Queensland election 2017: Rolling coverage
PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation has another foreigner in its ranks.
QLD Election
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PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation has another foreigner in its ranks.
The party’s “battler bus”, which has been used to ferry candidates around the state during the Queensland election campaign, is Malaysian.
The Courier-Mail can reveal the bus is manufactured by Quality Bus & Coach, which is based in the majority Muslim nation.
The bus, which One Nation has trumpeted during the campaign, is emblazoned with Ms Hanson’s face next to the words “Pauline Hanson’s Battler Bus”.
Earlier this month, Ms Hanson controversially christened the bus by spraying champagne over it.
The choice to go with the 2015 Malaysian-manufactured model meant the party snubbed a number of local companies.
As of 2011 almost 80 per cent of new buses sold in Australia, and more than 90 per cent of the large and medium buses in operation, were built locally.
Quality Bus & Coach was an Australian company but moved its manufacturing to Malaysia in 2003.
It is a subsidiary of Advance Synergy Berhad Group, which is listed on a Malaysian stock exchange.
Ms Hanson has previously raised concerns about the level of Muslim immigration into Australia and immigrants taking the jobs of Australian citizens.
One Nation did not respond to requests for comment.
PREMIER’S PLAN TO BOOST QUEENSLAND
PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has outlined her plan to grow Queensland should she win tomorrow’s election.
Speaking during the Queensland Media Club lunch today, Ms Palaszczuk said she would continue to grow the public service through more firefighters, teaches, nurses and police.
She also spruiked her governments plan to widen the Bruce Highway and deliver Cross River Rail.
Ms Palaszczuk continued her attack on Tim Nicholls, saying he cannot win government without the support of One Nation in the Parliament.
“The published polls show the election tomorrow is going to be close,” she said.
“The polls also show there is a clear choice between a Labor majority or an LNP-One Nation Coalition to govern this state.
“Tim Nicholls hasn’t got the support to win in his own right, which is why he has so cravenly courted Pauline Hanson.”
She also said she was happy being labelled “Robin Hood” after her Treasurer Curtis Pitt introduced four new taxes just two days before the election yesterday.
Speaking at the Queensland Media Club lunch today, Ms Palaszczuk said she was comfortable with the moniker, saying the taxes will only effect 1 per cent of Queenslanders.
“I don’t mind being referred to as Robin Hood, in terms of 1 per cent of Queenslanders will be impacted,” she said.
“For example, if you own a luxury car over $100,000 — yes you will pay more. If you own property in this state, over $10 million worth, excluding your principal place of residence, yes you will pay more.
“If you are an investor from overseas looking at buying property here in Queensland, yes you will pay more.”
Ms Palaszczuk also said she would work to govern for all Queenslanders, not just the southeast corner, after polling showed regional Queensland looked set to abandon Labor in favour of the LNP and One Nation.
NICHOLLS’ AWKWARD ENCOUNTER AT PRE-POLLING BOOTH
THERE was an awkward encounter at pre-polling in Mansfield as Opposition leader Tim Nicholls hit the halfway mark in his eight electorate blitz.
Mr Nicholls met Mansfield MP Ian Walker at Mt Gravatt pre-polling booths, an electorate which is notionally Labor’s by a 0.8 per cent margin after the redistribution.
But at the same booth was One Nation candidate and former deli worker Neil Symes, one of the one-term MPs who defected from the LNP after losing his seat in 2015.
While they passed within a metre of each other there was no acknowledgment between Mr Symes and the Opposition Leader, despite having been colleagues for three years.
Earlier Mr Nicholls stopped by Jax Tyres in Mitchelton, which is within the electorate of Ferny Grove and held by Labor with a 5.3 per cent margin.
He started the day in Caloundra before heading to a fibreglass business in Pumicestone, held by former Labor MP Rick Williams, but is notionally an LNP seat with a 0.1 per cent margin after the redistribution.
Mr Nicholls will visit another four electorates in southeast Queensland today as part of his final election eve push.
