Queensland government had asked for Guy Debelle to speak to meeting of state treasurers on climate and monetary policy

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, knocked back a request for the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, Guy Debelle, to address a meeting of state treasurers on climate change.

The Queensland treasurer, Jackie Trad, wrote to Frydenberg in June asking for Debelle to talk to treasurers at the October meeting of the council of federal financial relations in Canberra on Friday about how climate change could affect monetary policy, inflation and economic growth.

Trad’s request was part of a push for a new “clean economy agreement” that would commit Australian governments to act together to meet targets set under the Paris climate agreement.

“As governments we have a responsibility to provide for the future,” Trad told Guardian Australia ahead of Friday’s meeting.

“That’s why it was so disappointing that Mr Frydenberg was unwilling to allow deputy RBA governor Guy Debelle to address the [council] on the way in which climate change could impact monetary policy, inflation and economic growth.”

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“Action on climate change is imperative and needs to occur immediately – as we have seen with energy policy, the lack of a cohesive approach shared by the commonwealth and the states is to the detriment of all Australians.”

Frydenberg rejected the suggestion of Debelle, saying it was established practice for the commonwealth treasury secretary to provide the council with an update on economic developments.

“I see no reason to depart from this usual practice,” he said.

“As you know, the commonwealth government along with state and territory governments have pursued a range of policies which are supporting Australia in its transition to a cleaner economy.”

State treasurers are meeting on Thursday ahead of Friday’s meeting, where they are expected to step up their demand for Canberra to boost infrastructure spending with the states.

The New South Wales treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, is pushing for the federal government to bring back plans for asset recycling for large infrastructure projects, according to a report in the Financial Review.

Trad said most of the infrastructure spending announced in the federal budget was funded beyond the forward estimates.

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“It’s a similar story in other states,” she said. “We need the funding to be accelerated and these projects to be fast-tracked now to provide the stimulus needed.”

She joined the Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, in arguing for the federal government to bring forward spending on maintenance.

“I would also like to see the federal government increase its commitment to jointly funding the maintenance of existing assets, given the role they can continue to play in supporting our communities for many decades to come,” she said.

A recent audit undertaken by Infrastructure Australia identified a mounting maintenance backlog across the country, saying a wave of reform and investment was needed to ensure quality of life and economic productivity were enhanced over the next 15 years.

While the total cost of the backlog in maintenance work is difficult to quantify, Infrastructure Australia said for local roads in NSW is was estimated to be more than $2bn, while Queensland had an estimated health infrastructure maintenance backlog of about $600m.