Queensland election 2017: LNP, Labor officially launch campaigns
BOTH Labor and the LNP have officially launched their election campaigns, bringing in high-profile figures including boxer Jeff Horn, who showed his support for the Premier, and Malcolm Turnbull who slammed a “do nothing, lazy” Labor government as he backed the LNP.
QLD Election
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Election. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Nicholls’ do-or-die pledge
- Premier slips note to voters in Nicholls’ electorate
- Election turns ugly in final week
- Premier’s bid to snare first-home buyers
QUEENSLAND boxing legend Jeff Horn has introduced Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to the Labor Party faithful on the Gold Coast this morning for the official party launch.
DES HOUGHTON: JEFF HORN SHOULD KEEP HIS NOSE OUT OF POLITICS
Speaking before the Premier’s entrance, Horn said Ms Palaszczuk was a “friend” that believed in him and he backed her to win the election.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk believed in me — she backed me when many others wouldn’t,” he said.
“She backs in my title defence, and I back her in hers”.
The pair have grown close during Horn’s rise to fame after the Battle for Brisbane where the Brisbane local was able to defeat boxing legend Manny Pacquiao earlier in the year.
Ms Palaszczuk was snapped buying a copy of Horn’s recently released book during the first week of the election campaign.
Labor kicked off their campaign by playing the song Glorious by Macklemore, which attracted worldwide attention during the NRL grand final.
. @QLDLabor launch starts with mational anthem and rendition of Macklemore's Glorious. #qldpol @couriermail #qldvotes pic.twitter.com/BJ6apbcHlN
— Sarah Vogler (@SarahLVogler) November 19, 2017
Gaven candidate and future Labor rising star Meghan Scanlon also launched the campaign, addressing the crowd and spruiking the work of the current Labor Government on the Gold Coast.
Ms Palaszczuk has used her campaign launch on the Gold Coast to spruik her heavy investments in health, education and work in regional Queensland.
Addressing the party faithful, Ms Palaszczuk said she promised Queenslanders a “better way” in 2015 and was intent on continuing that mantra over the next term of Government.
“I promised a stable government that took Queenslanders with it, instead of one that took them for granted,” she said.
“Over the last 1000 days, my Government has worked hard to deliver our commitments, to restore hope and opportunity.”
Ms Palaszczuk pointed to her work in Western Queensland, where she said her Government has “brought the sheep industry back” from the brink of destruction after they built 5000km of cluster fencing to stop wild dogs.
Ms Palaszczuk has again pressed her claim for a majority government, saying only she can continue to cut debt while taking a shot at Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls, accusing him of having plans for more job cuts.
Ms Palaszczuk said she has made only “measured” and “responsible” commitments during the campaign.
“When I make a commitment, I deliver. I will never promise something I can’t deliver,” she said.
In a direct pitch to young voters, Ms Palaszczuk announced she would be extending the First Home Owner Grant in an attempt to have more young homeowners.
“I know that for every young Queenslander, the dream of home ownership has become a lot harder,” she said.
“My Government is committed to getting young families into housing, and we will extend our increased First Home Owner’s Grant.”
PM SLAMS ‘DO NOTHING’ LABOR AT LNP CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
HUNDREDS of LNP faithful have gathered for the party’s Queensland election launch in Brisbane.
Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk began proceedings and said he’d known LNP Leader Tim Nicholls for decades and knew he had the skills “to lead our great state”.
He said Mr Nicholls was a decision-maker.
“Tim Nicholls is someone I know I can work with … he knows what has to be done and he has a strong and capable team to back him in that job,” he said.
“People say to me, ‘the Premier is nice’,” he said.
“Well lots of people are nice. Nice is good. But nice alone does not get the jobs done.”
Mr Quirk said he hoped people thought he was nice but he expected to be judged by voters on his achievements.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull then took to the stage, saying Mr Nicholls’ team had the “experience and maturity to get Queensland moving again”.
A fired-up Mr Turnbull said that when Mr Nicholls was premier, Queensland would have LNP coalitions in both the state and federal sphere working to deliver the infrastructure.
“Infrastructure is Tim’s major priority, as it should be, as it is for me,” he said.
He said if Queenslanders ever wanted to see another dam or weir built in the state, it needed an LNP Government.
“We can’t persuade Annastacia Palaszczuk to take it (federal money on offer to build water infrastructure),” he said.
“She doesn’t want to build another dam. She won’t even build the Rookwood Weir.”
Mr Turnbull described the Labor Government under Annastacia Palaszczuk as a “do nothing, lazy, green left government, headed by a Premier who wants to spend her time playing politics.”
He went on to talk about employment opportunities.
“Jobs and growth is not just a slogan, it’s an outcome,” he said.
Mr Turnbull said he would also work with Mr Nicholls to fix energy policy, while Labor was wedded to “ideology and idiocy” and Green policy.
Deputy LNP Leader Deb Frecklington thanked Mr Turnbull for his passionate speech.
She began by talking about “unacceptable” youth unemployment rates across regional Queensland.
“Only the LNP will fight for regional Queensland because it’s where many of us live ... it’s our home, not just a pinprick on a map,” she said.
“If you put your faith in us on Saturday, I will be a ferocious voice for you at the Cabinet table.
“Your issues will go straight to the top.”
She said she and Mr Nicholls worked for the whole of Queensland.
“I know Tim will make a great premier — a premier of intellect and common sense ... and a premier who, if he doesn’t know the answer, he will go away, do his homework and find the answer,” she said.
Mr Nicholls thanked those who had spoken to introduce him.
“I can’t help but feel energised,” he said.
Mr Nicholls said the LNP had the experience, know-how and will to deliver for Queenslanders.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to deliver for Queenslanders,” he said.
