QLD election 2020: LNP candidate's 'misogynist' Facebook post

A Queensland election candidate said he "regrets" the Facebook post allegedly supporting an article asking if education for women was a "waste of time".

An LNP candidate said he regrets sharing an article questioning if education for married women was a waste of time.

 

The Facebook post from Glenn Doyle, who is vying for the marginal seat of Mundingburra in Townsville at the Queensland state election, was one of many handed out to reporters by Deputy Premier Steven Miles at a press conference on Thursday morning.

The most controversial of these was a retro ABC article he shared with a caption saying "a lot of good points raised here".

"I'm afraid I'll have to sit on the fence on this one. Definitely more research is needed!"

Mr Miles slammed this post as being "misogynist" and called for LNP leader Deb Frecklington to boot him off her campaign.

"These are his own words that he's unconvinced that women should be educated," he told reporters.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Doyle released a statement saying he regrets posting to the social media platform.

“Those comments do not represent my views, but I apologise for them and for any offence they have caused," Mr Doyle said.

“It’s disappointing that Labor wants to make this election about old social media posts instead of about which party has the best policies to grow the economy and create jobs."

On Wednesday, Mr Doyle caused a stir over another Facebook post featuring a photo with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, suggesting she is "the next Prime Minister".

In a media outing alongside the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Doyle waved off the post regarding Ms Hanson as a joke.

“I’m 100 per cent committed to the LNP,” he said.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said Mr Miles needed to "grow up".

That's all from the election blog today. Thank you for following along and we'll be back tomorrow with the latest from the campaign trail.

Updates

3:11 pm October 15, 2020

'Grow up': Frecklington's impassioned serve to Miles

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has blasted Deputy Premier Steven Miles for surfacing Facebook posts of her colleague, Glenn Doyle.

"That bloke needs to grow up," the state LNP leader told reporters in Townsville before launching into an impassioned speech about women's rights.

“I say to my daughters, ‘you can be whatever you want to be, you can aspire to be whatever you want to be.

“I will not take, from the Labor Lefty party, that genuinely believe that because I am a conservative politician, I don’t believe to be the premier of this state.

“It is exactly like the Lefties who don’t believe that a regional Queensland member can be the premier of this great state.”

“I champion jobs for little girls who actually want to work and grow up and aspire to be something,” she said.

“I champion women who are actually battling domestic violence, I champion women who are battling mental health problems, I champion women who choose to live in regional Queensland but would actually like to get a job.

“I champion the women who want to have babies in regional Queensland because they deserve health services just like you have in Brisbane.”

1:56 pm October 15, 2020

Premier blasts Doyle's Facebook gaff

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has had her turn swinging at LNP candidate Glenn Doyle after his unfortunate Facebook posts surfaced.

Mr Doyle, who is vying for the marginal seat of Mundingburra n Townsville in the state election, shared an article debating if married women should be educated with a comment caption declaring “a lot of good points raised here”.

The state Labor leader said she finds it "hard to believe that anyone in this age could hold those views".

"The state of Queensland is 50 per cent women and to have those sort of comments and to be a candidate, potentially a member of parliament, is taking Queensland backwards not to taking Queensland forward," she told reporters in Rockhampton.

And as for the photo with Pauline Hanson?

"Why is he in photos with One Nation when he is running with LNP?" Ms Palaszczuk said.

12:53 pm October 15, 2020

Labor serves up poem on LNP's Facebook post drama

You know the Labor Party is brimming with excitement to jump on the gaff of a rival when poems are being penned.

The sitting member for Thuringowa served up his views on former police inspector Glenn Doyle's Facebook posts featuring Pauline Hanson and married women's rights to education.

"When it comes to a state election to foil, send in inspector Doyle," he said.

"He's got the good oil, Pauline Hanson's on the boil and apparently going to be the next prime minister.

"For this gaff, certainly the LNP in Townsville will toil.

"That's all I've got to say about Mr Doyle."

12:40 pm October 15, 2020

QLD Treasurer defends country's worst unemployment rate

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has defended the state recording the worst unemployment rate in the country.

Australia's jobless rate edged higher on Thursday to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent a month earlier but the Queensland rate jumped 1.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent.

"The unemployment figures don't include JobKeeper," the Treasurer said in Rockhampton, citing Victoria has four times as many people on this wage subsidy scheme as Queensland.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the opposition setting a target for unemployment was "irresponsible".

She said there is no commentary to match these claims from the Reserve Bank or Federal Treasury.

