The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

This was published 5 years ago

Poll Call: Labor pledges February VAD vote, LNP pushes back on Palmer

Voters have flocked to the polls on Monday as voting officially begins in election, while Labor has promised to introduce its VAD laws by February, and the LNP has distanced itself from Clive Palmer.

Stuart Layt
Updated ,first published

Summary

Pinned post from 1.28pm on Oct 19, 2020
Go to latest

READER POLL: Who's doing better into the back half of the campaign?

By

We're into the back half of the Queensland election campaign now, and with polls open and record numbers expected to vote early, the parties are losing time to convince people before they cast their ballot.

With that in mind, and trying for a moment to put your own politics aside, which party do you think has performed better on the campaign trail so far - Labor or the LNP?

Latest Posts

Palaszczuk hits the jack as Frecklington still wide of the mark

By Stuart Layt

As far as metaphors go, it’s hard to go past Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk absolutely nailing a cheeky roll while stopped at a Gold Coast bowls club for lunch on day 14 of the Queensland election campaign.

Ms Palaszczuk gets some pointers at the Nerang Bowls Club on Monday.Matt Dennien

Given some pointers by club president Tiska Craven, Ms Palaszczuk let fly and saw her bowl come to rest nearly touching the jack at the other end of the green, a near-perfect shot.

View post on X

Brisbane Times is not sure if the Premier is a regular at her local bowlo, but it seems like everything she touches this campaign turns out in her favour.

She said, She said: The key quotes on day 14 of the election campaign

By Stuart Layt
"It has been raised with me countless times and there is no reason that any extra assistance at the Law Reform Commission is needed.”
  • Annastacia Palaszczuk on why she will bring Labor's VAD law to Parliament in February despite passing them on to the Queensland Law Reform Commission for review in March.
“It is like a normal campaign and that is exactly what we are in.”
  • Deb Frecklington on why the LNP won’t release its costings, with a third of Queenslanders expected to vote early in 2020.
"The word 'could' is tricky. I mean, I could say Deb Frecklington could be a Russian sleeper agent, but she's not, and I won't say that."
  • Steven Miles performing rhetorical somersaults while criticising Clive Palmer's "tricky" campaign attack ads.

Tracking the Hard Hat Index on Day 14 of the election campaign

By Stuart Layt

The Queensland election campaign went completely high-vis-free over the weekend, however the pollies were back in the electioneering uniform for the start of the working week.

The combination of duelling campaign launches on Sunday combined with media events which couldn't be shoe-horned into a high-vis opportunity meant that we went two days without any safety gear on the campaign trail - possibly a world record, although we're yet to fact check that claim.

However on Monday we were back in the bright orange and yellow, to the chagrin of even some of the reporters on the trail.

View post on X

With the leaders back in the regions for the next few days, expect to see some highly visible politicians for the time being.

Advertisement

Labor, LNP both play down poll showing support for Labor's economic plan

By Stuart Layt

Both Labor and the LNP have played down new polling showing Queenslanders trust Labor's economic recovery plan more than the LNP's.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington have opposite economic recovery plans for the state.Jack Tran/Matt Dennien

The latest Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows 43 per cent of respondents support Labor's economic recovery plan, compared with 29 per cent in favour of the LNP's plan.

Asked about the poll on Monday, LNP leader Deb Frecklington went on the defensive, saying Labor's track record spoke for itself.

"In fact, right now we have the highest unemployment rate in the nation and it's been that way for four years. That is the record of Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Labor government," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk played down the poll, saying the election would be "a very close race".

"I'm asking Queenslanders to back our government, where we have worked very hard on containing COVID in this state, we are working very hard on our economic recovery plan," Ms Palaszczuk said.

Labor MP lurking as LNP touch down in Rockhampton

By Lydia Lynch

Deb Frecklington and her team have touched down in Rockhampton - the beef capital of Queensland.

Labor's Mark Bailey - the Unwelcome Committee?Lydia Lynch

The LNP leader avoided an awkward run in with Minister Mark Bailey, who was spotted clutching Labor’s economic plan at the arrivals terminal.

Ms Frecklington has boarded a mini bus headed for the marginal seat of Keppel which has already seen action this campaign and will now be seeing more.

