Queensland election 2017 live: No damage from Adani call
Premier says her decision to veto a federal loan to Adani has not hurt her in Labor’s crucial swing seats in Townsville.
Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of the Queensland election campaign.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has chosen to campaign in Bundaberg while her opponents battle it out in a leaders debate in Townsville. Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls, Queensland’s One Nation leader Steve Dickson and Robbie Katter, from the Katter’s Australian Party, will face off at the “Debate of the Leaders” business breakfast today.
Sarah Elks 12.35pm: Premier says Adani veto hasn’t hurt her in Townsville
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her controversial decision to veto a federal loan to Adani has not hurt her in Labor’s crucial swing seats in Townsville.
At a debate in the north Queensland city this morning, the majority of the audience raised their hands to show support for the Adani loan – the opposite reaction to the audience at last week’s Brisbane people’s forum.
Asked today whether her veto decision would be a problem for her in Townsville – where Labor holds three marginal seats – Ms Palaszczuk said no.
“No, I don’t think so, because I made my position very clear on that,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk’s position on the Adani veto has not been clear, in fact she has changed her justification for it a number of times.
When she first announced the decision, it was because of a conflict of interest her partner had with Adani’s loan application, and an alleged smear campaign by the LNP. Later, she said it was in line with a 2015 election commitment not to give taxpayers’ money to Adani (even though the Labor government has supported the facilitation of the loan for months) and finally, she said it was a reflection of Queensland voters’ opposition to a loan to an Indian billionaire.
When reminded that Buy Queensland was Labor’s government procurement policy, and would not apply to a private company such as Adani, Ms Palaszczuk pivoted.
“They’ve already been making commitments to purchasing things already, supplies and services, in Townsville and in Maryborough,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said she had a handshake agreement with Adani’s boss that supplies would be purchased in Queensland “and also no 457 visas” would be given to foreign workers for Adani jobs in Queensland.
Sarah Elks 11.40am: Labor costings set to be released
Labor will release the costings of its election promises tomorrow, as well as a detailed plan to reduce the state’s nation-leading debt.
After days of not saying exactly when Treasurer Curtis Pitt would make the costings public, Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed it would be tomorrow, just two days before Saturday’s election.
“They will be handed down by the Treasurer tomorrow,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said she understood Shadow Treasurer Scott Emerson would release the LNP’s costings on the same day.
Yesterday the Premier committed Mr Pitt to releasing a debt reduction action plan at the same time as he did the costings announcement.
Sarah Elks 11.34am: Premier defends decision to miss debate
While this morning’s debate was raging in Townsville, Queensland Premier and Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk was 1000km away in Bundaberg.
Ms Palaszczuk defended her non-attendance, saying she could not go because she had promised to be in Townsville on Monday just gone, to celebrate local Brigadier Chris Field’s promotion to Major-General.
“I actually explained to the organisers that I was unable to attend that forum this morning, because I had made a promise to Brigadier Chris Field, who has now become Major-General, that I would attend his ceremony on Monday in Townsville…I don’t break my promises,” she said.
“I also explained to Townsville Enterprises, my apologies for not being able to attend this morning, because I had a prior commitment I had made on Monday.”
Sarah Elks 11.17am: Hanson hug did no damage: Premier
The “cuts express†has arrived in Bundaberg and coincidentally so have these anti-Nicholls protesters and signs #qldvotes pic.twitter.com/HcAOSmUvZV
— Sarah Elks (@sarahelks) November 21, 2017
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has struggled to defend her rogue Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller’s public embrace of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson yesterday, during a torrid press conference in Bundaberg.
Ms Premier — who was half an hour late to a picture opportunity with Labor’s “Cuts Express” bus that is attacking Opposition leader Tim Nicholls over the Newman government’s razor gang — said she had not spoken to Ms Miller about the incident yesterday.
