The Queensland premier's continuing calls for a JobKeeper extension for the tourism industry is "petty politicking" as targeted stimulus is already under consideration, the federal treasurer says.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk has been campaigning for an extension of the wage subsidy after March for industries hard hit by international border closures.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has already indicated he's considering targeted stimulus for certain sectors after JobKeeper ends.
"We stand ready to continue to support Queenslanders through this crisis, as we have done from the very start of this crisis," Mr Frydenberg wrote in an opinion piece in The Courier-Mail newspaper.
"No amount of grandstanding and petty politicking by the Queensland premier will detract from the indisputable fact that when it comes to the economic response in Queensland, the Morrison government has done the bulk of the heavy lifting."
He said the Commonwealth had provided $28.5 billion in stimulus to Queensland.
In comparison, the treasurer said, the premier had only pledged to spend $8.8 billion over the next four years.
"Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is entitled to her own opinions but not her own facts," he wrote.
"The reality is the Morrison government has already delivered to Queenslanders more than three times the amount of economic support than the Palaszczuk government has committed to."
Mr Frydenberg said the state government's spending was the lowest as a proportion of Gross State Product of any state or territory at just 2.0 per cent.
He said the federal government would spend 13 per cent of GDP, while Victoria had committed to 9.0 per cent of GSP and NSW committed to 7.0 per cent of GSP.
"Unfortunately for Queenslanders, when it comes to the level of state government support, this is one State of Origin contest their government doesn't win," the treasurer wrote.
Undeterred, Ms Palaszczuk urged Mr Frydenberg to visit Cairns and talk to tourism operators himself about JobKeeper.
"I'm repeating what people are saying to me; it's about listening to people," the premier told reporters.
"Yes, people can have opinions and you can have facts, but when you listen to people firsthand you hear how they're feeling and what they're worried about.
"You only get to know that if you sit down and talk to them."
Australian Associated Press
