Fitch downgrades Queensland despite budget action

A Queensland state budget that projects A$7.8 billion (US$8.1 billion) of fiscal consolidation over the next three years – and which sparked protests in Brisbane about proposed public sector job cuts – was not enough to prevent Fitch Ratings (Fitch) downgrading the state by one notch to AA stable. The agency says it does not expect Queensland to return to a positive operating balance by the end of the 2013/14 fiscal year despite the government's contrary forecast.