Qld election 2020: Clive Palmer’s death tax claim stirs fear in Labor
Queensland Labor has hit back at Clive Palmer’s “scare campaign” on an alleged death tax, fearing it could cost the party vital votes in a key demographic.
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Labor has launched a tirade at Clive Palmer and his “death tax” campaign, as party insiders become increasingly worried the well-resourced scare campaign will cost the party vital votes.
As voters received text messages from Palmer company Mineralogy telling them to “stop Labor’s 20 per cent death tax”, Deputy Premier Steven Miles yesterday condemned the campaign, revealing his mother had received one of the texts.
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The United Australia Party founder’s social media, text and advertising campaign is understood to be cutting through with voters aged over 65.
The response is the polar opposite to that adopted by the Bill Shorten campaign at last year’s federal election, when social media posts suggested federal Labor was planning an inheritance tax.
Strategists say they’ve learnt from Mr Shorten’s handling of it, and believe it was a mistake not to repeatedly call it out during the federal campaign.
Mr Miles yesterday called on LNP leader Deb Frecklington to denounce the “lies”.
“She (Frecklington) also has to admit when she sees our costings that there is no death tax in them, and so she has to admit that Clive Palmer is lying and spreading LNP lies to try to get her elected,” he said.
“Today (Monday) hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders have received a text from Clive, a text from Mineralogy, spreading that awful LNP lie that Labor will introduce a death tax and the only person that can put an end to that lie is Deb Frecklington.”
In an email to voters from Labor headquarters yesterday, state secretary Julie-Ann Campbell wrote the “only person talking about a death tax is Peter Costello – the former Liberal treasurer under John Howard”.
“Clive Palmer is a liar, and he’s using his billions to broadcast his fake news across the state,” she wrote.
One Labor source said the scare campaign couldn’t be left unchallenged.
Originally published as Qld election 2020: Clive Palmer’s death tax claim stirs fear in Labor