Thanks to Queensland's public service cuts, finding a parking space in Brisbane's central business district is no longer a problem. Besides the lesser number of public servants reporting for work, fewer Queensland residents go to Brisbane for business.

As s result, entire floors of carparks are empty and business is hurting because the lack of new projects is hurting the state economy. The retail gloom actually started earlier in 2009 as an aftermath of the global financial crisis, but the public spending cutback are pushing the stores to near closure.

"Independent retailers in particular don't have the resilient characteristics that chains have. To expect them to continue to survive in the face of this prolonged downturn I think is not realistic. We're certainly going to see continued business failures in the retail sector until the end of this year," Adelaide Now quoted National Retail Association spokesman Gary Black.

Due to the public spending cuts made by the new Queensland government, the number of full-time public employees decreased to 4,400.

The Newman government is scheduled to cut about 2,000 more jobs from Translink and the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the change includes the department absorbing Translink, the south east public transport agency.

The new round of job cuts would include 600 positions at Road-Tek which is engaged in road construction and maintenance. The Road-Tek and Translink job cuts are expected to save Queensland $287 million over the next four years, Mr Emerson disclosed.

Premier Campbell Newman added that over 300 contractual and temporary positions at Q-Build will also be axed to just 78.

"These decisions are not easy. But the alternative is the Labor way: a state plunging towards a projected $100 billion debt and a state where costs of living items such as fares and registration continue to skyrocket," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mr Emerson.

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