Queensland's Labor government will take $4 billion out of a superannuation scheme for public servants to pay down debt and fund infrastructure.
Treasurer Curtis Pitt last month confirmed the government would "repatriate" some of the $10 billion surplus in QSuper's $34 billion defined benefit scheme.
But his second budget, handed down on Tuesday, revealed exactly how much - $2 billion to fund infrastructure and another $2 billion to pay down debt.
Mr Pitt said the State Actuary had advised up to $5 billion could be repatriated while maintaining Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) guidelines.
"We are making this decision to create jobs and support the economy and we make no apology for it," he told parliament.
Mr Pitt assured public servants in the scheme that their entitlements wouldn't be affected, insisting Opposition scaremongering was unsubstantiated.
The treasurer described his second economic blueprint as a "back to work budget", framing it around three key priorities - innovation, investment and infrastructure.
He said the government's focus was on job creation, with record spending in health ($15.3 billion) and education ($12.9 billion).
"Every major initiative is geared at getting Queenslanders back in jobs, or making their existing jobs better and safer," he said.
Several sweeteners have been included in this year's budget, particularly for the state's regional areas.
An extra $100 million has been allocated to a new scheme to find work for about 8000 regional Queenslanders, there's been a $175 million boost to the government's Building Our Regions infrastructure program, and a stamp duty exemption will be introduced for landholders who pass their farms down to the next generation.
The government will also spend $229.9 million over four years to make public transport fares cheaper and increase the first home owners' grant by $5000.
Nevertheless, Mr Pitt said operating expenses would be kept lower than revenue, which were expected to grow 2.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent per annum respectively.
He said the government would also introduce a new fiscal principle to ensure public sector employee numbers don't exceed population growth over the forward estimates.
"It will ensure a balance between delivery of high quality of services and the discipline that underpins this government's commitment to fiscal sustainability," he said.
The government forecast combined surpluses of almost $3.2 billion over the next four years.
It's down on the $6.9 billion predicted in last year's budget, but Mr Pitt described it as "a very sound financial outlook".
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