On a steamy Cairns afternoon in October 2020, Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick stared down the barrel of a television camera and made an election promise he now denies.
Seven reporter Marlina Whop asked: “On taxes, are you ruling out new or increased business taxes?”
It was day three of the state election campaign, and Dick was unequivocal.
“There won’t be any increased taxes,” he said.
“We’ve said that very clearly from the start. No new taxes from the Labor government if we’re re-elected.”
Handing down his third budget on Tuesday, Dick whacked business with three new or increased taxes: a $1.2bn hike in the rate of coal royalties, an $80m a year rise in gambling taxes, and $425m by 2026 from a new mental health levy on big business.
All defensible budget measures – but a clear broken promise.
If Dick were a politician like former Labor premier Peter Beattie, he’d simply throw his hands up, apologise for changing his mind and explain why the tax hit for big business was essential.
But Dick could not bring himself to tell the truth.
Ducking and weaving questions from reporters, the Treasurer repeatedly insisted he did not break his promise, and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk backed him up.
“The people of our state knew what I was saying when I said that (in October 2020),” Dick said on Tuesday.
“We were very clear, we were very upfront. We need to ensure that coal companies and online betting companies pay their fair share.”
“Straight down the camera I was, that was broadcast live, I was talking to the people.
“The promise is the promise, we’ve kept to that 100 per cent.”
Really?
Dick’s unedifying performance is a symptom of a third-term government that has long struggled with honesty, accountability, and transparency. In the past year, half a dozen inquiries and reviews have been ordered into the government’s integrity woes, and the health of the state’s independent watchdogs.
The truth matters in politics.
Dick, who has been touted as a future premier, would do well to remember that.
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