Analysis: Two uninspiring choices more focused on winning than reforming

Queensland voters will be forced to choose between two unambitious visions, writes state political editor Hayden Johnson.

Premier Steven Miles (left) and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at this week’s debate. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Queenslanders will pick up their 2B pencils in nine days and choose between two unambitious visions peddled by leaders more focused on winning than reforming.

Premier Steven Miles has made cost-of-living and stability the centrepiece of his election campaign while Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is running on correcting Labor’s mistakes.

Both are valid platforms, but they do little to grow this powerhouse state and offer economic and social prosperity to the next generations of Queenslanders.

Mr Miles will spend $1.4bn on school lunches, while Mr Crisafulli promises a reduction in crime victim numbers.

Beyond agreed-to venues, neither can say for certain where 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games’ track and field will be held.

There’s no plan for critical Games-related public transport infrastructure, nor the support urban renewal first flagged in glossy documents delivered within the hype of winning the Games.

On the economy, neither side has delivered a plan for business and its calls for payroll tax changes have been met with silence.

If Mr Crisafulli wins, as polls expect, expect a steady and centre-right government for four years.

He remembers what happens to Queensland’s last ambitious premier, Campbell Newman.

It’s politically easy to do what’s popular – think 50c fares and “adult crime, adult time” – but real ambition reaps the greatest reward.

Currently the party with the greatest ambition is the Greens, through its socialist plan for a Queensland State Bank.

No word yet on how it will be capitalised to offer these dirt-cheap mortgages, especially once mining investors flee the state.