Queensland Labor MPs skip work for post-budget regional blitz

Eight members of the Queensland Labor opposition, including six shadow ministers, did not attend Wednesday’s sitting of parliament to instead lash the Crisafulli government’s budget.

Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles. Picture: Liam Kidston

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Eight Queensland Labor MPs have been criticised by the Crisafulli government for skipping parliament to hold media conferences across the state to attack Tuesday’s budget, sparking the first censure motion in 13-years.

Six shadow ministers, an assistant shadow minister and a backbencher were among the group of Labor MPs who did not attend all or half of the parliamentary sitting just a day after the Liberal National Party delivered its first budget in a decade.

After the government repeatedly pointed out the absences throughout the morning’s throughout the morning’s Question Time session, Leader of the House, Christian Rowan, moved a censure motion to criticise the opposition for “their failure to meet their duties” and “the failure by shadow ministers to attend question time”.

Dr Rowan added that shadow MPs received pay for their extra responsibilities in parliament.

“Our democratic institution needs to be treated with the dignity and the respect that it deserves,” he said.

Former Labor premier Anna Bligh last moved a censure motion in 2011 to criticise the LNP opposition for missing the debate of three bills. There is no formal punishment.

Environment spokeswoman Leanne Linard was absent. Picture: Lachie Millard

Member for Cairns and tourism spokesman Michael Healy was also absent. Picture: Brendan Radke

Opposition leader Steven Miles said the party had made a deliberate decision for some of its MPs to avoid parliament.

“We will continue to and, in fact, never apologise for travelling around this state and spending time in regional Queensland,” Mr Miles said.

“We made a deliberate choice today to make sure that regional Queenslanders knew how this LNP government had let them down with a bad budget.”

Cairns MP and Tourism spokesman Michael Healy and Bundaberg MP Tom Smith spent the day in their regional electorates and held a media conference. Several southeast Queensland MPs, including ­energy spokesman Lance McCallum, Environment spokeswoman Leanne Linard, and Greenslopes representative, Joe Kelly, were dispersed across the state, while police spokesman Glenn Butcher was diverted from his seat of Gladstone to Rockhampton.

Shadow transport Bart Mellish and shadow Attorney-General Minister Meaghan Scanlon held lunchtime press conferences.

Transport spokesman Bart Mellish and shadow Attorney-General Meaghan Scanlon held lunchtime press conferences on the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, respectively.

Deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie said the shadow ministers should be present to hold the government to account, and that Mr Miles had failed to do his job as leader.

“A true leader would have said, you are required in parliament … a good leader would have said no,” Mr Bleijie said.

“The objective of an opposition is to hold a government to account. It’s hard to do when you don’t show up to work.

“You see, we go from our electorates to parliament to do our job, which is what we pay for.”

Mr Miles’s attempt to amend the motion was shot down, and Labor ultimately lost.

Several MPs on both sides of the chamber were also absent on Wednesday due to illness, including Finance and Trade Minister Ros Bates.

Mr Bleijie earlier thanked several of his LNP colleagues in the chamber – including the state’s youngest ever female MP Ariana Doolan – for showing up to work.