Nice little earner: QIC writes a record $6.7b cheque for Government
Booming stock markets have handed the Palaszczuk Government a whopping $6.7 billion in investment returns for the last financial year.
The Governmentās investment manager, Queensland Investment Corporation, said the stateās public service defined benefit scheme was now 120 per cent funded for the financial year.
That followed a warning by the Audit Office earlier this year that falling markets had cut into the fundās value so much it was below the total liability.
Chief executive Damien Frawley said it was an outstanding result āthat will strengthen the stateās balance sheet and provide financial security for the futureā.
He said the $6.7 billion was a record.
QICās flagship Long Term Diversified Fund, which serves universities, local governments, and statutory bodies had a return of 18.3 per cent for the year.
āThis means more money for universities, schools and hospital foundations to invest in improved services for Queenslanders as the community recovers from COVID-19,ā Frawley said.
Frawley, who will retire from his post next year, said QIC was now managing $92.4 billion in assets for the Government and other clients.
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āQIC is unique to Queensland and no other state in Australia has an equivalent. Our contribution to Queenslandās economic prosperity has been significant across our 30 year heritage, ensuring Queensland has the only fully-funded public sector defined benefit fund in the country,ā Frawley said.
While the Government and public servants will benefit from the performance, there was another potentially massive windfall building for Treasury.
Coal prices are at record levels above $US400 a tonne and are likely to hand the State Government a much bigger cheque than the $2.2 billion it was expecting for 2021-22.
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