The Palaszczuk Labor Government has failed to live up to its promise of being transparent and accountable, with the revelation that Ministers avoided hours of questioning during estimates hearings.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said this year’s estimates had fallen short when compared with previous years and the amount of time Ministers could be asked questions by Parliamentary Committees.
“Last year under the LNP Government, the Ministers of Transport, Main Roads, Energy and Water Supply sat for a combined nine-and-a-half hours, answering questions of relevant committees,” Mr Springborg said.
“This year, the Palaszczuk Labor Government allocated just six hours for these departments, three hours short of the LNP.
“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that less time answering questions means the government faces less scrutiny and in the end, Queenslanders lose out.”
Mr Springborg said since the Palaszczuk Labor Government came into office, it had done everything in its power to avoid being asked tough questions.
“This year has the fewest number of parliamentary sitting days in recent memory,” he said.
“If the Parliament doesn’t sit, then you can’t pass legislation and you can’t get things done. That’s why Queensland has been in a holding pattern since Labor was sworn in six months ago.
“It also means that local members don’t get as many opportunities to bring local issues to the attention of the government – it means that the voice of many Queensland communities don’t get heard.
“The only reason for having less hours in estimates and fewer Parliamentary sitting days is to minimise the risk of inexperienced and incompetent ministers embarrassing the Premier and her Government.”
Mr Springborg said Queenslanders deserved better than a Labor Government more interested in its own political survival than governing with integrity and accountability.
“Even the Premier avoided scrutiny when she made the unprecedented move of taking a holiday in the middle of estimates,” he said.
“Queenslanders didn’t vote for this.”
The Palaszczuk Labor Government has sunk to a new low with the Committee Chair and Labor Member for Kallangur protecting the Energy Minister from being questioned about electricity price increases at today’s Estimates hearing.
Despite numerous attempts by the Opposition to ask Minister Mark Bailey about the real possibility of increased electricity bills, Labor Chair Shane King ruled the questions out of order.
Shadow Minister for Energy and Water Supply Andrew Powell said it was another example of the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s protection racket.
“There is a genuine concern amongst Queenslanders that electricity prices are going to increase under this government and yet I was blocked from asking any questions about it,” Mr Powell said.
“Minister Mark Bailey has a duty to level with Queenslanders and explain the reasons why the electricity bills of Queensland consumers could rise.
“What we saw today was a Labor Government desperately trying to avoid scrutiny. As a result, Queenslanders have been left in the dark.”
Mr Powell said it had become clear that Labor had promised one thing before the election and then after coming into power had done another.
“Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was elected on a platform of ‘integrity and accountability’ but we saw no evidence of this today,” he said.
“In eight days of Estimates Hearings, all we’ve seen is a protection racket in full flight - the bungling Police Minister gets to keep her job, the Energy Minister doesn’t have to answer questions and the Premier avoids the mess by going on a holiday.
“It has become quite clear that Annastacia Palaszczuk said and did anything to get elected and cannot be trusted to run a competent government.
“Queenslanders didn’t vote for this.”
The Palaszczuk Labor Government has again displayed its incompetence and lack of transparency by refusing to reveal significant costs associated with the greyhound inquiry.
Shadow Minister for Sport and Racing, Jann Stuckey MP said unchecked cost blow-outs in the greyhound inquiry have exposed a total lack of accountability by Racing Minister Bill Byrne.
“Revelations of live baiting practices in the greyhound racing industry sickened all Queenslanders and had to be investigated and stopped,” Ms Stuckey said.
“From the outset it was stated this inquiry would cost approximately $3 million however during Estimates hearings last week, the Minister and the interim CEO of Racing Queensland were asked to provide a written response on how this figure is broken down by Wednesday 26 August.
“The response we received back from the Minister fails to address key questions about the funding continuing the uncertainty surrounding the finances of inquiry.
“In particular the response failed to provide costings for the money spent on security guards tasked with supervising large numbers of seized greyhounds and the cost of the dog’s care.
“The Minister’s response only disclosed the cost of $220,000 for security guards up to 30 June 2015, but security continued a further two months until 23 August which the Minister has failed to report.
“Overall costs for the care of greyhounds in the four lodges, which could number hundreds of dogs requiring care for over 200 days, were not supplied at all.
“In addition, Minister Byrne would not reveal the budget for appointing Interim CEO of Racing Queensland Ian Hall, stating that the remuneration amount would be posted on the Department of Housing and Public Works website in due course.
“Newspaper reports have estimated Mr Hall’s remuneration to be in the vicinity of $20,000 per week, adding up to a hefty sum since June with it likely to extend to March 2016.
