Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli attends Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce breakfast event

Opposition leader David Crisafulli said the Garden City deserves world-class health facilities in the form of an expanded proposed hospital - but avoided to say his government would fund it.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's business breakfast at Clifford Park, June 27, 2024.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli hasn’t committed to review the funding for the new Toowoomba Hospital, despite saying the city deserved a “world-class” facility to service the region’s growing health requirements.

Mr Crisafulli outlined more of his plans for both the region and the state if he is elected premier in October at a Toowoomba event on Thursday, including a $2bn council infrastructure fund to speed up housing approvals, a new ministerial portfolio for home ownership, a rigid four-year tax policy and multiple youth crime initiatives.

But the state’s alternative premier was grilled heavily at the breakfast event, hosted by the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, on his support for the current $1.3bn hospital, which has started early works and is due in 2027.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's business breakfast at Clifford Park, June 27, 2024.

The current plan would see the hospital based at both Baillie Henderson and the CBD campus, a compromise worked out after Darling Downs Health failed to secure enough funding from Labor for a complete relocation.

Former DDH chair Mike Horan said the board accepted the 2022 funding deal in exchange for keeping the original Pechey St site, suggesting the government planned to take the CBD campus back.

When asked from the floor by federal independent Groom candidate Suzie Holt about the design that has been criticised by doctors and medical professionals, Mr Crisafulli wouldn’t comment on the idea of a “one-campus, tertiary hospital plan”.

His potential future treasurer and Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki also avoided a direct answer, saying the planning was “a very long way down the path”, though he conceded the city had not gotten the hospital it had originally wanted.

When pressed on his position after the event on the critical piece of infrastructure, Mr Crisafulli said he would ensure the city got the hospital “it was promised”.

“I’ll leave the debate around the structure of it to another time, but my focus is on services and I’m not convinced that a city the size of Toowoomba, that services a region as large as it does, should have a second-rate hospital,” he said.

“What was promised half a decade ago hasn’t been delivered and I want to see services maintained and increased, in contrast of what we’re seeing at the moment where they are being withdrawn. 

“We welcome the new hospital – it’s something that the three local members have been fighting hard for, but it’s got to be the full Monty.

“It’s got to be what was promised.”

Janetzki to be named home ownership minister in housing shake-up

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli speaks at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's business breakfast at Clifford Park, June 27, 2024.

Toowoomba MP and potential future treasurer David Janetzki will take on the newly-created role of home ownership minister, in a move LNP leader David Crisafulli said would get more people into the market.

Mr Janetzki was revealed as the future minister on Thursday if the opposition won government in October, due to many of the levers falling under the Treasury.

Speaking in Toowoomba, Mr Crisafulli said he believed the focus on ownership combined with changes to stamp duty concessions would give first homebuyers a leg-up.

“There will be a housing minister, but the housing minister is focused on the delivery of social housing and community housing, that’s the way the structure has operating and that’s important,” he said.

“Home ownership is a different side of the equation, it’s about getting people into their own home.

“It’s about using the levers of Treasury and creating a single point of accountability and I want Queensland to go from last the first in home ownership.”

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, with Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki, speaks at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's business breakfast at Clifford Park, June 27, 2024.

Mr Crisafulli, who owns multiple investment properties according to the current register of interests (as does premier Steven Miles), said young people deserved the chance to either own a home or rent in favour of other forms of investments like shares.

“If people want to own a home, they should be able to own a home if they’re contributing,” he said.

“Not everybody wants to own a home, some people want the fluidity of moving around and investing in shares for example, but if you want to own a home you should be able to, and that’s the point.”

Mr Crisafulli also revealed further details of his planned $2bn infrastructure investment fund, which would be open to councils including Toowoomba securing financial support for projects that accelerated housing.

“We’ve announced a $2bn infrastructure fund and that will go to the councils that are prepared to move quickly to open up housing because we are in the middle of a housing crisis,” he said.

“The reason why is because we do not have the supply to meet the demand that’s there and it can’t be up to councils to do all the heavy lifting.

“So we’re going to redo regional plans, we’re going to invent infrastructure in it to make sure that as regions grow it protects the lifestyles of people there, but we also have to open up new opportunities to make sure that our kids can get into a home.”

Crisafulli ‘open-minded’ to Emu Creek amid potential Cressbrook deal

Opposition leader David Crisafulli said a future LNP government would be “open-minded” to the Toowoomba Regional Council’s proposal for a new dam at Emu Creek.

The council endorsed investigating a new water source at the northern site earlier this year, despite Labor shutting it down due to the creek falling in the Moreton Bay catchment.

When asked in Toowoomba about the concept, Mr Crisafulli said he was open to all proposals for new dams.

“We’re open-minded to that (and we’re looking at) water projects across Queensland every single year,” he said.

“We want communities to actually see that there is progress on short and long-term water security – that that’s important to us.

“After a decade of a lot of promises and not a single major new water storage built, I’m not sure the government really has their heart in water infrastructure and I want communities to know we believe in dams.”

Mr Crisafulli has also promised to honour any future funding agreement between the state government and the council over the planned $270m Cressbrook Dam upgrades, which are required to be completed by next year and are the sole responsibility of the TRC currently.

“I welcome the fact that council has put the contribution in their budget, I saw that as something that’s certainly worthwhile,” he said.

LNP dodge commitments on Toowoomba payroll tax reform

Toowoomba businesses may not get any reform around payroll tax even with a change of government, with both Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and treasury spokesman David Janetzki conceding it might be difficult.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce president Myf Rigby grilled both politicians at the organisation’s business breakfast on Thursday morning, with tax reform at the top of the agenda.

Ms Rigby said Toowoomba businesses were paying $33m more in payroll tax due to the city not being designated a regional centre by the state government.

When asked about changes if the LNP was elected in October, Mr Janetzki said there were “technical and philosophical” issues with it.

“I’m not going to give good news today, because it’s a philosophical question and a technical question,” he said.

“I do think we need to come to a decision as a region – I do believe we need to position ourselves more strongly in regional Queensland and that has put me at odds with some.

“I struggle to see the merits in us being part of the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, because I do think we should position ourselves as a regional centre.”

Mr Janetzki also pointed out how payroll tax was worth $6bn out of the $90bn in revenue the state would receive every year, with limited streams for income beyond GST, mining royalties and other transfer charges like stamp duty.