“Because she’s out campaigning, just like I am, we addressed this yesterday. There is nothing wrong with people showing common decency to other people,” Ms Palaszczuk said, defending Labor MP Ms Miller’s decision to hug Senator Hanson and give her knitted booties for her new grandson.
However, the Premier insisted the inconvenient visuals of Ms Miller and Senator Hanson literally embracing did not detract from Labor’s key campaign message — that the LNP and One Nation have done a deal and a government combining the two will lead to chaos.
“I reject that, I reject that outright (that Ms Miller and Senator Hanson’s meeting had done damage to Labor’s message),” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“She has also said, and it was reported in The Australian, she (Ms Miller) knows the clear position about no deals with One Nation.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she had not spoken to Ms Miller, or Labor state secretary Evan Moorhead about Ms Miller, but relied on news coverage of yesterday’s encounter to work out what happened. Ms Palaszczuk said it was a chance encounter at a shared pre-poll booth.
“That’s what I was told, I looked at the coverage, I looked at what everyone else was saying, and that’s what I was advised,” she said.
Asked why she hadn’t spoken to Ms Miller, Ms Palaszczuk said: “I have been busy campaigning, all right?”
The Premier sidestepped questions about whether Ms Miller would be dumped from Labor after the election.
“She is a member of the team, she is out campaigning to retain her seat of Bundamba,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Charlie Peel 10.10am: North Queensland backs Adani
The audience at a Queensland election leaders debate in Townsville has shown overwhelming support for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.
Highlighting what Katter’s Australian Party State leader Robbie Katter called Queensland’s north-south divide, the huge show of hands was in stark contrast to the audience at a public forum in Brisbane last week.
Anti-Adani protesters have crashed the Queensland election leaders debate in Townsville #qldpol #qldvotes pic.twitter.com/eLN5KAfho7
— Charlie Peel (@charliepeeled) November 21, 2017
It came minutes after anti-Adani protesters crashed the stage after spending about half an hour hidden beneath stage equipment in the function room at Townsville’s casino.
The four protesters emerged from beneath a sound stage at the back of the function room shortly after Mr Nicholls began speaking.
It appears they had been waiting beneath the stage for several hours.
As they stormed the stage, people in the audience yelled out, “get a job” and “have a shower”.
The protesters were forced out of the room by plainclothes police and taken away in the police wagon.
An officer said they were not charged but were told not to come back to the precinct.
Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls, One Nation leader Steve Dickson and Mr Katter were all in attendance at the debate, however Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was absent.
A life-size cutout of the Premier was briefly on display after being carried onto the stage by Mr Nicholls.
While several LNP and One Nation candidates and MPs were in the audience, none of Townsville’s three Labor candidates showed up.
The Adani mine was a hot topic at the debate, with all three party leaders saying they supported the mine.
The audience, mostly consisting of north Queensland business leaders, also showed its support for the proposed $1 billion federal loan to Adani to build the rail line to the Carmichael mine in the Galilee basin.
In the first week of the campaign, following days of protests from anti-Adani protesters, Ms Palaszczuk said she would veto the loan.
All three leaders also supported a proposed coal-fired power station in north Queensland, which Labor has opposed.
8.20am: Premier snubs debate
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has chosen to campaign in Bundaberg while her opponents battle it out in a leaders debate in Townsville. Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls, Queensland’s One Nation leader Steve Dickson and Robbie Katter, from the Katter’s Australian Party, will face off at the “Debate of the Leaders” business breakfast today, held by economic development group Townsville Enterprise.
Ms Palaszczuk has snubbed the debate and will instead campaign in Bundaberg after spending three straight days in the north, including in Townsville. She focused on central Queensland on Tuesday, having visited Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone.
Ms Palaszczuk has to bounce back after her campaign was embarrassed by maverick Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller, who publicly showed support for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Ms Miller met with Ms Hanson at a polling booth on Tuesday where she encouraged One Nation voters to put Labor second.
That is in contrast to the premier’s position that Labor will not make deals with One Nation, which could hold the balance of power after Saturday’s election.
AAP
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