George Street Beat: Qld politics news and gossip

Premier Steven Miles has revealed his wife buys his shirts as he slammed the LNP’s attack dog Jarrod Bleijie as “low” for targeting him personally. THIS IS GEORGE STREET BEAT

There’s a new development in what GSB is dubbing shirt gate.

You’ll remember, deputy opposition leader and LNP attack dog Jarrod Bleijie last week used a speech among LNP friends to claim the Premier purposefully wears shirts five sizes too small.

Not a column to shy away from the tough questions, we put it to the Premier: Do you buy small shirts on purpose?

“They’re questions you’d have to direct to Kim because she buys my shirts for me,” he deflected.

GSB wasn’t eager to follow up with Queensland’s first lady about the reason she puts her husband in tight shirts.

But the Premier (right) used Mr Bleijie’s comments to offer his own barb. “It’s just evidence of how low and how personal the LNP will go and Jarrod can answer for his own action and behaviour,” he said.

Steven Miles gets his guns out on Facebook

BREE’S LEARNINGS

A cold wasn’t going to dampen David Crisafulli’s chance to rouse the troops at the LNP’s state convention last weekend.

He promoted the quality and diversity of candidates. “To name a few: a baker, a sparky, a teacher, police officers, several small business owners, community leaders, councillors, health workers, migrants from Greece, India and Vietnam, a

22-year-old who would be the second youngest person ever elected to the parliament and in the 14 most marginal seats, 10 women”.

GSB thinks the LNP might have been able to dig deeper into this cast of candidates to find a better one to deliver the vote of thanks after Mr Crisafulli than Barron River candidate Bree James (right).

Ms James candidly revealed she “didn’t even know the functions of the three levels of government” before she was endorsed as a candidate for the LNP.

We know the LNP wants ordinary Queenslanders as candidates, but let’s hope Ms James is a fast learner.

LNP Candidate for Barron River Bree James addresses the media on Friday morning. Picture Emily Barker

GRIM GERBER 

Government ministers are forever screaming for the LNP to detail its plan for government – and GSB picked up on a particularly concerning faux pas from youth justice spokeswoman Laura Gerber.

Asked to outline how much more time behind bars a child would get under the LNP’s “adult crime, adult time” policy, Ms Gerber said “it could be upwards of life if manslaughter is involved … (for) unlawful use of a motor vehicle”.

What’s upwards of life in prison? Capital punishment was abolished in Queensland 104 years ago and, despite Ms Gerber’s slip, the LNP has no plans to bring it back, GSB was emphatically and repeatedly told.

Speaking of crime, did the LNP steal the Katter’s Australian Party youth crime policy for its “adult crime adult time” campaign?

It’s true, KAP did concoct the idea of mandatory minimum sentencing for serious repeat offenders back in 2020, branding its youth crime policy as a “circuit-breaker” for the crime cycle. The LNP would argue that its proposal is totally different to mandatory minimum sentencing for kids, it’s just raising the current maximum sentence to adult levels and allowing judges to sentence them to the lower end of that spectrum, but not a mandatory minimum, oh no no. Thieving crime policy … how ironic.

Shadow Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber talks at a press conference at Parliament House on Sunday morning. Picture Lachie Millard

$40K KEEPS THE GROCERS AWAY

Premier Steven Miles’ supermarket inquiry cost a pretty penny, but what does Queensland have to show for it? The GSB writers have done the maths and, at a conservative guess, the inquiry cost taxpayers about $40,000. One could argue that all Queenslanders received in return was a nice piece of paper that said we should do what the federal government was already doing. Thankfully, we hired King’s Counsel to make sure.

STAB THE HEART

The LNP infiltrated the Labor heartland of Ipswich this week to launch its youth crime policy.

It’s a longstanding sore spot for Labor and the LNP came out guns blazing with this one, promising Queenslanders that if juveniles commit adult crime, they’ll get adult time, while also vowing to ensure repeat offenders would have access to 12-month rehabilitation programs once they left detention.

We asked David Crisafulli if his travels to Townsville and Ipswich – two prominent youth crime areas – were part of a seat-targeting strategy based on how the LNP might fare in the election. The Opposition Leader didn’t flinch and simply replied: “That’ll be a question you can ask me at the start of October.”

Sigh.