Qld election 2024: Campbell Newman threatens to sue over ‘desperate’ Labor TikToks

Steven Miles has distanced himself from a Labor-certified social media page which describes former premier Campbell Newman as the “devil” and attacks Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.

Premier Steven Miles has distanced himself from the Labor-certified page. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Premier Steven Miles has distanced himself from a Labor-certified social media page that attacked Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and past premier Campbell Newman.

Mr Newman has threatened legal action of the “desperate and juvenile” Queensland Labor’s social media account that describes him as the devil and attacked Mr Crisafulli.

The account, dubbed MilesHQ, is authorised by Queensland Labor state secretary Kate Flanders and depicts Mr Crisafulli going on a house tour of his “inner-city mansion”, a 50 days of LNP cuts advent calendar and features videos claiming the LNP is going to criminalise abortion.

@mileshq_

wouldn’t trust JD Vance or Crisafulli to sit on my couch #couch#qld

♬ original sound - MilesHQ

It also sensationally labels Mr Newman the “devil”, prompting the former premier to warn he could take legal action.

Mr Miles however, said any questions about the content were “matters for the Labor Party”.

“And having seen some of the remarks from Fiona Simpson this morning, I’d suggest you should have a look at the LNPs page,” Mr Miles said.

He also denied having seen the post comparing Mr Newman to the “devil”.

Mr Miles indicated the lowbrow content was not comparable to an earlier AI deepfake video created by the LNP that depicted him dancing.

“Well, the point I was trying to make at that time was that we’ve all been trained to believe what we see in video, and if a political party is willing to use AI and do fake technology to make fake videos, then you have to question everything,” he said.

Mr Miles said it was his responsibility as a politician and a leader to be present on social media.

“Many members of the community use social media, and that’s why I’m posting Instagram,” he said.

Vision of Mr Crisafulli sitting on a lounge to record a podcast prompted Labor to compare him with Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance, who faced online claims he once attempted to have sex with a couch. Mr Crisafulli has never been accused of such activity.

“Wouldn’t trust J.D. Vance or Crisafulli to sit on my couch,” the caption read.

@mileshq_

Crisafulli wants to show you around his bulimba mansion (he ‘represents’ Broadwater) #qldpol#secret

♬ original sound - MilesHQ

Ms Flanders said the account was aimed at engaging Queenslanders in political debate.

“Sometimes that includes adding in creativity, fun and humour,” she said.

“Through TikTok we can show the down-to-earth nature of Premier Steven Miles and remind people of the risk that David Crisafulli and the LNP pose to the future of our great state.”

Opposition integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson used the page to call on Queenslanders to vote for the LNP.

“I have never seen a more desperate and juvenile campaign like the one we are seeing from the Miles Labor Government,” she said.

A reel using a Soap & Skin’s song that labels Mr Newman a devil infuriated the former LNP premier.

“I suggest they take it down right now because it is defamatory,” he said.

“It’s this sort of vilification and extreme language that’s caused the sort of scenes we’ve seen in the US where people are going after political leaders and candidates with high-powered weapons – it’s un-Australian and it’s wrong.

“Queenslanders need to look beyond the lies and scare campaigns of the Labor Party.”

@mileshq_

Worst advent calendar 💀 ✂️ #qld#queensland#cuts#davidcrisafulli

♬ original sound - 🆁🅼🆇 🅳🅹

Mr Newman used the government’s focus on his record to challenge Mr Miles to a public debate.

“I’m happy to challenge Steven Miles to a debate about my legacy and compare it to his and (Annastacia) Palaszczuk’s debacle of a 10-year period where things have fallen apart in this state, especially in our hospitals, schools and on our streets,” he said.

In July Mr Miles criticised the LNP for sharing a deepfake video showing ‘him’ dancing.

“Between now and the election Queenslanders cannot believe a thing they see from the LNP because it could be real or it could be fake,” he said.

Queensland Labor’s videos of Mr Crisafulli are not deepfake.