insists his maiden budget on July 14 will be innovative enough to grow the economy anyway.
"It will involve some heavy lifting, but it will I think be one of the most innovative state budgets brought down in Queensland," he told a Property Council of Australia lunch in Brisbane.
"In the best Labor tradition of the Hawke-Keating era, we won't shy away from genuine reform where it's required."
It's uncertain what reform the treasurer has planned as the government has already ruled out any changes to its revenue base.
Mr Pitt has already ruled out changing the first home buyers' grant of up to $15,000, which costs the state about $150 million annually, much to the delight of the property sector.
Deputy Opposition Leader John Paul Langbroek said the announcement of the write down was an ominous sign that Labor was preparing to break its election promise to pay down debt.
"With less than three weeks to go, the cracks in Mr Pitt's budget strategy are widening," he said.
"Queenslanders deserve to know how Labor is going to fix these budget problems that are emerging almost daily."
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