Labor accuse Campbell Newman of acting like 'little dictator' as Queensland pre-election war heats up

QUEENSLAND'S bitter pre-election war continues to gather strength  as Labor accuses Campbell Newman of acting like a "little dictator".

Campbell Newman

QUEENSLAND'S bitter pre-election war continued to gather strength as Labor accused Campbell Newman of acting like a "little dictator".

Not even his colleague, Jeff Seeney, could put out the fire, conceding some in the party struggled with the LNP leader's "disciplined" style.

"We haven't had the discipline, we've certainly got it now and I think there are some people that have accepted that a lot easier than others," the Opposition Leader said.

"There's no question about that . . . I'm not going to try and hide it."

Labor frontbencher Stirling Hinchliffe launched the personal broadside during a verbal stoush on morning radio.

"I think the little general, Campbell Newman, is sort of looking to run a junta rather than a government," he said.

It came after a week of intense debate centred around the former army man's dogged refusal to release details of his wages and personal interests.

Mr Newman only caved to mounting pressure after days of Bligh Government political point scoring.

Mr Seeney yesterday said Mr Newman - who pockets $12,000 a month or $144,000 a year from the LNP for campaigning outside State Parliament - had disclosed more than any other politician by also publicly releasing his wife's interests.

Yet he all but admitted the "quibbling" had damaged Mr Newman's credibility in the public's eye and could have been handled better.

"Hindsight's a wonderful thing as well but it's all been disclosed now and everything is out there," he said.

"I don't think what politicians get paid is nearly as important as what they deliver."

Mr Newman, who was yesterday at Stanthorpe and Warwick in the state's southwest, used a written statement to denounce Mr Hinchliffe's assault as muckraking.

"Queenslanders are telling me that they are sick and tired of Labor throwing mud instead of focusing on the real issues affecting Queensland," he said.

But Mr Hinchliffe continued to play on the uncertainty created by Mr Newman's initial refusal to update his personal interests.

"I think the people of Queensland are asking those questions and people certainly in my electorate have concerns raised about what we've seen over the last few days," he said.

Mr Hinchliffe also pointed to "discrepancies" in Mr Newman's arguments, after his initial claims to be earning less than his Ashgrove rival, Labor's Kate Jones, were shown to be incorrect.