Qld election 2024: David Crisafulli dodges question on LNP spending

David Crisafulli has refused to reveal whether government spending would be lower under an LNP government. It comes amid new polling ahead of the state’s move into caretaker mode.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on Sunday. Picture: John Gass

Queensland’s alternative premier David Crisafulli has refused to reveal whether government spending would be lower under an LNP government and if he would deliver a budget surplus.

It comes as new polling published on Monday indicates Labor is on track for a wipe-out, with the LNP leading 56-44 on a two-party vote.

The Freshwater Strategy poll, published in the Australian Financial Review, of 1062 Queenslanders put Labor’s primary vote at 30 per cent, 3.4 points higher than Anna Bligh’s 2012 election defeat.

It is the latest to indicate Premier Steven Miles will be defeated by Mr Crisafulli with the loss of 20 seats, including five ministers.

Mr Crisafulli, spruiking his pledge to remove Labor’s ­“patient tax” on GP visits – which would cost about $100m each year – declined three times to say whether government spending would be lower under the LNP.

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This financial year, the state government has budgeted to spend $98bn to run the state.

Mr Crisafulli has promised lower taxes and debt under the LNP and, while insisting all elections commitments were “fully costed … fully funded”, has not revealed how they would be paid for.

When asked if government expenditure would be lower, Mr Crisafulli did not answer, but instead pointed to the near $1.6bn blowout on the Coomera Connector project.

“Contrary to the government scare campaign, our comprehensive plans will ensure world-class services infrastructure delivered on time and on budget and lower taxes, as opposed to a government with a higher taxing agenda,” he said.

Asked again if expenditure would be lower, Mr Crisafulli said: “Projects will be done on time and on budget.”

Asked a third time whether the $90.7bn in expenditure this ­financial year would have been lower under the LNP, Mr Crisafulli again declined to answer.

“You will see our tax plan, and you will see that every ­single projects we commit to will be on time, on budget, fully costed.”

Mr Crisafulli said the re-establishment of a Productivity Commission would allow the state to “build more with the money that’s there”.

Treasurer Cameron Dick on Sunday. Picture: John Gass

However, shadow treasurer David Janetzki was ­unable to say how much a ­productivity commission would save Queenslanders.

“The productivity commission for me is a place where truth can be spoken, where the Queensland people can have questions answered across the spectrum of the economy,” Mr Janetzki said.

“If you grow the economy, if you cut the waste and the project overruns in the right way, you will see debt lower than what Labor will ever deliver.

“By respecting Queenslanders, money taxes can be lower simply by showing that respect,” he said.

Mr Janetzki was also unable to say whether an LNP ­government would deliver a fiscal surplus.

“I want to make sure our budget, across the budget cycle, is focused on an operating balance that is paying for the things that we need every single day,” he said.

“I’m always looking at how we go about building for our future,” Mr Janetzki said.

Treasurer Cameron Dick, who will borrow to pay for Labor’s election commitments if returned to government, questioned Mr Crisafulli’s promises.

“The LNP will have to cut doctors and nurses from hospitals, just like they’re going to have to cut housing to pay for their unfunded promises and that’s what David Crisafulli needs to explain to Queenslanders,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli has pledged no public servant would be sacked if he was elected.

An LNP pledge to abolish payroll tax on GPs, which Mr Crisafulli has dubbed “Labor’s patient tax”, was welcomed by medical stakeholders. Mr Dick has refused to match the commitment that the Australian Medical Association Queensland said would save people up to $30 per GP appointment.

“Let’s be honest, this whole palaver by the LNP is a distraction from the fact that David Crisafulli is refusing to release his tax policy,” he said.

“There are half a million small businesses in Queensland today under threat because David Crisafulli won’t rule out increasing taxes on small and medium-sized businesses,” Mr Dick said.

“I did that yesterday in Cairns. I released our new budget, economic and tax ­policy for Queensland.”

Mr Dick did not extend his pledge of no new taxes to big business.

While the cost of visiting a doctor would not rise under the LNP, visiting a dentist in Queensland was set to become more expensive from July as Labor and the LNP refuse to exclude them from payroll tax changes.

Australian Dental and Industry Association policy ­director Sarah Raphael said that dentists were likely to increase fees from July to cover the tax.

“It’s exacerbated because dentistry is not part of Medicare, dentistry is already a level more expensive than visiting your GP,” Ms Raphael said.

“It’s about fairness. You’re offering this to GPs and 35 per cent of people can’t afford to go to the dentist. 

“Dentistry is so integrally linked to your overall health.”

Mr Crisafulli said dentistry was not included in the tax abolition because it would not ease pressure on emergency departments.

Mr Miles on Monday brushed off new polling which shows a wipeout for Labor come October 26, and warned the election was going to be much harder for Mr Crisafulli than he realises.

Mr Miles, spruiking Brisbane-made buses at Eagle Farm, said there was “nothing new” in the Freshwater Strategy polling by Nine.

“You’ve been running polls like that all year, that suggest David Crisafulli could have an easy run to becoming the state’s premier,” Mr Miles said.

“And he believes that - there’s a reason he’s behaving the way he is. He thinks these elections are going to be easy, but we’ve barely even started and with four weeks to go, I can assure you that this election will be much, much harder for him than he realises.”

Premier Steven Miles spent the weekend in Far North Queensland where he watched the AFL grand final and cheered on the Lions at the Cazalys Sports Club in Cairns.

During the trip, Mr Miles doorknocked with Tourism and Sport Minister Michael Healy and announced a $10m investment in Tourism Tropical North Queensland to ­increase domestic and international tourism numbers to the region.