What Queensland’s next premier told a room of paying guests

Across 62 10-person tables, packed into the room for the second leaders’ debate of the election campaign, one thing was almost universal: someone paid for each seat – $200 to be exact (excluding fees).

So those there to hear Queensland’s next premier pitch their vision and field questions were a certain type of voter – high-profile individuals from the political, corporate, union, lobbying, developer and major project worlds.

The debate may have been streamed beyond the four walls, but the performances were for those in the room. And perhaps most instructive was the riffing the leaders did around the edges of their largely rehearsed and repeated responses.

Labor Premier Steven Miles and LNP Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at Wednesday’s debate.Credit: AAPIMAGE

When asked if he would repeal the state’s ban on political donations from property developers, LNP leader David Crisafulli’s eventual response (“you bet”) was new.

While not “part of his plan” to deal with youth crime, health, housing and the cost of living, he allowed himself to be drawn off message to emphasise the LNP still viewed the donation ban as unfair.

(Crisafulli’s first debate appearance also gave us the unscripted concession that he would quit as leader if he couldn’t bring crime victim numbers down by the next election.)

Pointing to the fact that the corruption watchdog report the government relied on to put the ban in place was only focused on council-level donations, Crisafulli said change was needed.

Also lamenting changes capping parties’ campaign spending, as well as that from third-party groups (of which about half are unions), Crisafulli said the ability to donate “should be [for] everyone or no-one”.

Not mentioned was the High Court case fought, and lost, by the LNP around the donation ban. Nor the fact that political donations are now capped in Queensland.

“The other thing that has to change is the voting system,” Crisafulli continued, reiterating his belief (to the largest applause of the event) that preferential voting should again be optional.

The major parties have long been on a self-serving see-saw over this issue.

“The government changed the voting system ... [and] the reason why that’s the case is because there’s this unholy alliance between the Greens and the Labor Party, and it’s the reason that they stay afloat in the inner-city seats,” he said.

This prompted an interjection from Premier Steven Miles, who said Crisafulli should “watch it”, given the LNP’s suggestions that voters preference One Nation and Katter’s Australian Party above Labor.

Not mentioned by Miles was the fact that Labor suggests voters put KAP above the LNP in some seats.

The lack of detail from Crisafulli in many areas was again in Miles’ focus – a strategy sharpened by two weeks of indirect answers over whether he would grant his MPs a conscience vote on a KAP-promised effort to recriminalise abortion.

Miles, for his part – and despite the Queensland Resources Council being on one of the tables – continued to raise the prospect of Crisafulli also renegotiating Labor-increased mining royalties.

The LNP leader still paid plenty of attention to the “four crises”, but also gave a shout-out to the union table he accused of “removing the last premier” and installing Miles.

Both leaders responded to a question about ending some of the more baseless attacks by doubling down on them (LNP hospital sales or staff sackings), or raising others (Labor’s “patients’ tax”).

With the cost of living and housing front of mind for most voters, both leaders also gave rare one-word answers on whether Brisbane’s house prices were too high for median incomes.

“Yes,” was the reply from both. But Crisafulli, unlike Miles, went a little further by suggesting a reason for the high prices: “Because wages don’t match the cost of doing it, and there’s only one way to fix it, that’s supply.”

But one point both leaders agree on is that more houses need to be built to lower prices (along with a rejection of rent caps). More good news for many in the room.

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