Bleijie ducks debate as pre-election Trumpian barbs fly
Queenslanders may have to brace for a bruising state election campaign ahead of the October 26 poll, as insults fly just days before the governor was expected to officially dissolve parliament, effectively firing the starter’s pistol.
Appearing to borrow from former US president Donald Trump’s playbook, Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie again used schoolyard pejoratives to describe senior Labor government members, as the LNP announced GPs would be exempt from payroll tax if it won government next month.
Instead of Premier Steven Miles, there was “sneaky Steven”, Treasurer Cameron Dick was “dodgy Dick”, while Health Minister Shannon Fentiman was labelled “failure Fento”.
Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie has refused to debate “loser” Cameron Dick.Credit: Cameron Atfield
It all came at the end of a week when Labor’s campaign, particularly on TikTok, came under fire from the LNP for its “desperate and juvenile” content.
“The Labor Party are going to do and say anything to get re-elected,” Bleijie said.
“The tactics I’ve seen over the last 48 hours – with billboards, YouTube videos, TikTok videos – using family members of their political opponents, giving away address details of their political opponents, is disgraceful, and they’ve got to stop it.”
Labor has also started airing attack ads on television, linking Opposition Leader David Crisafulli to public service sackings under former premier Campbell Newman.
Bleijie took particular aim at Dick.
“Cameron Dick could not lie straight in bed at night with the amount of lies that are coming out of his mouth at the moment,” he said.
“He looked down a barrel of the camera yesterday and said he never promised no increased taxes in Queensland under the Labor Party.
“He did [raise taxes]. Go to the video, ref. It’s on camera. It’s on video. It’s on film.”
Before the 2020 election, Labor promised no increased taxes. But in handing down the 2022 state budget, Dick announced a $1.2 billion increase in coal royalties, which was widely seen as a broken promise.
“We made a very clear promise in the election that we wouldn’t impose any new or increased taxes on the people of Queensland,” Dick said at the time.
“We didn’t make that promise to big corporations.”
But despite the bluster, Bleijie said he would not debate Dick who, as deputy leader, was his Labor counterpart.
“I’m living rent-free in his head,” Deputy Premier Cameron Dick says of his LNP counterpart, Jarrod Bleijie.Credit: Jamila Toderas Filippone
“He’s desperate, and he’s a bit of a loser, and I’m not in the business of debating losers,” he said.
“Queenslanders will see right through Cameron Dick. Queenslanders will know that in the last 10 years, he has presided over a failed government.
“I don’t want to entertain the ego of Cameron Dick. He only wants to do some form of debate so he could hear the sound of his own voice.”
For his part, Dick said he was up for a debate.
“This is just more personal attacks from Jarrod Bleijie, like I’m living rent-free in his head,” he said.
“That’s why he doesn’t want to debate me; that’s why he’s running away from that.
“But I’m happy to debate Jarrod Bleijie, or anyone else in the LNP, about why they’re hiding their tax cuts, why they’re hiding their cuts on hospitals and housing, and why they won’t be honest with the people of Queensland.”
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