Queensland Election 2017: Premier confirms she did not seek legal advice on decision to veto Adani NAIF loan
THE Premier’s decision to veto a $1 billion taxpayer-funded loan for Adani has turned into one of the big ticket issues of this year’s election campaign. Now, it’s been revealed she made the call on her own.
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NO LEGAL advice was sought by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk before her captain’s call to veto Adani’s $1 billion loan application to build a rail line.
Labor’s campaign has been dogged since her announcement to shoot down to loan if she wins government.
Ms Palaszczuk initially said the veto was due to a conflict of interest caused by her partner, Shaun Drabsch, working on Adani’s application, but now says is an election issue over the use of Federal Government taxpayer funds going towards a multinational company.
The Premier confirmed she had not sought legal advice before making her veto decision on Friday and did not believe it was necessary.
She continued to state there was no conflict created by shooting down Adani’s proposal, when the government owns shares in Aurizon which has a rival plan to build the rail line.
“There has been no decision in relation to those matters ... that hasn’t come before (Cabinet Budget Review Committee) and I won’t be dealing in hypotheticals,” she said.
“The public, families across Queensland do not want their taxpayers money going to a big international company.”
State Development Minister Anthony Lynham said the $100 million in land resumption so the Queensland Government had already facilitated for the rail line to be built were just “normal, standard processes”, and did not contradict the promise to not to spend taxpayer funds on the project.
“Those resumptions are necessary because if Adani builds the railway line they will be building it with their own money, standing on their own two feet,” he said.
Originally published as Queensland Election 2017: Premier confirms she did not seek legal advice on decision to veto Adani NAIF loan
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