He listed some of what he called the “litany of Labor failures”, which included the rail fail, shrinking the domestic economy, cutting infrastructure spending and overseeing escalating power prices.
And he stopped to thank his family, including wife Mary, choking up when he thanked her for her love and wisdom and said he could never do the job without her.
In a salvo to voters thinking of voting for One Nation, he again repeated that he was no fan of “political correctness or the nanny state”.
“I want to get things done and I don’t pretend I’m someone I’m not,” he said.
He said he knew people had been “feeling the pain” and felt they had been “cast adrift” by the Palaszczuk Labor Government.
As reported in The Sunday Mail, he warned that this election will “determine the fate of Queensland for generations to come” and that voters should put the LNP first, in an attempt to avoid relying on One Nation to win government.
“Our priorities and policies can’t and won’t be matched by any of the other parties.”
Mr Nicholls reiterated some of his biggest commitments made on the election campaign so far, including a plan to increase the payroll tax threshold by $25,000, a plan to decrease energy prices for households and business, a pledge to build the Rookwood Weir, near Rockhampton and road works like the second M1.
In another pitch to disenfranchised voters, he said he knew that change was hard and he didn’t want a “group of forgotten people” affected by mills closing, factories relocating and foundaries shutting.
would no longer be forgotten.
“We can’t afford for a generation of middle-aged men and women not to be given a hand up to retrain or re-skill as job opportunities shift,” he said.
“We can’t afford to lose them — economically, socially and emotionally.”
Mr Nicholls also pledged $150 swimming vouchers to pay for lessons for their children, half-price drivers licences for seniors and free off-peak public transport travel for seniors.
“I have said it, and I mean it: We made mistakes in the past that a future LNP Government would never make again,” he said.
LNP members await @TimNichollsMP launch in inner-city Brisbane music venue The Triffid #qldvotes #qldpol pic.twitter.com/zt23zK58en
— Jessica Marszalek (@JessMarie_News) November 19, 2017
“By contrast, before the last election Annastacia Palaszczuk promised not to do any deals and then as soon as it was over, did a deal with minor parties and independents.”
He said a vote for Labor was a vote for another “do-nothing government”.
“Our priorities and policies can’t and won’t be matched by any of the other parties,” he said.
“That’s because we have listened, we have heard you, we know you’re frustrated.
“Our policies are the answers to your frustration.”
Among high-profile attendees at the LNP campaign launch were former premiers Campbell Newman, Mike Ahern and Rob Borbidge. Federal politicians in attendance include Attorney-General George Brandis and Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister James McGrath.
HANSON PULLS OUT OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN
PAULINE Hanson has temporarily pulled out of the Queensland election campaign as she awaits the birth of her grandchild.
Ms Hanson had promised to take her battler bus on the road again this week in the lead up to polling day on Saturday but she announced via Twitter that she was pulling out to be by her daughter’s side.
She will now rejoin the campaign on Tuesday.
“The Queensland election couldn’t have come at a worse time for me this time around. An opportunistic Annastacia Palaszczuk took advantage of me being out of the country when the election was called and unfortunately in this situation, babies wait for no one.”
“My only daughter sat on a polling booth on her 15th birthday and has been by my side during times when I’ve needed her, I wouldn’t miss this special moment for anything.”
“I’ve always said we need to return to family values, and this is a moment in every mother’s life where you want to be apart of your own daughter’s monumental day.
“I’ll be back Tuesday, so don’t think for a second I’m out of the campaign altogether.
“Imagine if it’s a little girl with fiery red hair, I’ll have a little mini me to keep the two major parties on their toes at the next federal election.”
Ms Hanson said it was her daughter Lee’s second child. It is Senator Hanson’s fifth grandchild.
QLD GREENS INSPIRED BY NORTHCOTE WIN
QUEENSLAND Greens’ candidate Amy MacMahon is hopeful she can unseat Labor’s Deputy Premier Jackie Trad after the party’s shock victory in the Northcote by-election in Victoria.
Ms MacMahon said it was a “symbol of hope for the rest of the country” and she was taking a lot of positive energy from Saturday’s result into her battle for South Brisbane on November 25.
“People can see that the Greens are offering this genuine, hopeful, alternative vision,” she said.
LABOR, LNP TO LAUNCH QLD CAMPAIGNS
PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull will make his first appearance in Queensland for the state election campaign today when he introduces Tim Nicholls at the LNP’s campaign launch.
But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten won’t be at Labor’s launch on the Gold Coast, as reported online at The Courier-Mail yesterday.
Instead, he will be in Sydney with star candidate Kristina Kenneally who is launching her campaign for the federal Bennelong by-election. Both Labor and the Liberal National Party will launch their respective campaigns on Sunday ahead of Saturday’s decider.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will make speech on the Gold Coast while Mr Nicholls will address the LNP faithful in Brisbane.
Mr Nicholls will again implore voters to forgive his role in the controversial Newman government and will announce a $20.25 million package for mature-aged jobseekers.
Ms Palaszczuk will tell Labor supporters at her launch that voters cannot risk the LNP again and will urge voters to choose three years of stability under Labor over “chaos”.
She’ll also announce a package for mature job seekers, as well as extending the first homeowners’ grant.
“These are workers who need to work and want to work, and we are going to back them all the way
However, the campaign launches will have no bearing on the votes of more than 200,000 Queenslanders who have already cast their ballot for the November 25 election.
The Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) told AAP that a record 205,100 votes had been cast in the first five days of pre-polling.
It’s 80,000 more than for the same period before the 2015 election, and the figure doesn’t include those who attended pre-polling booths on Saturday.
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