LABOR VOLUNTEERS ACCUSED OF DECEPTION AT BOOTHS
LABOR volunteers have been accused of attempting to mislead punters by telling potential LNP and One Nation voters to “just vote one”.
It is alleged Labor pre-poll volunteers on the Gold Coast handing out how-to-vote cards have been telling those considering to vote for other parties to “just put a one against the LNP box and to not number any other square”.
Under new legislation passed by the Labor Government during this term of government, the vote would be deemed informal after it was made compulsory to number every box.
LNP State Director Michael O’Dwyer has written to the Electoral Commission of Queensland Commissioner Walter van der Merwe to alert him to the alleged practice.
“Clearly, Labor is advocating an informal vote, which is misleading and a breach of the electoral act,” he wrote.
“Can you please urgently contact the Southport Returning Officer and ask them to instruct the Labor workers to immediately desist from this deceptive activity.”
A Queensland Labor spokesman said the allegation was yet to be verified.
“The allegation is unfounded,” he said.
Labor later fired back with allegations of their own, alleging an LNP volunteer offered to illegally vote for someone who arrived early to a booth.
Labor alleges a woman arrived at Mt Ommaney pre-polling booth about 8.30am and was advised by a party worker that pre-polling didn’t commence until 9am and offered to vote for her as “they don’t check ID”.
The matter is with the ECQ.
ONE NATION LEADER ‘NOT CONFIDENT’ OF HOLDING SEAT
ONE Nation’s Queensland leader Steve Dickson has admitted he is less than confident of retaining his Sunshine Coast seat at Saturday’s poll, despite predicting a strong showing for his party across the state.
“I have never, ever gone into an election campaign confident, not once,” Mr Dickson said this morning while campaigning in his electorate of Buderim.
Mr Dickson was also dismissive of fresh polling data suggesting support for One Nation had fallen off ahead of the vote.
Speaking outside a polling booth in his Sunshine Coast seat of Buderim, Mr Dickson said the boundary changes to electorates had complicated voting.
“Boundaries have been moved in my seat, unfortunately,” he said.
“I think what people have got to understand in Queensland, is this election is probably the most unique election we’ve ever seen in Queensland’s history.”
His son Christian is a Sunshine Coast councillor and Steve hoped the family name may sway voters.
“We live with our reputation; we’ve worked hard for the people; we’ve delivered positive outcomes for the people ... he’s the future,” Mr Dickson said.
The Courier-Mail’s Galaxy poll this morning showed a statewide fall in One Nation’s primary support from 18 per cent to 12 per cent, but in regional areas, it was 20 per cent.
Expectations were high for the party in the West Australian election earlier in the year, before support ebbed away at the polling booths.
“I don’t know how many seats we’re going to win, I haven’t got a clue. But what I know is, we’re competitive, we’re in the race and I think this is a totally different campaign to Western Australia”.
Party leader Pauline Hanson was to campaign with Mr Dickson today.
Several One Nation supporters have also flown from Sydney to help Mr Dickson campaign in his seat of Buderim.
Mick Jackson and Jason Ross flew into Queensland in the final days of the election campaign with Mr Dickson under pressure to hold his seat.
“I came up because I think he really faces a challenge because he’s got Labor and Liberal preferencing each other against him,” Mr Ross said.
“I think he needs all the support he can get.”
Mr Jackson said they had paid for their own flights and accommodation.
“We’re not affiliated with any sort of financial backing or anything like that, it’s a party of the people,” he said.
“I’ve been a supporter since the resurgence in about 2015.” Mr Ross has been with the party since it’s inception in the 1990s. They both said the party’s willingness to talk about unpopular issues was what attracted them.
“A lot of people seem to resonant with Pauline (Hanson), whether you love her or you hate her,” Mr Jackson said.
PALASZCZUK DOWNPLAYS CHANCES OF VICTORY
THE Queensland Premier insists she’s facing an uphill battle to hang onto power, despite a election-eve poll putting Labor in front and a top analyst saying the party will likely win a second term.