“Minister Byrne is deliberately withholding information and considering it is part of the Estimates process this is a disgraceful abuse of power.
“Whilst the Minister is hell-bent on tarnishing the reputation of previous racing boards he is hiding costs associated with this inquiry.”
Country Racing in Queensland has a gloomy future with an inexperienced Labor Government and a Minister who is fostering a culture of fear and uncertainty.
Shadow Minister for Racing, Jann Stuckey MP said the LNP understood that country racing is the lifeblood of many regional communities and deserves ongoing support.
“When in Government the LNP committed $4 million over four years to country racing because we recognised the many benefits to communities across Queensland,” Ms Stuckey.
“To date, Labor have only agreed to the fourth and final year of the LNP’s commitment. Beyond that the Minister has failed to provide any certainty to the industry and the communities who rely so heavily on this support.
“When asked in Estimates Hearings last week about country racing, Minister Byrne ducked and weaved using language that suggested future funding was unlikely.
“Queenslanders need only look to when Labor was last at the helm of racing in this state to be fearful of its continued prosperity.”
Ms Stuckey said under Labor, the number of country race meetings almost halved over a decade and in three years of government the LNP had turned this trend around and were rejuvenating the industry.
“Labor’s recently released survey on racing contains some leading questions about country racing which reveal their predetermined agenda to starve regional racing,” she said.
“In 2014-15 some 279 country race meetings were held throughout Queensland, with the economic and social benefit to local communities immeasurable.
“These race meets were possible because the LNP provided the funding, support and resources necessary to grow this sector of the industry.
“Stakeholders in the industry have also expressed their concerns about planned cuts to prize money which will destroy confidence and nobble an industry that employs 30,000 people in this state.
“Country racing is important to our local communities who are doing it tough with the worst drought in Queensland’s history.”
Racing Minister Bill Byrne is under fire for refusing to release key documents about the true state of Racing Queensland’s finances during the Budget Estimates hearing today.
Shadow Minister for Sport and Racing Jann Stuckey said today was just another example of the Minister showing nothing but contempt for the racing industry.
“This behaviour goes against the government’s promise of being accountable and transparent,” Ms Stuckey said.
“When asked to table Racing Queensland’s draft budget documents that has been the cornerstone of Labor’s reasoning behind the supposed blow-out in Racing Queensland’s budget, Minister Byrne refused.
“Clearly there is something in these documents the Minister does not want Queenslanders to see.
“I have been asking for these documents since June for evidence to justify claims that there was an anticipated deficit of over $20 million.
“Only yesterday in a response to a Question on Notice did the Minister provide some figures, but the detail he had promised in earlier statements was missing.”
Ms Stuckey said at the eleventh hour, on the eve of today’s Estimates Hearing, a discussion paper miraculously appeared on the Department’s website.
“Another example of a Minister being sneaky and trying to avoid scrutiny,” she said.
“Right now this industry is in limbo - it has a Minister with no plan, a Minister who sacked upstanding individuals on all of the Racing Codes Boards via phone calls from his staff, and has steadfastly refused to meet with stakeholders.
“The racing industry relies on confidence and engagement but this Minister has failed on both counts.
“Minister Byrne has not only shown he has no understanding of the industry, he has eroded confidence by instilling fear in people of losing their jobs and livelihoods.
“His own language gives him away as he engages in little more than revenge, pay back politics at the expense of the industry’s reputation.”
During Budget Estimates today in State Parliament, Minister for Agriculture, Bill Byrne, admitted he had not held any meetings on wild dog management to date – an issue vital to western Queensland.
Shadow Agriculture Minister, Deb Frecklington, said Minister Byrne admitted he hasn’t had time, despite the control of wild dog and feral cats being one of Labor’s only agricultural election commitment.
“When I asked the Minister if he had convened a meeting of QDOG, he said he hadn’t. This admission will ring alarm bells across regional Queensland.
“It is very disappointing for every livestock producer who knows the damage wild dogs can do.
“It’s disheartening the Minister hasn’t been able to find the time for QDOG – even though he’s found time for two overseas trips.”
Labor Minister Bill Byrne’s midnight announcement to implement three net-free zones is a smack in the face for Queensland’s commercial fishers, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Deb Frecklington said today.
Ms Frecklington said Labor had barrelled through with the net-free zones in Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton without any real consultation with commercial fishermen.
“There has been a distinct lack of transparency with an obvious aim of implementing the scheme as soon as possible and to make this announcement at midnight is outright disrespectful,” she said.
