Jackie Trad speaks out about seat swap speculation

With next week’s State Budget looming, Treasurer Jackie Trad has taken on her critics while flagging more debt to bankroll new infrastructure.

JACKIE Trad has declared she will never cut and run from her seat of South Brisbane while insisting Tuesday’s State Budget will be focused on providing for all Queenslanders.

In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail, the high-profile Deputy Premier and Treasurer lamented about how she had been falsely framed by her critics for all manner of ills over recent months. However, Ms Trad insisted these criticisms, which range from her being the key player behind the Adani coal mine delays to leading the Government’s left-wing social agenda, conveniently ignored her record of delivering for Queenslanders in every corner of the state.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Treasurer Jackie Trad.

“I think people have successfully framed a whole range of things that have been about me,” she said.

“But this is not about me. This Budget is about Queenslanders, our infrastructure spend is about jobs for Queenslanders, it’s about better amenity for Queenslanders and it’s about better communities for Queenslanders.”

Despite internal Labor rumblings that she should shift to nearby Toohey to end constant conjecture about her political prospects, Ms Trad said she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I am not interest in moving seats,” she said. “I am interest in serving my community and I am interest in doing the best job I can for the people of Queensland.”

The Palaszczuk Government’s fourth budget is shaping as it’s most difficult with GST and stamp duty receipts suffering significant writedowns and Ms Trad forced to find funding for flood recovery and to cauterise several major political problems.

Jackie Trad says she will not be swapping electorates.

The Treasurer gave her strongest indication yet she would raise taxes and bring forward borrowings to maintain infrastructure spending and create jobs in the face a struggling national economy.

“Against that backdrop with lower stamp duty returns and GST writedowns … we have made the decision that we have got to maintain our course and that is because it is working,” she said.

But Ms Trad said she would not slow progress on the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail out of fear it could be viewed in the regions as another outrageous Brisbane boondoggle being built to help her win her seat.

“Our capital works budget is significant and more than 60 per cent of it is outside the greater Brisbane region,” she said.