Campbell Newman says he won’t be calling on Tony Abbott

CAMPBELL Newman will not be calling on Tony Abbott to boost his chances for re-election next year.

CAMPBELL Newman will not be calling on Tony Abbott to boost his chances for re-election next year, as Queensland Labor yesterday moved to link the two leaders in a mirror strategy of their campaign in Victoria.

With the Prime Minister noticeably absent from the election trail ahead of the first-term defeat of the Napthine coalition government at the weekend, Mr Newman again tried to quarantine the faux campaign being fought out in Queensland to state issues.

As Labor confirmed it would be letterboxing voters next week about the controversial federal budget measures, Mr Newman shrugged-off the strategy, saying Queenslanders would be voting on the record of his government.

But Mr Newman, who despite leading the Liberal National Party to a record election win in 2012 has struggled in successive polls with support for his government and leadership, said he would not be calling for Mr Abbott’s help at the state election, expected early next year.

At an LNG plant opening in central Queensland, Mr Newman was asked if he would be inviting Mr Abbott to campaign after earlier saying he didn’t need “anyone else to stand by my side other than members of my own team’’.

“I’m saying that this is a government that will stand on its record, OK?’’

Asked if he would be happy for Mr Abbott to join him on the campaign, Mr Newman gave a lukewarm response: “Well, if he wishes to, that’s fine. The government will be campaigning on its record in Queensland.’’

Mr Abbott broke tradition and failed to appear on the hustings with Denis Napthine ahead of his defeat on Saturday, although Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop did make an 11th-hour appearance for the Coalition campaign.

Victorian Labor had moved to exploit the Abbott government’s slide in the polls and ongoing controversy over the federal budget measures, including the proposed GP co-payment.

Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday ramped-up the strategy by declaring that Mr Abbott and Mr Newman were “cut from the same cloth’’.

Federal Labor MPs and senators will next week start sending out more than 700,000 letters seeking to highlight federal budget measures that affect Queensland.

Speaking at a Queensland Media Club luncheon, Ms Palaszczuk also flagged one of the more Queensland-centric platforms of her campaign by raising integrity issues about the Newman government.

Mr Newman this year has faced attack from lawyers and civil libertarians after making changes to the anti-corruption watchdog, now called the Crime and Corruption Commission, including removing the need for bipartisan support for its head. It was later reinstated.

Ms Palaszczuk said the watchdog would also regain its independence to decide what it would research. “Those decisions should not be in the hands of the attorney-general, which is where the LNP has placed them — especially the current Attorney-General (Jarrod Bleijie),” she said.

Mr Newman, asked about his rival’s speech on his integrity, said “here we go again’’ in reference to Labor attacks during the last campaign.