Tourism Minister Kate Jones blasts Clive Palmer’s ‘bulls**t’ death tax campaign
United Australia Party boss Clive Palmer says despite being unable to produce any concrete evidence on his claims Labor will introduce a death tax, it’s his right “as a citizen” to inform people of an alleged risk.
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United Australia Party boss Clive Palmer says it’s his right as a citizen to claim Labor is preparing to introduce a death tax despite being unable to produce any concrete evidence of the plan.
Mr Palmer has also tried to link the alleged plan to Labor’s proposed introduction of euthanasia laws, saying the only way for the government to pay down its mountind debt bills is through raising taxes.
“ It does make you wonder why they want to give an incentive to people,” he said.
Mr Palmer said a mysterious phone call he received from a “treasury official” was the only direct evidence he had that Labor was preparing a 20 per cent death tax.
He said he deduced the rest from analysing Labor’s pre-election moves, including the euthanasia proposal, the lack of a state budget
“Now, I’m entitled as a citizen and members of our party inform that view, to let Queenslanders know that, why take the risk?,” he asked
“That’s the question. Why take the risk with the Labor Party and a death tax when you don’t have to. That’s the real message for Queensland, whether you say whether you agree or you don’t agree it’s such a critical thing, 20 per cent of your wealth. Why take the risk with that?”
Outgoing Tourism Minister Kate Jones today launched a blistering attack on Clive Palmer, accusing him of ‘using his millions’ on a ‘bulls**t’ campaign to scare elderly Queenslanders including her 91-year-old grandmother.
Ms Jones, who is retiring from Parliament ahead of Saturday’s election, said Mr Palmer’s costly advertising blitz, warning of a Palaszczuk Government death tax plan, was frightening some of Queensland’s most vulnerable citizens and was the sort of ‘low-level politics’ that had prompted her to quit.
It comes as Annastacia Palaszczuk defended Labor’s job cuts scare campaign, claiming it was different to Palmer’s “death tax” attack because the LNP had a history of cutting.
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“They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again,” the Premier said when asked how Labor’s campaign was different to Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party’s.
“With Clive Palmer it is just not true and I just urge Queenslanders ignore Clive Palmer.
“Clive Palmer, Deb Frecklington the LNP - they’re all in this together.
“They’re all working hand and hand together.”
Ms Jones reiterated Labor’s policy regarding any form of death tax during a media conference on the Gold Coast.
“We have not had a death tax in Queensland since I have been alive,” she said.
“This is just Clive Palmer using his millions of dollars to scare the elderly and quite frankly what Clive Palmer is doing right now is bulls**t … I hate to say it, but it is.
“I have a 91-year-old grandmother who reads the paper every day - watches the TV every day - and what she sees is these lies from Clive Palmer.
“No Labor Government will introduce a death tax. We never have, we never will.
“The fact that Clive Palmer is using his millions of dollars to scare elderly Queenslanders is a disgrace. This is a kind of low-level politics which makes me say I’m fed up with it.
“Clive Palmer should be called out for the liar that he is and the fact that he’s willing to use his millions of dollars to scare the most vulnerable and elderly in our community is a disgrace.
“I shouldn’t have to comfort my nanna because Clive Palmer is using his millions to scare the elderly.”
Originally published as Tourism Minister Kate Jones blasts Clive Palmer’s ‘bulls**t’ death tax campaign