One thing both Steven Miles and David Crisafulli can agree on

It’s not even Halloween yet, but Queensland’s political leaders have indicated they could keep the scare campaigns coming.

Property developers would be freed from election donation bans and Queensland’s voting system overhauled under an LNP government.

Those pledges from Opposition Leader David Crisafulli were the highlights as the two men vying to be premier went head-to-head in a fiery second election debate at the Queensland Media Club marked by Steven Miles repeatedly chipping away at his opponent’s ­reluctance to stray from his well-worn messages.

The leaders were also unrepentant when it came to whether their scare campaigns would continue to dominate the race, after weeks of both parties running aggressive and misleading claims about health cuts, taxes and privatisation.

And Mr Crisafulli finally conceded that any change to abortion laws would be an unpopular move among Queensland voters – after taking more than 130 questions on the issue across the last 10 days.

“If there were changes to that, I wouldn’t be a very popular person among Queenslanders,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli’s vow to overturn a Labor ban imposed in 2018 on property developers donating to election campaigns came when he explained it was unfair that unions had free rein to donate to campaigns when other third parties could not.

“Either everyone should have the same rules or no one should be able to donate … you shouldn’t have a different class of people,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“And at the moment in the state, you have a situation where every registered union is able to spend a million dollars campaigning … and you’ve got some Queenslanders who aren’t able to donate to the process. It is fundamentally and philosophically an electoral ­financial gerrymander.”

But the LNP leader indicated it would not be a “day one order of business” for a Crisafulli administration because it did not fit into his four major focus areas of health, youth crime, housing and cost of living.

Mr Crisafulli also reiterated his plan to overturn a surprise manoeuvre by the Labor government in 2016 that returned full preferential voting – after 14 years of an optional preferential ­system being in place, a recommendation of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into corruption.

“If you want to vote for every person, you can – if you want to vote for just one person, you can. That’s a fair system,” Mr Crisafulli said.

Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at Wednesday’s second leaders’ debate. Picture: Liam Kidston

He also accused Labor of making the change because the “unholy alliance” with the Greens benefited them electorally. This sparked Mr Miles to interject and claim the LNP had a deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and the Katter’s Australia Party.

“To be clear, we don’t want to preference anyone,” he said. “It’s your ­corrupt laws.”

The leaders were asked if they would keep the final 10 days of the campaign free of misleading the duelling scare campaigns that have plagued the election race so far. But neither would commit to it.

Labor-aligned unions – including the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union and the United Workers Union – have spent up big pushing misleading claims about the LNP privatising the health system and sacking public servants.

The LNP has in turn also falsely claimed the Labor government is introducing a ­“patient’s tax” and used the AMAQ’s logo without permission to add heft to its misleading argument. It has also misrepresented the Premier on youth crime.

Mr Miles said questions about third-party campaigns should be directed to those ­organisations – despite his personal membership of UWU, which is run by his self-described ­mentor Gary Bullock.

“What we have been doing is pointing out the flaw in the LNPs costings, and that given their commitment to not ­increase revenue and not increase debt, those commitments need to be funded through cuts,” Mr Miles said.

Premier Steven Miles at Wednesday’s second leaders’ debate. Picture: John Gass/NCA NewsWire

Mr Miles, in an attempt to draw details on the LNP’s tax plan, accused Mr Crisafulli of playing “Fulli-nomics”.

“You can somehow reduce debt, reduce revenue, and not have to cut? No, you’ll have to cut, and that’s what his costs will show,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli ignored the Premier’s prodding over the LNP’s lack of detailed costings, which he has promised to release before election day.

He twice repeated that the LNP would have “a lower tax plan” while reducing debt.

“I do fear a credit downgrade under a re-elected Labor government that won’t happen under us,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“I can categorically say debt will be lower under an LNP government.”

The Premier argued he had helped turn around crime and ambulance ramping rates, with the latest quarterly data showing improvements in both.

The LNP leader stuck to his election pledge to fix the four “crises”: Housing, health, crime and cost of living.

“We’re putting forward the case for change,” he said.

Mr Miles closed by pushing voters to consider which of the two leaders they trusted most, vowing that he had been honest with Queenslanders.

“Elections are about trust,” he said.

“With me, you get clear and honest answers, with him (Mr Crisafulli) you get rehearsed slogans.

“The LNP cannot be honest with Queenslanders. I will always be.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at Wednesday’s second leaders’ debate. Picture: John Gass/NCA NewsWire