Gladys Berejiklian has attracted criticism following her promise to build a stadium in Orange
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has delved into the failed election playbook of former Queensland premier Campbell Newman to try to win back the seat of Orange by promising a $25 million stadium at Orange but only on one condition.
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian has delved into the failed election playbook of former Queensland premier Campbell Newman to try to win back the seat of Orange.
Ms Berejiklian has promised to build a $25 million stadium at Orange but only if the Nationals win back the seat from the Shooters and Fishers Party at the March election.
It’s the first such caveat to be attached to a commitment during the state election campaign and mirrors the disastrous strategy of Mr Newman at the 2015 Queensland poll.
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He promised more than $20 million in funding for certain Queensland seats at the 2015 election but only if the Liberal National Party candidates were successful.
These included grants to sporting clubs, improvements to local schools and the construction of new infrastructure such as roads and a skate park.
The strategy ended up backfiring and the party lost 34 seats — including his own even though he promised $18 million to fund various community projects.
He became the second premier in Queensland history to be defeated in his own electorate.
Ms Berejiklian’s move on Wednesday to commit to building a $25 million stadium for the people of Orange if Nationals candidate Kate Hazelton wins has already attracted criticism.
“It will only happen if Kate is the member, and I want to make that clear because we’ve worked our guts out to build a strong budget and we want to make sure Orange gets its fair share,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Mr Newman wouldn’t comment but Ms Hazelton asked locals to back her to deliver the 1500-seat stadium.
“I don’t want to see our community get left behind, which is why am asking the community to back me in and make this top-tier sporting facility a reality,” she said.
Opposition Leader Michael Daley said the pledge was “an insult to the region”.
“If you live in Sydney you get billions of dollars for free but if you live in Orange you’ll only get your stadium if you do what you’re told,” he said.
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