Ask a Reporter: Is Labor running dead in Maiwar?

By Cameron Atfield

During the campaign, Brisbane Times is running our Ask a Reporter feature, where we'll endeavour to answer all your questions about the campaign, big or small. All the answers can be found here.

A reader (name not supplied) asks: Is Labor ‘running dead’ in Maiwar to send their votes to the Greens and stop the LNP getting a seat on preferences? I live in the electorate and Labor are keeping a very low profile with barely a sign to be seen. Most of my friends couldn’t even name the Labor candidate, two weeks out.

Brisbane Times PM editor Cameron Atfield answers: If they are, they'll never admit it.

Toowong is at the heart of the Maiwar electorate.Robert Rough

Maiwar was a new electorate at the 2017 election, taking in large chunks of the former Indooroopilly and Mount Coot-tha electorates. Indooroopilly was a Liberal/LNP stronghold, held by Denver Beanland from 1992 to 2001 and former transport minister Scott Emerson from 2009 to 2017. Ronan Lee captured the seat for Labor in 2001, but lost the seat after defecting to the Greens in 2008.

Advertisement

Labor attack bus takes to Queensland roads

By Stuart Layt

When it comes to election campaign stunts, you can't go wrong with a bus.

View post on X

It's a big rolling billboard you can drive up and down in front of unsuspecting motorists, getting your message in front of people, and it gives the illusion of action, when all you're really doing is going for a drive.

Labor loves a good branded bus, and they've rolled out their latest version to take to the roads this election campaign - the "Cuts Bus".

The name is a reference to Labor's attack line on the LNP, accusing their opposition of having to cut jobs and services to achieve their promise of a budget surplus in the next four years.

The LNP denies it will have to cut jobs, but has also so far refused to release its costings, meaning the bus's message has some sharpness.

Whether it will have any cut-through with voters remains to be seen, but the bus is set to travel all the way up the Queensland coast and back again before October 31.

Former Premier Rob Borbidge says election race "tight"

By Lydia Lynch

Former Queensland premier Rob Borbidge has predicted the state election will be a tight race.

Former Premier Rob Borbidge says the 2020 race will be "tight".Renee Melides

Former Nationals MP, Mr Borbidge was elected premier following the 1996 hung parliament.

“It is going to be, in my view, a close election,” he told reporters at the LNP’s campaign launch on Sunday.

“This being an unpredictable election, I think a lot of seats will come into play that we don’t expect to, and there will be seats that normally come into play that may not.

“Obviously COVID makes an election more challenging for any opposition.

“My personal view is that Labor is in deep trouble in the regions.”

Palmer's Twisted Sister court case being heard as his Qld attack ads are criticised

By Stuart Layt

As he is criticised for his attack ads being run during the Queensland election campaign, Clive Palmer is facing a legal fight over a totally different set of political ads.

Clive Palmer, inset, says he does not need to pay to use a reworked version of the Twisted Sister song in his political advertisements. Dee Snider, right, is expected to give evidence.

READ MORE: 'Part of rock pantheon': Twisted Sister and Clive Palmer face off in court

Mr Palmer is being sued by rock band Twisted Sister for his use of their hit song We're Not Gonna Take It in federal election ads in 2019 without a licence or paying the associated fee.

Mr Palmer's United Australia Party recorded a cover, in which Twisted Sister's famous "Oh, we're not gonna take it" chorus became: "Australia ain't gonna cop it, no Australia's not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more."

Spending thousands of dollars in political advertising is a long-running theme for Mr Palmer, who bought ad space as far back as 2012 to criticise the Newman Queensland government.

Advertisement

Katter to have another attempt to introduce gendered language law

By Stuart Layt

Katter's Australian Party has promised to have another attempt at getting its gendered language laws through the next parliament.

Robbie Katter in Mount Isa. Melissa North

The laws claim to protect the legal right of workplaces, schools and universities to use the words such as "he, she, man, woman or mankind".

Draft legislation introduced to parliament as a private members bill earlier this year was voted down, with neither Labor nor the LNP supporting it.

Critics of the bill said it would enable people and institutions to legally discriminate against transgender and non-binary people, but KAP leader Robbie Katter hit back at that criticism at the time and has again defended his stance on Monday.

Advertisement