Crisafulli denies he’s broken election promises in Cabinet shake-up

Premier David Crisafulli has been forced to deny he’s broken two promises as part of a major shake-up to reveal the LNP’s first Cabinet in almost a decade.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli speaks to the media after the new ministers were sworn in. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

• Analysis: Why Premier has to be careful with promises

Premier David Crisafulli has been forced to deny he’s broken two promises as part of a major shake-up to reveal the LNP’s first Cabinet in almost a decade.

Queensland’s 41st Premier uncovered his 18-person frontbench, featuring six women, at Government House on Friday.

Mr Crisafulli will hold the Veterans’ portfolio but, despite claiming before the election he would hold Tourism, has relegated it alongside Environment with Andrew Powell.

His pre-election insistence Ros Bates would become health minister was also broken, with Mr Crisafulli moving her to Finance, Trade, Employment and Training.

“Ros asked me and said that she would serve in any capacity, but she said that she would like an opportunity to have a different role, particularly with a finance focus,” the premier said.

When asked if Queenslanders should mark the two decisions as broken promises, Mr Crisafulli said “I don’t believe so”.

“You’ve got the 20 faces that were serving before, will be serving after, and they’ve got a unified and focused desire to make sure that we deliver better for Queenslanders,” he said. “You’re right, there’s been some machinery of government changes.”

The Courier-Mail first revealed in July concerns within the LNP about Ms Bates’s ability to transition to become health minister.

It prompted a strong rebuttal from Mr Crisafulli, who insisted she would have control of the Queensland Health behemoth.

Mr Crisafulli said, in the days after the election, Ms Bates asked for a finance-centred portfolio.

“I spoke to Ros after the election, she asked me to be clear, Ros said she’d serve in any capacity,” he said.

“I think having the most senior woman in the team in a key finance role is important.

“I’ve given Ros a role to make sure that people can look at Queensland and want to invest again and I’m confident she’ll do that well.”

Queensland Minister for Finance Ros Bates speaks to the media after the new ministers were sworn in. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Ms Bates repeatedly welcomed the “fresh start” she’d been given by Mr Crisafulli and said she would assist new Health Minister Tim Nicholls

“With all my clinical experience, that doesn’t change … it will be a government that is not siloed, we are all working together,” she said.

Mr Crisafulli said green tape in the environment portfolio holding back tourism products prompted his change of heart in holding the portfolio.

“Even with the gravitas of attaching tourism to the office of the premier, I just don’t think that it would be able to break up that inertia that is in the environment department,” he said.

Mr Nicholls, treasurer in the Newman government, welcomed a chance to helm the notoriously-difficult health portfolio – which he described as “the cup of opportunity”.

“We need to release that real-time data, we start work on that as soon as I get a briefing,” he said. “I fear that our IT systems, which have been plagued by problems, will continue to be plagued by problems unless we get in and fix them.”

Former LNP leader Deb Frecklington, a former lawyer, will take over as Attorney-General.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie will also serve as Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, and Industrial Relations.

Dan Purdie will become the Police Minister, in one of the few LNP MPs to keep their shadow portfolio.

The Transport and Main Roads portfolio will be handled by Brent Mickelberg.

The LNP’s education spokesman Christian Rowan was the biggest casualty of Mr Crisafulli’s cabinet.

He lost a near $50,000 pay rise as a minister to instead serve as Leader of the House, with no ministerial portfolios.

His axing prompted a barrage of questions about whether the premier had been truthful in his promise of no change to the Cabinet.

“It’s the same 20 people who are going to fix a decade of mess,” he said.

“Like any team, there are times that you need to do a different job and what I’m asking of Dr Rowan is to turn a dysfunctional parliament into one that Queensland is going to be proud of.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will again be the responsibility of a cabinet minister after it was axed by Steven Miles in December.

Amid criticism of Annastacia Palaszczuk for her focus on the 2032 event, Mr Miles dumped her three Olympic-related portfolios from cabinet when he took the top job.

Now, Mr Crisafulli has added the responsibility for the Games to Tim Mander’s remit of Sport and Racing.

Labor leader Steven Miles argued, in ditching Tourism and changing Health ministers, Mr Crisafulli had broken promises.

“David Crisafulli told Queenslanders during the election campaign that when I say something, it will count for something, at the first opportunity these words have turned out to be false,” he said.

“Queenslanders will now be rightfully questioning if David Crisafulli was being honest about abortion, nuclear energy, community safety and sacking teachers, police, nurses and doctors.”

As expected former Senator Amanda Stoker, elected as the MP for Oodgeroo, was not included in the ministry.

The Premier will name assistant ministers and parliamentary roles – including the coveted Speaker – next week

Originally published as Crisafulli denies he’s broken election promises in Cabinet shake-up