Peter Dutton has used an address at an LNP conference to take aim at Queensland Premier Steven Miles as the campaign ramps up ahead of the state election.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles has announced Labor will build a second bridge to Bribie Island before a $4 million business case has been finalised.
The project will mean there will be two lanes in and out of the island which will essentially double its capacity for traffic.
The government hasn’t put a timeline on this project and say it will be funded by borrowings.
The Queensland Premier says it will deliver what’s needed for the residents of Bribie Island.
Mr Dutton spoke at an LNP conference on Saturday as he called on Queenslanders to support the state’s Liberal party, with the state election just 112 days away.
State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is currently favourite to take out the state election as recent polling indicates, with Premier Steven Miles having assumed office in December 2023 to a Queensland Labor government that quickly lost support under former leader Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has thrown his support behind the Liberal National Party of Queensland as it sets its sights on election victory in October. Picture: Sky News Australia
Identifying the fragile position Queensland Labor is in, Mr Dutton used the opportunity to call out Mr Miles as his party continues to lose the faith of residents.
“Steven Miles as we know, has simply taken over the controls of the wrecking ball from Annastacia Palaszczuk. Off the back of huge windfall revenue boosts, from high commodity prices, Queensland’s economy should be strong,” he said.
“But we know that the state Labor government has squandered that good fortune yet again with an unprecedented spending spree.
“Premier Miles is hoping to buy Queenslanders’ votes with a one-off $1,000 electricity rebate for households and a going-out-of-business sale with 50 cent public transport fares for six months.
“It doesn’t get any more cynical than that. And he thinks Queenslanders are stupid and they’re not.”
Queensland Premier Steven Miles is under pressure to sack his energy minister after new revelations emerged about the explosion at the Callide Power Station.
CS Energy released a redacted version of the incident yesterday, which found a series of technical failures around a battery charger triggered the explosion.
The Courier Mail reported the energy operator faced pressure to find cost-saving measures from Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni.
According to a Redbridge poll last month, the LNP was well in front of Labor with 57 per cent of votes on a two-party preferred basis, while Labor’s primary vote was recorded at 28 per cent.
Mr Dutton said it was clear Queenslanders “had enough” and were ready for “change.”
“Queensland’s economy is deflated. Queensland is damaged and Queenslanders really are dismayed. They’ve had enough,” he said.
“It’s time for someone who understands the hardships Queenslanders are enduring. It’s time for a leader who will bring about change for the better. We know that David Crisafulli will make an outstanding premier of this great state.”
Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has pledged there will be fewer victims of crime under his leadership.
Premier Steven Miles has suggested the Opposition could change the way victims of crime are recorded by omitting victims of domestic violence in order to make the numbers look better.
Ms Crisafulli made this pledge after it was revealed Queensland was the crime capital of Australia according to the ABS.
The Queensland election will take place on October 26, 2024.
A win for the LNP would bring an end to an almost decade-long Labor stranglehold on power in the Sunshine State.
Mr Dutton also has his sights firmly on the 2025 federal election with his ambitious nuclear proposal to set to be a flagship plan within his campaign.
The Liberal leader unveiled the Coalition’s highly-anticipated nuclear energy policy at a media conference last month amid weeks of heightened climate debate.
He said the seven proposed nuclear plants will be built on existing sites of aging coal-fired power stations in regional Australia, which are heading into retirement.