“There are 53 commercial fishing families who are directly affected by this decision and Minister Byrne has effectively taken away their livelihoods with the stroke of a pen.
“He says he has consulted with commercial fishermen, but this is simply not the case.”
Ms Frecklington said the LNP did not support revoking netting licences held by commercial fishermen without adequate and fair compensation for their losses.
“We do not support a compulsory scheme and the $10million figure suggested by the Labor Government is nowhere near adequate,” she said.
“In contrast, the LNP has committed to working with both recreational and commercial fishermen and does not believe the positions of each group are mutually exclusive.
“Our vision for fishing is to have a world-class fisheries management system that is simple, robust, responsive and flexible in delivering sustainable managed fisheries for the benefit of all Queenslanders.
“If the LNP had remained in government, the MRAG review would have guided our approach, but we would not have made decisions that weren’t based on science or without consultation.”
The LNP has brought its fight for Queensland canegrowers’ rights closer to State Parliament with the release of a draft bill to boost the state’s sugar industry.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Deb Frecklington said the LNP had worked closely with producers, millers and other key stakeholders and encouraged the wider community to have its say on the proposed Sugar Industry (Facilitating Grower Choice) Amendment Bill 2015.
“The LNP has always recognised the value of the sugar industry to the state’s economy and we would like Queenslanders to consider this reform to help strengthen this vital industry,” Ms Frecklington said.
“The Palaszczuk Labor Government has neglected the industry, for which it has no plan, but the LNP has been proactive in investigating the sugar marketing issue and find an appropriate solution.
“This exposure draft aims to achieve a workable solution to the sugar monopoly threatening regional growers by preserving their interests, but without imposing a transfer of ownership, strengthening the rights and futures of cane farmers.”
Ms Frecklington said, in contrast to the Katter Bill currently before the Parliament, the LNP Bill achieved the following:
Avoided ex-appropriation of property rights which was a concern to sugar millers;Maintained a reference to Cane Supply Agreements where grower economic interest was to be recognised;Did not provide for pre-contractual arbitration, but rather included a mechanism for dispute resolution if required.Allowed growers the choice of who markets their sugar through the Cane Supply agreement.
“The content of the Bill has benefited from the consultation that occurred as part of the Senate Inquiry and the work of the Sugar Marketing Taskforce,” she said.
The draft Sugar Industry (Facilitating Grower Choice) Amendment Bill 2015 can be found at www.debfrecklington.com.au before 4 September 2015.
Photo: Releasing the draft with the Chairman of Canegrowers, Paul Schembri, at Greg Plath's cane farm, Te Kowai near Mackay
The credibility of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been questioned after it was revealed that her government had formed a ‘protection racket’ so that embattled Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller wouldn’t have to answer questions about allegations she signed false documents.
On the first day of Budget Estimates Hearings the Chair of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC) referred Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller to the Ethics Committee, prohibiting any questions being asked about the matter.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said it had become clear that the Labor Government had pulled a swiftie in order to protect Jo-Ann Miller.
“It’s more than a coincidence that on the first day of Estimates, the Palaszczuk Government has moved to prevent any questions being asked about a matter that could cause serious them embarrassment,” Mr Springborg said.
“This is nothing more than a protection racket for a Police Minister who is clearly not performing.
“We’ve heard lots of excuses from the Premier but we are yet to see any evidence of the high standard of integrity and accountability Annastacia Palaszczuk promised before the election.
“The longer this Premier is in government, the more people are starting to realise that she is all talk.”
Mr Springborg called on the Premier to live up to her promise to hold her ministers to account, and stand down Jo-Ann Miller until the matter had been resolved.
“Time and time again, bungle after bungle Annastacia Palaszczuk has stood by her Police Minister,” he said.
“This is the Police Minister who contacted a witness in a police investigation, directed her department to send out political material and tried to close a communication centre without any consultation.
“Jo-Ann Miller has run out of chances. What is it going to take for Annastacia Palaszczuk to be an accountable Premier, admit that she got it wrong and appoint a new Police Minister?
“The Premier often talks about her high standards of integrity and accountability but in six months she hasn’t had the gumption to apply these standards to her own government.
“It’s clear that Labor has learnt nothing since Gordon Nuttall. Still protecting its own at all costs.
“Queenslanders didn’t vote for this.”
Six months has passed since the Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor came to office and the government has hit the pause button on Queensland’s economy.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said that Premier Palaszczuk is leading a do-nothing government and Queenslanders deserve more.
“Queenslanders didn’t vote for this,” Mr Springborg said.
“They wanted to see continued growth from the plans the LNP put in place after years of Labor mismanagement under Beattie and Bligh.
