‘Stand up, be straight with Queenslanders’: Newman’s election warning to Crisafulli
Campbell Newman has accused the LNP of not taking the fight to Labor and has warned the party is at risk of losing the next election with its current standing in the polls.
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Campbell Newman has accused the LNP of not taking the fight to Labor, as he warned the party was at risk of losing the next state election with its current standing in the polls.
In an interview with The Courier-Mail, the former premier also urged Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and LNP MPs to “stand up and speak up and be straight” with voters about their policies.
And he declared the LNP could win the 2024 election on youth crime alone – while also revealing it was unlikely he would make another tilt at politics in the future.
A YouGov poll conducted exclusively for The Courier-Mail last month revealed the LNP was leading Labor 51-49 per cent on a two party-preferred basis.
On the primary vote, the LNP increased by one point from the last poll to 39 per cent – but Mr Newman doubts this will be enough to overcome Labor at the election in October next year.
“After eight years of this dysfunctional, hopeless, unaccountable, and secretive government, the LNP should be leading in the polls by a very significant margin,” Mr Newman said.
“Anna Bligh led a terrible government. Annastacia Palaszczuk leads an even worse government.
“Anna Bligh’s government was a far superior government to this one. And you have to ask why Bligh was so much more on the nose.
“And the answer is, the opposition this time around haven’t done their job effectively in taking the fight to Labor.”
When the Newman government lost office in 2015 after one term, the LNP’s primary vote was at 41.3 per cent – and when Mr Newman won office in 2012, it was at 49.7 per cent.
Mr Newman said the LNP should be trying to win over all Queenslanders, but a primary vote of 44 per cent would put them on track for a win.
“They want a solid win so they can govern effectively,” he said.
Mr Newman said he wanted Mr Crisafulli and the LNP to win the next election – but suggested there was a lot more they could be doing to get that win.
“The LNP could win this election on the youth crime issue alone in my opinion,” he said.
“And the problem at the moment is we don’t know what they will actually do.
“The LNP are on an election winner if they’re prepared to stand up and speak plainly and far more forcibly on this issue.”
He said the LNP should be advocating for diversionary programs that provide young offenders with “tough love”, and removes them from the communities where they are “causing problems”.
In recent times, Mr Crisafulli has advocated for the removal of detention as a last resort for youth offenders and demanded “gold standard” early intervention.
He also persistently called for breach of bail to be introduced as an offence for juveniles – something the government eventually did in a major backflip.
Asked how he rated Mr Crisafulli’s performance, Mr Newman said: “Queenslanders will stand up and cheer from the rafters if they see David Crisafulli projecting leadership and character and preparedness to stand up and have important fights on their behalf with the government.”
“If he wants to be the premier, we need to know what he believes and we need to know what he will do,” he said.
“I would urge him and the LNP parliamentary team to stand up and speak up and be straight with Queenslanders about what their initiatives will be.
“They have to take those risks. And I believe if they take those risks, they actually will be supported.”
Mr Newman quit the LNP in 2021, saying at the time he was dismayed the political wing of the party had failed to “represent and indeed stand up for our values”.
He made a run for the federal senate at last year’s election as a Liberal Democrat, but fell short of winning a seat – with the party getting 2.49 per cent of the vote.
Mr Newman confirmed had since quit the Liberal Democrats.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Crisafulli told The Courier-Mail: “When we reformed the LNP Mr Newman made a decision to go in a different direction and join another political party and I wish him no ill now or in the future.”
Mr Crisafulli served in Mr Newman’s cabinet between 2012 and 2015 as local government minister.
As for whether he would make another tilt at politics in the future, Mr Newman said: “If a whole lot of Queenslanders said ‘we want you to stand for office’, well I would certainly listen to them.”
“But they’re not doing that.”
Mr Newman meanwhile praised federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for doing a good job in very difficult circumstances since he took up the party leadership following the Coalition’s 2022 election loss.
He said Mr Dutton had shown “courage” by taking a stand against the Voice, which Mr Newman is opposed to as well.
Mr Newman said he wanted Mr Crisafulli to declare his position on the Voice – something he is yet to do.
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