I'VE been asked in recent days about what an LNP Queensland Government will look like going forward, particularly now Treasurer Tim Nicholls has handed down our first budget, a budget designed to set the Government's finances on the road to recovery.

It will be the most efficient, modern and service-oriented Government in Australia.

In other words - the best!

We have taken on the job of properly co-ordinating and consolidating expensive messes like departmental IT systems and government purchasing - from road base to paper clips.

We're going to partner with efficient, service-oriented private companies where it is practical.

We're going to put more information out to the public, so that it can be used by all sorts of people - off their own bat and at their own cost - to develop solutions.

We're going to make it so departments can share their information, and Queenslanders can call one number to access Government services.

We're going to have a minimum of 20 per cent less red tape, and we're going to improve planning and project approval systems so business can get going with projects, without unnecessary interference and delays.

We are interested in practical, business-driven solutions to address the problems affecting Queenslanders.

If you can't do more with less, keep looking for new solutions, and introduce efficient new systems and technology, then you can't put downward pressure on cost of living, which I believe is still the biggest issue for everyday Queenslanders.

The Commission of Audit interim report shone a very harsh light on the dire state of the Government's finances.

We've made some very tough decisions, and I acknowledge some unpopular ones, to prevent our state from falling further into a pit of debt.

In our first six months in office my team has delivered on a long list of real outcomes, 58 of them ticked off within our first 100 days.

Our Six Month Action Plan, which takes us to the end of the year, contains another 149 commitments we are working hard to deliver on time and on budget.

This action plan sets out a way forward to delivering on the five pledges made to the people of Queensland at the beginning of our first term.

These pledges are: to grow a four-pillar economy; lower the cost of living by cutting waste; deliver better infrastructure and planning; revitalise frontline services for families; and restore accountability in government.

The specific actions we've committed to achieving by the end of this year are listed in our Six Month Action Plan.

The 2012-13 State Budget is a budget that will not only repair and restore, it will redefine and redirect Queensland's economic future toward the vision I have outlined today.

We're embarking on economic growth of 4 per cent, second only to Western Australia.

Through prudent economic management we have a budget turnaround of $11.5 billion.

We will also stabilise debt at $81.7 billion in 2014-15, ensuring debt will no longer reach $100 billion in 2018-19, as the Commission of Audit found it would have done if we followed the financial practices of the previous government.

Because of the work that Mr Nicholls and my ministers have done, Queenslanders will save $1.3 billion over four years in interest payments alone.

Earlier, I referred to how we are building a four-pillar economy.

The foundation on which those four pillars (tourism, agriculture, resources and construction) are being built is a community that values and nurtures creativity.

The scientific support, the research and development, the technological grunt so important to making sure Queensland commerce and industry keeps pace in this rapidly developing world must be allowed and encouraged to flourish.

I want to build a Queensland in which young people not only get a world-class education, from prep to university, but then also are given the opportunity to put their knowledge to use right here at home.

We will continue working every single day to achieve these aims, to unlock the potential of our state; and help Queenslanders prosper and make the most of life.

As a government, we remain committed to delivering on our promises and are determined to return prosperity, opportunity and reward to the lives of all Queenslanders.

Campbell Newman is the Premier of Queensland. This is an edited version of the "State of the State" address he delivered to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on Wednesday.

Originally published as Newman: We will be the best in Australia