Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reveals no new cases of COVID-19 as election campaign launches
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to say if she would quit as Labor leader if she falls short of a majority, instead taking a swipe at the LNP and its “recipe for chaos and disaster”.
QLD Votes
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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk won’t say if she would quit as Labor leader and let someone else in her party strike a deal if she falls shorts of a majority at the October 31 poll.
The Premier spent day one of the campaign at a site in the Port of Brisbane, following her visit to Government House this morning to officially issue the writs.
Asked if she would stand down as leader of Labor and let someone else in her party strike a deal to form government if she falls short of a majority, Ms Palaszczuk would not say.
“I’m asking Queenslanders for a majority,” she said in response, repeating her calls from yesterday.
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“Majority brings about stability. What we are seeing with the Leader of the Opposition is a recipe for chaos and disaster.
“I’m asking for a majority.”
Ms Palaszczuk also played down an exclusive The Courier-Mail YouGov poll released overnight that showed support for the government had surged ahead of the campaign, with Labor leading the LNP 52 per cent to 48 per cent on a two party preferred basis.
“There’s only one poll that counts … we all know that and that’s on election day,” the Premier said.
“That’s up to the people of this great state about what they want to do.
“My priority is to keep Queenslanders safe and to grow jobs and to make sure that we recover.”
Ms Palaszczuk also took a swipe at the LNP after they announced yesterday that they would preference Labor last in every seat.
“What the Opposition is putting together is a recipe for chaos,” she said.
“I think Queenslanders want stability. I think we learnt that during the last campaign. They don’t want chaos.”
Kicking off the start of her election campaign, Ms Palaszczuk asked Queenslanders to let her “get on with the job of the economic recovery”.
“We need to make sure that we continue to grow our economy here,” she said.
“I don’t want to see a Queensland that goes into a lockdown. I want to see a Queensland that continues to grow and prosper.
“We are in a unique time in our lives.
“Never before have we been in the midst of a global pandemic.
“And my job first and foremost is to look after Queenslanders and their families. That’s what I strive to do each and every day.”
It comes after Ms Palaszczuk congratulated Queenslanders for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic after another day of no new cases.
There are currently seven active cases and a total of 1160 since the pandemic started.
Ms Palaszczuk, speaking from the Brisbane Port, urged voters to allow her to get on with the job of dealing with the pandemic and the state’s economic recovery.
“Queensland’s best days are ahead of us, I know that,” she said.
“That’s why we all have to work together.
“I’m asking Queenslanders to continue to show their support for what we’ve done to contain the health crisis and what we’re doing now in terms of the economic recovery.”
She said it was heartbreaking to see other countries around the world hit by “second and third waves” of COVID-19 and to see economics shutdown.
“I don’t want to see a Queensland that goes into a lockdown,” she said.
“I want to see a Queensland that grows and prospers.”
Deputy Premier Steven Miles also would not say if Ms Palaszczuk should stand down as leader if the government falls short of a majority.
“I think what’s becoming increasingly clear is that the only party that can get a majority is the Labor Party,” he said.
“And we have been very, very clear that we are campaigning for a majority Labor government and that is what we did at the last election.”
Pointing to the The Courier-Mail YouGov polling released on Monday, Mr Miles said the only party that could “viably get to a majority” was Labor.
“If we do not, the alternative is allowing Deb Frecklington to cobble together a minority government,” he said.
“And if you look at the crossbench, you can get a sense of what that minority government would look like.”
He could not say where the LNP would be preferenced on Labor’s how to vote cards, but confirmed One Nation would be last.
Mr Miles said the LNP’s decision to preference Labor last in every electorate meant the Labor-held seats of South Brisbane and McConnel were vulnerable to the Greens.