Qld election 2024: David Crisafulli to resign as premier if he fails on crime

David Crisafulli has pledged to resign as premier after one term if the number of Queensland crime victims does not fall.

Premier Steven Miles (right) and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli during Thursday night’s debate. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

David Crisafulli has pledged to resign as premier after one term if the number of Queensland crime victims does not fall.

In a stunning commitment to Queenslanders, the man on track to become premier on October 26 said he would not seek a second term in 2028 if he failed to drive down victim numbers.

“(Queenslanders) have had enough of the broken promises and I’m serious about it and I’m not giving myself any wriggle room,” he said.

“It’s victim numbers, it’s not number of unique offences and what happens on a Wednesday.

“If there aren’t fewer victims, you won’t be seeing me.”

Mr Crisafulli made the pledge in the first election debate against Premier Steven Miles on Thursday night.

FOR UNPARALLELED STATE ELECTION COVERAGE, FOLLOW THIS LINK

Mr Miles said victim numbers were lower under the Newman government because they excluded a range of domestic violence offenders.

“They said they only wanted to count the victims that matter,” the premier said.

“We included domestic violence offences, and the full range of domestic violence offences.”

Crime, cost of living, building and expenditure dominated the hour-long battle.

Former premier Campbell Newman declared Mr Miles the winner.

“Miles did far better than expected being calmer and more measured,” he said.

“In contrast Crisafulli looked agitated.

“Whilst both were policy light the Premier came across as more convincing.”

Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk did not comment.

Mr Miles hit back at Mr Crisafulli’s question about whether he regretted changing youth justice laws in 2015.

“That is a oversimplification of what is a very complex problem and that might be fun in opposition but it’s not going to serve you in government,” he said.

Premier Steven Miles (left) and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli during Thursday night’s debate. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

Mr Miles also attacked the LNP leader on the economy as Mr Crisafulli declined to say whether he would reveal how his election commitments would be funded before early voting starts on October 14.

The LNP leader was also pushed to provide detail about how he would ensure infrastructure projects were delivered on time and on budget.

“Ministerial accountability is important to me,” Mr Crisafulli said.

It prompted the premier to respond: “You’ve got $16bn of unfunded commitments, you should sack yourself”.

Billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief including $1000 energy rebates and a 20 per cent car rego cut is unlikely to be extended by Mr Miles next year.

“The measures that will continue are 50c fares, that energy price guarantee, the capping of fuel price increases so we have comprehensive plans for the future, but those measures were designed to help right now,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli took aim at the government’s “scare campaign” on women’s rights and was forced to double down on his pledge not to re-criminalise abortion or voluntary assisted dying.

“I can assure you we don’t have plans to make those changes,” Mr Crisafulli said.

It prompted the premier to declare them “weasel words”.

“Don’t have plans to means something different to will not happen,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli then said changes to voluntary assisted dying “will not happen”, before Mr Miles declared “you can’t guarantee that”.

After pledging to introduce state-owned fuel stations and a second publicly-owned energy retailer to take on Ergon in regional Queensland, Mr Miles was questioned about whether he would pledge government-run supermarkets.

“Fuel and energy are different to other products, they are essentials,” he said.

Mr Miles four times declined to say whether the state government had done a good job of planning the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli made the stunning pledge during Thursday night’s debate. Picture: 9 News

“This is going to be a great Olympics,” the premier said.

When challenged, Mr Miles declined to say whether it was him or Ms Palaszczuk responsible for the lack of progress on the Games.

Mr Crisafulli said he had some “firm views” about planning for the Games, but refused to reveal what they were.

He insisted planning would be fixed within 100 days.

The premier faced pressure from Mr Crisafulli to explain why the government was pushing ahead with payroll tax on general practitioners, which he’s dubbed the “patient tax”, that would raise $100m each year.

Mr Crisafulli asks: “Why would you embark in the middle of a health and cost of living crisis?”

“You know that it’s something that you’ve made up,” Mr Miles said.

“We’re also making sure all of our pharmacies can deliver many of the services that in the past, people would need a GP’s appointment to get because at the moment, people struggle to get one.

“Let’s be honest about who crippled bulk billing, 10 years of the LNP’s freeze on bulk billing rebates.”

The premier was questioned about the truth of whether the Department of Premier and Cabinet had investigated the legalising of cannabis for recreational purposes.

He said while public servants undertook different work, a re-elected Labor government had “no intention of making that change”.

Mr Crisafulli declined to reveal why he paid $200,000 following his time as a director of failed business SET Solutions.

“I came into a business with a promise from the owners that there’d be capital and when it didn’t eventuate, I left that business,” he said.

“I met all my obligations and there were no findings.”

Mr Miles asked whether it was “$1.4m outstanding to the tax office, or $1.6m?”

Originally published as Qld election 2024: David Crisafulli to resign as premier if he fails on crime