Qld election 2020: Is the Treasurer chicken, or just a goose?

Cameron Dick has cemented his place as the “Chicken Little” of the 2020 election campaign, with claims “the sky is falling in”, which are loosely related to some comment or commitment made by his LNP opponent. But if the claims are wrong, people may think he’s just a goose.

Cameron Dick has quickly cemented his place as the “Chicken Little” of the 2020 election campaign.

Every day the Queensland Treasurer is making claims about “the sky is falling in” which are loosely related to some comment or commitment made by his LNP opponent.

Qld election 2020: Greens plan to roll out free breakfast and lunch program to Queensland’s 570,000 state school students

QLD election 2020: Putting Labor last may come back to bite Frecklington

Qld election 2020: Why Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deb Frecklington are both telling lies

Such is the rising level of alarmism in Dick’s assertions that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him emerge bedecked in a bonnet and covered in feathers by the end of the campaign.

Yesterday the Treasurer began bright and early with a claim that Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington’s “no forced redundancies” promise was tantamount to public service cuts.

“Her position of natural attrition will mean thousands of jobs disappear from the public service – that will hurt our economy in the middle of a global pandemic,” he warned.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick made a claim that Deb Frecklington’s Bruce Highway promise was now just a “highway hoax” because funding wasn’t included in the Tuesday’s Federal Budget. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

However, it was a curious claim when Dick is already doing precisely the same thing.

The Palaszczuk Government has had a “hiring freeze” for months and in July Dick announced he’d save $3 billion by cutting people employed in the public service on contracts, ditch executive jobs through natural attrition and cease programs that weren’t considered core business.

“Every taxpayer dollar is precious and every taxpayer dollar is powerful,” he said.

Cut, sack and cease. Oh dear.

Dick doubled down later in the day with a claim that Frecklington’s Bruce Highway promise was now just a “highway hoax” because funding wasn’t included in the Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

So does that make the Palaszczuk Government’s commitments to the next stage of Gold Coast light rail or the Beerburrum to Nambour Rail upgrade “train trickery” because they also weren’t in the Federal Budget?

Dick may be right.

The LNP costings might turn out to be a con. The party’s policies might be a prank.

But if the Treasurer keeps making stuff up some people might start to think he’s a bit of a goose.