“Tomorrow is like climbing Mt Everest,” Annastacia Palaszczuk said this morning, having previously claimed underdog status for Labor in Saturday’s election.
The latest Galaxy poll was published in The Courier-Mail today and puts Labor ahead of the LNP, 52 per cent to 48 per cent in two-party preferred terms.
FEARS OVER LABOR’S LAND TAX
LABOR’S proposed land tax increase would have a devastating flow-on affect on businesses, could catch out mum-and-dad investors and will likely flow onto customers, the Property Council has warned.
Treasurer Curtis Pitt has announced owners of land holdings valued at more than $10 million will be slugged 2.25 to 2.5 per cent more to raise $227 million.
Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford said it was another impost on businesses already struggling under the weight of increased costs such as electricity and they would have to pass it on through increased lease costs.
“It is not accurate to suggest that this tax will only impact the big end of town,” he said.
“We have heard all through this campaign that Queensland businesses are worried about increasing costs, and now they can add land tax to that list of worries.
“Many of the properties that will be impacted by this tax are commercial properties that are home to Queensland businesses employing thousands of Queenslanders.”
He said laws existed that allowed land tax to be passed onto tenants through lease arrangements.
“This tax increase is likely to see commercial rents spike for Queensland small businesses,” he said.
“A tax on the land that a business is operating, is inevitably a tax on that business.”
He said the move may also impact mum-and-dad investors in body-corporate schemes.
“As an example, Kelvin Grove Urban Village — which is jointly owned by many mum-and-dad investors — is valued at $58 million,” Mr Mountford said.
“Many investors in Kelvin Grove already pay land tax on their share of the Village. As this property is valued at more than $10 million, does this mean their land tax rates will also increase?”
NICHOLLS’ EMBARRASSING ELECTION EVE SLIP
OPPOSITION leader Tim Nicholls almost had an embarrassing election eve slip of the tongue as he faced questions over One Nation on breakfast television.
Mr Nicholls again said there would be no deals, Coalition or shared ministry with One Nation after the election, but again avoided saying if he would accept their votes in a minority government.
But when pressed on this, Mr Nicholls almost stumbled.
“The simple message is if you want a government, a stable majority government with the financial credentials to deliver jobs, to cut your cost of living to reduce power bills, to invest in infrastructure, then the best thing to do is to support your local LNP-One N, ah, LNP candidate at the election,” he said.
Slip of the tongue or not Tim Nicholls has again left the door open to governing Queensland with the support of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.
Mr Nicholls has spent the four-week campaign refusing to say if he’ll accept One Nation’s support to form minority government.
A day before polling booths open, he refused to rule out a deal with any of the minor parties, telling ABC Radio: “I’m going to deal with the parliament that the people of Queensland elect.”
But he has also said there was no prospect of an LNP, One Nation coalition, and no room for One Nation at the cabinet table.
“We are about implementing our agenda, and only our agenda,” he told the ABC. “We go into this contest to win, and to win strongly.” Mr Nicholls said voters could trust his pledge not to sack public servants, despite he and former Premier Campbell Newman axing 14,000 workers when the LNP was last in power.
He said public sector jobs were safe even though the LNP planned to save $1.6 billion over four years through a government efficiency program. “There’s no forced redundancies, there’s no increase in redundancies,” he said. “The savings we’re talking about are exactly the same savings Labor is talking about.” Mr Nicholls said he’d been “very frank” with voters about the mistakes of the Newman government.
“We did make mistakes ... mistakes that an LNP government I lead won’t ever make again.”
Mr Nicholls said there was a simple explanation for the breakfast television slip.
“It’s been a long campaign. I was simply going to say you need to vote one for your local LNP candidate, which I’ve said.
PALASZCZUK DEFENDS ‘ROBIN HOOD’ TAXES
PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has likened herself to Robin Hood as she defended Labor’s decision to announce four new taxes less than two days out from the election.
But the party won’t be giving the extra money back to the poor, instead using it to pay down state debt.
