Queensland election 2020: Palaszczuk denies union data sharing; LNP pledges major road upgrades

Premier rejects allegations Labor shared private voter details with unions, as LNP embarks on seat blitz.

Queensland opposition LNP leader Deb Frecklington will commit $15M to fix the Caloundra Road and Nicklin Way roundabout on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

The pace has ramped up as the election campaign hits the final week, with Deb Frecklington embarking on a four-seat blitz in southeast Queensland.

The Opposition Leader met with supporters in the Brisbane electorates of Chatsworth and Aspley on Saturday morning before heading up the Bruce Highway.

She met with candidates and supporters in Caloundra and Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.

At each stop, Ms Frecklington spruiked the Liberal National Party’s $1bn congestion fund, which is targeted at easing traffic issues in arterial roads and bottlenecks.

Noosa was an LNP seat for more than a decade before it was won in 2017 by independent Sandy Bolton, who holds it with a strong 11.5 per cent margin.

Aspley, likewise, was an LNP electorate until the last election but is held by Labor with a slim 1.2 per cent margin.

Caloundra is a traditionally safe LNP seat but there is some uncertainty for the party this year with the retirement of stalwart Mark McArdle.

Ms Frecklington will turn her attention further north for the rest of the weekend and will be returning to regional Queensland, where she has spent much of the campaign, before heading back to Brisbane on Tuesday for two leaders debates and the final leg of the campaign

Ms Frecklington has committed $20m to tackle congestion on a busy Brisbane arterial road as part of the Liberal National Party‘s $1bn road fund.

Old Cleveland Rd, which connects the city to the eastern suburbs and bayside has been ranked by RACQ as one of the state’s most congested roads.

Ms Frecklington announced the funding on Saturday morning by the side of the road in the electorate of Chatsworth, held by the LNP’s Steve Minnikin on a margin of 2.9 per cent.

“The latest project the LNP will fund from the $1bn congestion fund is a $20m upgrade to slash travel times and support local jobs along Old Cleveland Road through Brisbane’s eastern suburbs, creating more than an additional 60 jobs,” she said.

“Busting this congestion will not only reduce travel times and improve safety for families but also boost local businesses, helping them create even more jobs.

“This upgrade is another part of our plan to supercharge the economy and lead Queensland out of recession.”

The decision to campaign in the marginal electorate of Chatsworth a week out from polling day comes after a Newspoll portrayed a tight contest in suburban Brisbane, including the Labor-held electorate of Mansfield where the LNP’s Janet Wishart has closed the gap on incumbent member Corrine McMillan.

Ms Frecklington has spent much of the campaign in the regions, focusing on winning Labor seats instead of sandbagging Brisbane electorates.

Asked about polling which showed the LNP would lose the northern Brisbane seat of Pumicestone, the party leader said she would “leave the commentary to commentators”.

“I will say this about Pumicestone, I think the people of Pumicestone deserve to know that the Palaszczuk government are spreading Labor lies to them,” Ms Frecklington said.

I think the people of Pumicestone deserve to know that in Fiona Gaske they have an outstanding local candidate who loves the region, who understands the region.”

Pumicestone is held by retiring MP Simone Wilson but is in danger of falling to Labor after the party’s primary vote surged from 35.6 per cent at the 2017 election to 45 per cent in the survey taken over three days this week.

Ms Frecklington continued to focus on the economy, criticising Labor for the state’s nation-high unemployment rate and claiming the party lacked an economic plan.

Information sharing allegations

Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has rejected allegations that the Labor Party shared private details of Queenslanders with unions.

The Courier-Mail on Saturday reported the Australian Electoral Commission had begun probing Labor and the Queensland Council of Unions’ use of the electoral roll.

It followed allegations that the roll, which is provided to political parties with strict conditions under federal laws, was amalgamated with union membership lists into a data set.

This information has allegedly been used during election campaigns by the QCU to target specific voter groups.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk passes a basketball with young players as she officially opens the Northside Indoor Sports Centre in Zillmere. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The Premier today said she rejected the allegations and the party had as well.

“The party has rejected that and they have said they have complied with all of their obligations under the acts,” she said.

She said she doesn’t think Labor’s State Secretary Julie-Ann Campbell should stand down amid the probe while saying Ms Campbell had told her there was no evidence of any complaints.

In a statement released this morning, Ms Campbell said the allegation “that the ALP has illegally shared private details is just plain wrong.”

“We take our obligations under the Commonwealth and State Electoral Acts very seriously,” she said.

“We are confident that we have complied with those obligations.

“The ALP does not have any information about a complaint beyond what was in today’s paper.

“We have not been contacted by the AEC or the AFP.

“We are contacting the AEC requesting any information they might have regarding the details of this complaint.”

On Saturday afternoon, the ABC reported the AEC said it was not making further inquiries at this point.

“The AEC would draw your attention to [section] 91A (2) (a) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, which states that a registered political party may use electoral-roll information for “any purpose in connection with an election or referendum”, a commission statement said, according to the ABC.

“Based on the information available to the AEC, there is no indication that a breach of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 has occurred which would warrant further inquiry by the AEC or referral to the AFP by the AEC.”

Ms Frecklington earlier labelled Labor “rotten to the core” and said she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations.

“The Labor Party are rotten to the core,” Ms Frecklington said at a fiery press conference in Brisbane on Saturday.

“Annastacia Palaszczuk is the leader of the Labor Party and the Premier must stump up today and explain to Queenslanders why she has given personal information to the unions for her own benefit.”

Ms Frecklington said the Palaszczuk government had been beset by “integrity scandal after integrity scandal”.

“Ordinary Queenslanders will be shocked to the core by this rotten to the core government,” she said.

“This is a shocking breach of people’s privacy.”

Ms Frecklington said it was not a good enough excuse for Ms Palaszczuk to say that it was up to the party executive to address the matter.

Labor’s FairPlay pledge

A re-elected Palaszczuk Government will splash $7.5 million on extending its FairPlay vouchers that cover sign-on sporting costs for kids.

Speaking in Labor’s ultra-marginal seat of Aspley (1.17 per cent), Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would benefit some 50,000 kids.

Under the scheme, the State Government offers $150 vouchers to help pressured families cover the cost of sport.

“Because of Queensland’s strong health response, we were able to safely get kids back out on the field, playing sport with their friends,” the Premier said.

“Many families rely on FairPlay vouchers, and it’s important that everyone has a chance to play.

“The vouchers also support clubs to stay open for training to put teams on the field, which means employing locals to help manage club operations.”

Bart Mellish holds the seat of Aspley, which is Labor’s fourth most marginal seat in Queensland.