Premier and Opposition Leader trade barbs during Budget Estimates

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has accused Annastacia Palaszczuk of “no vision” and being too concerned with “glitz” and “glamour” during a spirited exchange over secret Wellcamp Cabinet documents, but the Premier fired back.

Annastacia Palaszczuk has slammed David Crisafulli as being “exactly like Campbell Newman” while the Opposition Leader claimed the Premier had no vision during Budget Estimates on Tuesday.

The Opposition had asked the Premier when Cabinet documents regarding the Wellcamp quarantine facility would be released after the government recently committed to disclosing documents after 30 days.

But Ms Palaszczuk suggested that it wouldn’t be a retrospective change.

“We’d love to see the Cabinet documents too from your term in government, that would be a doozy wouldn’t it?” she said.

“That would be interesting reading, absolutely interesting reading, the cuts to the public service; 14,000, building over there at one William Street.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk accused David Crisafulli as being “just like Campbell Newman”. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Mr Crisafulli then interjected, saying Ms Palaszczuk had “no future, no vision.”

“Same old games, round and round … red carpet, glitz glamour, no vision,” he said.

“You’re exactly like Campbell Newman,” the Premier quipped back.

“I sit here and it’s like Campbell Newman all over again.”

The Premier said she found Mr Crisafulli’s comments offensive and asked him to withdraw.

“And I say to the Leader of the Opposition, don’t come up to me at social events and be nice … then come in here and put on a turn.

“You come up and be nice, I take your photo with Peter Beattie.”

Meanwhile, the Clerk of Parliament Neil Laurie believes the parliamentary committees have a “long way to go” in ensuring the government is accountable.

He said following a 2011 review of parliamentary committees, the legislative process had improved dramatically.

“Part B of that review would be around the issue of the secondary part of committees – and the equally important part of committees – which is about the accountability of government, ensuring government is accountable,” he told Estimates on Tuesday.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the Premier had “no vision”. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

“I think that in relation to that we have a long way to go.

“I think that the parliamentary committees have not necessarily been discharging some of the things that were envisaged in that 2011 review, in particular, around things like public works and public accounts, the review of Auditor General’s reports in a proper and adequate way.

“I think we have a long way to go in regards of that accountability aspect and the work of committees.”

He said there wasn’t a “magic bullet” to better this and that parliament had to work on it.

“I think that the Committee of the Legislative Assembly is the requisite place for these issues to be discussed in open forum to try and work out how it could be improved,” he said.

“I think there’s a lot of people that would have different ideas about how it could be improved, and I do think that what we’d have to do is review what’s happened since 2011, what’s worked and what hasn’t worked.

“For example, I don’t think in a general sense, the Estimates process that we’re having is working as well as what was envisaged it would in 2011.

“And in some respects, the system that was in place prior to 2011 may in fact be better in some respects because things may have gotten even worse in terms of the overall Estimates process.”

Originally published as Premier and Opposition Leader trade barbs during Budget Estimates