Dutton on Crisafulli: a great campaign despite union scare
As the Queensland leaders hit the hustings for the final day of campaigning, Peter Dutton says David Crisafulli shows ‘great vision’ despite the latest Newspoll revealing the LNP leader had lost support of some voters.
Peter Dutton has praised David Crisafulli for running a “great campaign”, despite the latest Newspoll revealing the Queensland’s Liberal National Party leader had lost support of some voters.
The election-eve Newspoll still has Mr Crisafulli on track to win Saturday’s election, but suggests the race has significantly tightened during the four-week campaign.
Federal Opposition leader Mr Dutton blamed Labor and the union movement for running “scare campaigns”.
“But I think Queenslanders are smarter than that and I put more faith in Queenslanders to see through the negative campaign that the Labor Party has run,” he said.
“I think Queensland is ready for a fresh start and I think David Crisafulli has demonstrated to the Queensland public that he has got a vision for our state.”
Mr Dutton said there were “many reasons” Queenslanders would vote to oust the third-term Labor government, pointing inflationary risks of Mr Miles’s big spending agenda and the LNP’s promise of a tougher approach to law and order.
Responding to the Newspoll, Mr Crisafulli said the results showed “how tough this election is”.
“It also shows you the real risk of a minority Labor government doing deals with the Greens and the Katters,” he said.
“I come back to what I repeatedly said to you guys for four years, we are trying to climb a massive mountain here, we need more than a dozen seats and only done a handful of times.
“Of the last 12 general elections in this state, we’ve won one. So you can forgive me for getting up earlier and working harder, because Queensland need change, this state deserves a fresh start, but it won’t just happen, people need to vote for it.”
Mr Crisafulli reaffirmed his promise of doing no deals with minor parties or independents to form government.
“I can’t be more categoric - the answer is no,” he said.
While he spoke broadly about Newspoll predicting a tightening in the polls, Mr Crisafulli would not be drawn on results which showed his personal popularity had taken a hit during the four-week campaign.
While the LNP’s primary vote had remained stable at 42 per cent since March, the portion of voters dissatisfied with Mr Crisafulli’s performance has grown from 33 per cent to 46 per cent.
On the key determinant of better premier, Mr Miles now leads his LNP rival 45 per cent to 42 per cent, with 13 per cent of voters uncommitted.
“Well you know those aren’t the numbers that drive me,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time listening to Queenslanders and I love this state and I love the people in it and I know they deserve better than what they’re getting.”
Federal Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt told The Australian the Newspoll results confirmed his belief that the election results would be tighter than anticipated.
“I’ve always believed that there is a chance Labor can hold on and the polls show that,” he said.
“Clearly Labor has closed the gap over the course of the campaign and I think that is a real tribute to the efforts of Steven Miles and the whole Labor team.
“I think they have successfully touched on the issues that matter to Queenslanders and they have exposed David Crisafulli dodging questions, evading responsibility and I think Queenslanders have noticed that.”
The exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian – polling 1151 Queenslanders between last Friday and Thursday this week – shows a change of government after almost a decade of Labor in power.
The opposition leads Premier Steven Miles’s Labor government 52.5 to 47.5 per cent after preferences. If the predicted 5.7 per cent swing were uniform across the state, the LNP would win 13 Labor seats and secure a two-seat majority in the 93-electorate parliament.
Currently, Labor holds 51 seats, the LNP has 35, the Greens have two, Katter’s Australian Party has four and Independent Sandy Bolton has the final electorate.
The LNP needs 47 seats – a net gain of 12 – to win majority government, and requires a two-party preferred swing of just under six per cent.
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