“For some ministers in Annastacia Palaszczuk’s cabinet to say that what they have delivered in government has been having more meetings is laughable.” He said
“We have Deputy Premier “Minister for Everything” and leader-in-waiting Jackie Trad pointing to a plan that isn’t due out until 2016 as the biggest reform she’s overseen.
“The people of Queensland deserve better than a government that is all talk and no action.
Mr Springborg said that the minority Labor Government has been dogged by crises and scandal.
“We’ve seen the Premier have to distance herself from the Member for Cook Billy Gordon, yet she still stands behind her murky Member for Pumicestone Rick Williams and bungling Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller.
“She’s allowed the Health Minister to scrap the wait-time guarantee and her Infrastructure Minister to oversee a year-long infrastructure freeze in this state.
“When is the Premier going to step up to the plate and actually start governing?
In stark contrast to the government’s inaction, Mr Springborg said the LNP opposition had been proactive about being Queensland alternative government.
“We have our Real Economic Plan to keep Queensland’s economy on the right track as it was under the LNP, we have been listening to what Queenslanders are saying about where the state is going.
“The LNP opposition has introduced legislation to protect our volunteer firefighters, we moved to stop Labor’s rego fee hike and our motion led to Parliament calling on Labor to keep the wait time guarantee.
Job-seekers will be disappointed again with Queensland losing more full-time jobs than any other state in Australia last month.
Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek said the state’s unemployment rate leapt 0.4 percentage points and highlights the repercussions of having a government with no plan.
“The latest unemployment data shows Queensland continues to go backwards despite the Treasurer promising a pro-jobs budget,” Mr Langbroek said.
“It also reinforces the Palaszczuk Labor Government has no plan to stimulate employment or increase economic activity.
“Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Queensland increased by 0.4 percentage points and Queensland’s unemployment rate continues to be above the national average on both measures.
“Queensland lost almost 22,000 full-time jobs in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, more than any other state in Australia.
“The fact is, our state has less full-time jobs than in February when this Labor government was elected and almost 10,000 more Queenslanders joined the unemployment queue last month.”
Mr Langbroek said Queensland’s trend unemployment rate at 6.3 per cent remains above the national average and is the third-highest in the country.
“This government continues to be plagued with controversy and inexperience instead of delivering job-creating infrastructure,” he said.
“These latest figures come off the back of a budget which predicts unemployment in Queensland will remain at 6.5 per cent for at least the next two years.
“Economic growth is also forecast to be weaker than previously anticipated.”
Mr Langbroek said under Labor Queensland’s economy remained flat and it is time for the Premier to take these figures seriously.
“It goes to show that despite all Labor’s rhetoric – this government is bad for jobs and it is bad for growth.”
The Palaszczuk Labor Government is coming under increased pressure to support rural firies and dump its poorly conceived Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill.
Speaking to rural firies in north Queensland, Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said under the LNP’s Private Member’s Bill, volunteer, part time and full time firefighters would all be covered, without a ridiculous ‘fire quota’.
VIDEO: A video from this visit is available at http://youtu.be/X1PunkMnEwI
He called on Labor to swallow its pride, admit it got it wrong and support the LNP’s Bill.
“Unfortunately the Palaszczuk Government’s proposed legislation means that before volunteer firefighters can claim any compensation for contracting one of 12 specified cancers, they are required to attend 150 fires,” Mr Springborg said.
“Why does Labor want to punish our dedicated volunteers who put their lives on the line to protect fellow Queenslanders?
“I have rural firefighters in my own electorate of Southern Downs who have told me they wouldn’t attend 150 fires in a lifetime but this doesn’t lessen their chances of developing certain cancers and it doesn’t diminish their selflessness in the protecting our community.
“Labor’s failure to adequately consult before introducing this legislation is why it is such a letdown.
“The United Firefighters Union Queensland (UFUQ), Queensland Auxiliary Firefighters Association and the Rural Fire Brigades Association of Queensland (RFBAQ) all support the LNP’s Bill.
“Before being elected Premier Palaszczuk promised Queenslanders her government would consult and listen to them, sadly it appears this promise has been broken.”
Shadow Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Jarrod Bleijie said he encouraged all volunteer firefighters to have their say against the government’s discriminatory bill by Thursday 6 August.
“There are 35,000 volunteer fire fighters in Queensland and the LNP’s legislation will protect all fire fighters - irrespective of pay status or the colour of the fire engine,” he said.
“The LNP’s changes will provide the highest level of support in the country. Labor owes it to Queenslanders to support the LNP’s Bill so our rural firies get the level of support they deserve.”
