Overturning Labor’s property developer laws not an LNP ‘priority’
Opposition leader Deb Frecklington has revealed her stance on Labor’s laws preventing property developer donations to political parties, following revelations she met developers in June.
QLD Votes
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Deb Frecklington says overhauling Labor’s laws preventing property developer donations to political parties would not be a “priority” if she becomes Premier but refused to rule out scrapping the laws altogether.
The Liberal National Party leader faced questions about her stance on the issue on Monday after News Corp revealed she had met with property developers and business leaders at a forum in June where, according to a briefing note, she listed her campaign to reopen Queensland’s borders as a top achievement.
The document also showed Ms Frecklington had worked in tandem with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the campaign to call for the reopening of the borders, which came before the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Victoria.
Annastacia Palaszczuk, Deb Frecklington campaign in southeast Queensland
Scott Morrison hits campaign trail with Deb Frecklington on Gold Coast
Ms Frecklington defended her border stance at the time, saying it had been in line with advice from the federal chief medical officer and that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had indeed opened the border to NSW after Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young gave her approval.
Asked on Monday whether she would scrap the laws prohibiting property developer donations, Ms Frecklington said: “That is certainly not my priority at all”.
“My priority is fixing the health system,” she said.
“We’ve got laws in place, I’m on record through the debate in the parliament in relation to those laws.”
Asked if it would be something she aimed to change in her first term, if the LNP forms government after the October 31 election, Ms Frecklington was circumspect.
“I’ve not announced that or said anything about that,” she said.
Defending her meeting with the developers, Ms Frecklington said all politicians regularly met with business and industry figures.
“I attend business meetings on a regular basis,” she said.
“The purpose is to get Queensland working again.”
Ms Frecklington would not say if the ban on donations from property developers had hurt the LNP’s campaign.
She criticised Labor for using taxpayer funds to spruik personal achievements in the lead up to the election.
“We know that the Palaszczuk Labor government have spent in excess of $6m of taxpayer money advertising themselves around Covid, let’s remember that,” she said.