"We are in the middle of a pandemic, our job is to focus on the future and get people back into work," the Premier said.

12:01 pm October 15, 2020

LNP targets 5 per cent unemployment rate

Queensland Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has committed to targeting an unemployment rate of 5 per cent.

The state's jobless rate shot to 8.8 per cent in July after the coronavirus crisis sliced through the economy before recovering to 7.5 per cent in August.

This morning, it was revealed the unemployment rate had slipped back out to 7.7 per cent.

“The 200,000 Queenslanders who are out of work right now need a government with an economic plan to achieve a jobs target," Ms Frecklington said.

“Labor has no Budget, no plan and no unemployment target.

“If you don’t set targets, you don’t have focus and you simply aren’t working hard enough.

“The LNP’s target of 5 per cent will mean Queensland’s economy is growing and jobs are being created.

"The LNP’s economic plan will create 150,000 jobs by investing in job-creating infrastructure, lowering taxes and reducing electricity prices."

10:53 am October 15, 2020

Miles slams local member in North Queensland

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has slammed LNP candidate for Mundingburra Glenn Doyle after two interesting Facebook posts.

In one, Mr Doyle posted a photo with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, suggesting she is "the next Prime Minister".

In another, Mr Miles alleges Mr Doyle cited an article debating whether women should be included in the workplace or not.

In a media outing alongside the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Doyle waved off the post regarding Ms Hanson as a joke.

“I’m 100 per cent committed to the LNP,” he said.

10:35 am October 15, 2020

Queensland has recorded a new coronavirus case

Queensland has broken its run of no coronavirus cases, with a new infection being recorded today.

The Sunshine State had withered its active cases down to just one, but this new case takes this number back up to two.

10:31 am October 15, 2020

PM's office embarrassingly sends out talking points

Anyone following the Prime Minister on his tour of Queensland this week alongside Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington is more than aware of his talking points.

Jobs feature a lot, praise for his budget is also repeated, and he's loving the stat that 70-odd per cent of people in New South Wales have returned to work compared to the 40-odd per cent in QLD.

But now everyone knows what he's planning to say after a staffer accidentally sent Mr Morrison's talking points to the media.

Embarrassingly, it also contains a list of talking points for Coalition politicians, along with helpful tips on how to dodge any hard questions that might be asked.

One of those suggestions is to use the coronavirus crisis as an excuse for delays in implementing a government promise.

Here's the full list

10:18 am October 15, 2020

Authorities scrambling to link mystery virus case

Authorities are scrambling to determine whether a Townsville woman contracted COVID-19 while still in Queensland, or upon her arrival to Victoria.

Scientists will use genomic sequencing to compare wastewater samples from Townsville, where parts of the virus were found last week, with a swab from the woman to find out where the woman, in her 30s, had contracted the virus.

The Townsville woman arrived in Melbourne on October 7 to be with family while receiving medical treatment, and tested positive a few days later.

While Queensland Health authorities suspect it’s more likely the woman contracted the virus in Victoria, urgent contact tracing is underway for several Townsville locations, including Icon Cancer Centre, Mater Day Surgery and NQ Vascular.

The coronavirus scare comes after testing in sewage in Townsville revealed the deadly virus was present in the water system, which Health Minister Steven Miles said would explain the positive test result of the woman now in Melbourne.

CONTACT TRACING

Queensland Health urges anyone who has been at any of the following locations to monitor their health, and get tested if they develop symptoms:

September 28, 4-5pm: Icon Cancer Centre, Townsville

September 29: Mater Day Surgery, Townsville

September 30, 1-2pm: NQ Vascular, Pimlico, Townsville

October 1: Mater Day Surgery, Townsville

October 3: Flight QF2302 Townsville to Cairns

October 6: Flight VA782 Cairns to Brisbane

10:10 am October 15, 2020

Palaszczuk clear favourite to win

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is the clear favourite to claim victory in the upcoming state election.

The polls close in less than two weeks, and The Courier-Mail’s latest YouGov poll revealed that, on a two-party preferred basis, Labor leads the LNP 52 per cent to 48 per cent – a stunning turnaround for the Labor Party.

The Sunshine State's approval of the premier's handling of the coronavirus crisis has also surged from just 29 per cent in February to 57 per cent.

Labor is also the favourite according to one bookmaker, with Sportbet now pricing in a Ms Palaszczuk victory at just $1.50, with a Labor majority government the favourite at $2.50, Labor minority at $3 and LNP majority at $3.75.