The State Opposition has congratulated Queensland school students and pointed to the LNP’s Great Results Guarantee initiative as a contributor to some of the best ever NAPLAN results.
Shadow Education Minister Tim Mander said the positive turnaround is due to the hard work of teachers, principals and students as well as the success of LNP’s Great Results Guarantee initiative.
“The Great Results Guarantee was introduced by the LNP and provided funding directly to schools to improve numeracy and literacy of their students,” Mr Mander.
“It has been successful because it gives schools the autonomy to tailor programs to meet the specific needs of their individual students.
“When in government, the LNP worked very hard to ensure that funding was targeted, so that our kids had a quality education experience.
“Our focus was always on achieving better student outcomes, with an end goal of being one of the best performing jurisdictions by 2020.
“We did this by boosting teacher quality, increasing school autonomy and improving student discipline.”
Mr Mander said the recent budget sparked grave concerns about the future of the Great Results Guarantee under the Palaszczuk Government.
“This money from the Federal Government was given directly to schools with the sole purpose to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes,” he said.
“Worryingly, the Palaszczuk Government's budget papers didn't outline how this money was going to be distributed in the future.
“I know for a fact how important this funding has been to lifting student results and I can only hope that Labor won't use the money to plug a hole in their budget that could have been filled by something else.”
The Palaszczuk Labor Government is coming under intense pressure to increase the size of its ministry and admit the mega portfolios experiment was a failure.
Shadow Education and Training Minister Tim Mander said the most recent IT debacle in the Education Department was a prime example of why mega portfolios didn’t work.
“The fact that it took almost six months for Education Minister Kate Jones to pick up on an IT failure as serious as this one just goes to show that education is not getting the attention it deserves,” Mr Mander said.
“Health and Education make up more than half of the state budget, yet while Health is paired with Ambulance Services, Education has been bundled together with Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games.
“It shows incredibly poor judgement on the Premier’s part to even think that one Minister could be across so many important portfolio areas.
“Now is the time for the Premier to eat humble pie and admit she has made a serious mistake.”
Mr Mander said the Education Minister was responsible for almost a million students in more than 1700 schools across Queensland.
“Education is a big enough responsibility to warrant its own, dedicated Minister,” he said.
“If the LNP had attempted to bundle education with other departments, union bosses would be yelling from the roof tops.”
Mr Mander said the Premier had left open the possibility of adding another Minister as part of her Cabinet review at the end of the year.
“Recent events highlight the need for a reshuffle sooner rather than later,” he said.
“There’s been rumblings from the government for some time about the size of the portfolios and the workload pressures on Ministers. It’s no secret that some Labor Ministers aren’t happy.
“The Premier promised to listen to Queenslanders before being elected and now is the time to deliver on that promise.”
Shadow Police Minister Jarrod Bleijie has welcomed the South Australian Labor Government’s strong action against criminal gangs. The laws, modelled on Queensland’s own criminal gang legislation, were passed by the South Australian Parliament this week.
Mr Bleijie said that while their South Australian counterparts had recognised how these laws protect the community, the Palaszczuk Labor Government had split from SA Labor and still intend to throw out the successful laws in Queensland.
“It’s concerning that Labor in Queensland are moving ahead to dismantle our criminal gang laws, it is clear that they have no plan for law and order and are making it up as they go along” he said.
“Once these laws are gone, our community will again fall victim to criminal thugs. No one should feel unsafe in their own home and the anti-gang laws give Queenslanders security.
“The laws are working in Queensland and as a result, people feel safer, criminals have fled the state and for the first time, the police have the tools they needed to bust the organised crime racket. The government should leave these laws alone.
Mr Bleijie said that police officers should be given full support from the government to protect the community, but sadly that support was lacking.
“Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller has failed our men and women in blue by being complicit in the removal of laws that give police the ability to fight back against the scourge of criminal gangs,” he said
“She should take a leaf from her SA Labor colleagues, back the laws that have protected families and back the police officers who enforce the laws on the front line.
“Our laws were upheld in the High Court and have paved the way to a massive reduction of crime across Queensland. This is something that South Australia obviously wanted for their state too.
Mr Bleijie said that the minister’s failure to support the former government’s anti-criminal gang policies would represent her biggest bungle so far.
“Minister Miller has already sent the message that Queensland is going soft on crime by winding back the successful Rapid Action Patrol on the Gold Coast, closing the Ipswich Communications Centre and wants to allow dangerous criminals to serve their prison time in our communities. She now needs to stand up and support the laws that are working.