Ms Palaszczuk says Queenslanders are comfortable with a small number of rich Queenslanders paying more tax, telling ABC radio, “I’ve even been compared to Robin Hood, so I think that’s a pretty good comparison.” She’s defended Labor dropping the tax hikes less than 48 hours before polling stations open.
“These taxes are going to influence less than 1 per cent of Queenslanders. I think it’s absolutely important that we are upfront with Queenslanders.”
The taxes include a hike for the owners of luxury cars, a new land tax category for large holdings, higher stamp duty for foreign buyers of property, and a new betting tax targeting agencies based outside the state.
They are expected to raise $163.6 million a year for the next three years and will mean the difference between Queensland having a debt of $80.8 billion, rather than $81.5 billion, by 2021.
“I think this is fair. I think this is something Queenslanders accept,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Friday.
She says Labor has a plan to reduce debt, after Treasurer Curtis Pitt on Monday said Queensland would never be debt free.
Labor has paid off $12 billion in debt in the past three years, and has a plan to continue with that, and is working towards regaining the state’s AAA credit rating, she said.
“Let’s have a look at Moody’s ... one of the toughest markers when it comes to looking at our overall budget. What they’ve said is, they’ve taken us off negative watch. The ratings agencies are recognising the good work we are doing.” Ms Palaszczuk denied she had endangered jobs in north Queensland, in order to shore up Greens preferences and support for Labor in the southeast, with her vow to veto any taxpayer loan for Indian miner Adani.
“No. Not at all, not at all,” she said.
She said she met with Adani representatives in Townsville four months ago, and they’d told her the company’s planned coal mine in the Galilee basin stacked up financially.
The premier has insisted the project — including an associated rail link — should not receive taxpayer support.
“They’ve got all the approvals so they should just get on and build it,” she said.
The latest Galaxy poll published in The Courier-Mail today shows Labor ahead of the LNP 52 per cent to 48 per cent in two-party preferred terms, with even stronger support in the state’s southeast.
But Ms Palaszczuk, who’s ruled out forming a minority government with any minor party or any independents, says Labor is in a tough position. “Tomorrow is like climbing Mt Everest,” she said.
NICHOLLS IN LAST GASP BLITZ OF AT-RISK SEATS
OPPOSITION leader Tim Nicholls is blitzing eight southeast Queensland electorates on election eve, as he shrugs off polling showing Labor could win majority government.
Leaving Caloundra this morning, he headed to a fibreglass business in the electorate of Pumicestone, held by former Labor MP Rick Williams but is notionally an LNP seat with a 0.1 per cent margin after redistribution.
Mr Nicholls used the opportunity to attack Labor’s four new taxes announced yesterday, labelling some a “tax on fun”. They measures included a luxury car tax, a land tax, and a 15 per cent point of consumption levy on betting revenue.
“All new taxes will always create problems in the economy,” he said.
“A tax on the construction industry will mean fewer jobs for tradies, a tax on the car industry means few car sales, a tax on having fun simply by people wanting to have a punt will have an impact on people across their lives.
“What Labor is saying is we’re going to tax you if you earn money and want to spent it on the things you want.”
His own party’s costings showed no significant attempt to pay down the state’s projected $81 billion debt.
“What I’ve said all the way through this campaign is we will stabilise the debt,” he said.
“The first thing we need to do is make sure it’s not going to get worse.
“Then we need to grow the economy to provide the jobs that people want so that we can get a bigger economy.
“A bigger economy means more people being employed, means we have got (the ability) to be able to pay down the debt over the medium term.”
On the Galaxy poll in Friday’s Courier-Mail, he said the only one that matter was the poll on November 25.
“The only way that Queenslanders will have to get ahead is to support a majority LNP Government,” Mr Nicholls said.
His blitz of eight electorates will target both marginal seats at risk of falling as well as ones it could win from Labor.
“I won’t rest until six o’clock tomorrow night on making sure people understand it’s the LNP that has the policies to deliver cheaper power, more jobs, invest in infrastructure and support Queenslanders.
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