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Annastacia Palaszczuk denies she's lost control over candidates Craig Crawford, Brittany Lauga and Mike Brunker
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk denies she's lost control of her candidates after Craig Crawford, Brittany Lauga and Mike Brunker defied her direction by urging voters to put the LNP last, rather than One Nation.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she’ll “read the riot act” to a Labor MP and candidate who are flouting her direction to tell voters to put One Nation last.
Volunteers for Barron River MP and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford and Keppel MP and education assistant minister Brittany Lauga have been seen waving bright yellow placards today asking people to 'Put the LNP last'.
It comes after Burdekin candidate Mike Brunker was caught out asking voters to put sitting LNP MP "Dale Last last" in social media posts in a move that blindsided Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday's campaign trail.
Ms Palaszczuk denied she’d lost control of her candidates.
“No, no…yeah well, they’ll be read the riot act, I’ll tell you that,” she said.
“I’ve made it very clear and the party secretary has made it very clear that One Nation is last.”
She said she was not aware of Ms Lauga’s signs.
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Ms Palaszczuk was campaigning at a gravel plant at Jacobs Well, in the northern Gold Coast, in the LNP-held electorate of Coomera.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles has previously warned voters “freaks and weirdos” could be elected because of the LNP’s plan to put One Nation ahead of Labor across the state.
Asked about the rogue Labor candidates on Tuesday, he said One Nation was the worst of the “freaks and weirdos”.
“If there are worse freaks and weirdos, they’ll be considered. But the campaign here is between us, a united Palaszczuk majority government, and Deb Frecklington and all of the freaks and weirdos Deb Frecklington hopes to elect and govern in minority government.”
On Monday, Ms Palaszczuk had just warned voters the state’s economic and health recovery “could be at risk because of Deb Frecklington and her deals with One Nation and all the other parties” when news of Mr Brunker’s move caught her off guard yesterday.
Despite that, the CFMEU-backed Mr Brunker doubled down, saying he "doesn't care" how people vote, as long as they vote for him and that he would continue posting the direction.
Asked whether she was aware of Mr Brunker’s direction to voters, she said: “No, I’m very clear that I’ve said to everyone that One Nation is last.”
Ms Palaszczuk did not say whether she would require Mr Brunker to “fix” the advertisement and said “he should talk to the party about that”.
Mr Brunker’s post was afterwards missing from his social media page, but he denied having been ordered to take it down.
I’ll go and put it up again this afternoon,” he said of the offending post.
Mr Brunker said he didn’t care which way people voted, as long as they voted for him first.
“It’s just a play on words,” he said of the post.
“People can do whatever they like.
“I’d like a dollar for everyone who comes up to me and say, ‘I put Last last’, it’s just a throwaway line.
“As long as I’m number one, or if they’re voting for the minority party, I’m number two, I don’t care which way they vote.”
Ms Lauga told The Courier-Mail that she believed the sign had been "created, authorised and erected" by the Queensland Council of Unions.
She insisted it was not an ALP sign and that it was not endorsed by the ALP.
“We do not support its message which says to put the LNP last,” Ms Lauga said.
“The Palaszczuk Government has been consistently loud and clear that our preference is for voters to put One Nation last.
“That is reflected unequivocally in our How-to-Vote cards. In Keppel after Labor at No.1, we have LNP at 4 and One Nation last at 7.”
Ms Lauga claimed any vote for One Nation or the LNP ran the risk of delivering “a chaotic, minority government where they may hold the balance of power”.
Mr Crawford has been contacted for comment.
Originally published as Annastacia Palaszczuk denies she's lost control over candidates Craig Crawford, Brittany Lauga and Mike Brunker