The Palaszczuk Labor Government has voted in Parliament against a measure to tie family car registration increases to the inflation rate, instead standing by its unfair price hike of 3.5 per cent.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said the move showed how out of touch Labor was with families struggling with the rising cost of living.
“This marks another broken promise from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who told Queenslanders during the election that Labor would not increase fees, charges or taxes,” Mr Nicholls said.
“The LNP moved for the Parliament to direct the government to keep their car rego increase to the inflation rate, rather than the 3.5 per cent – or double the inflation rate - increase budgeted, but Labor opposed the move.
“This Palaszczuk Labor Government is asleep at the wheel and has no plan to get the cost of living under control. The Premier’s only plan is to squeeze more money out of Queenslanders.”
Shadow Transport and Main Roads Minister Andrew Powell said only the LNP had the track record of keeping costs low for Queensland families.
“Under the last four years of the Bligh Labor Government, car registration increased by 30 per cent – that’s why the LNP froze car rego for the term of our government,” he said.
“We know running the family car is expensive and the LNP has committed to keep rego increases for the family vehicle to the inflation rate so Queenslanders get a fair go.
“Queenslanders are sick and tired of Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor treating motorists as cash cows.”
Key facts:
Disappointingly, just six groups from the Nanango Electorate have been successful in the latest Gambling Community Benefit Fund round and Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington is concerned this is a worrying trend.
Mrs Frecklington says that over the past several rounds, the number of Nanango Electorate groups receiving grants has been steadily decreasing.
“It is really disappointing that in the entire Electorate, just six groups have been chosen to receive Gambling Community Benefit Fund grants,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“I am worried that many of our hard-working groups are missing out and I question the Labor Government why this is happening?”
The successful groups were:
“I pass on my warmest congratulations to the successful groups and look forward to seeing the outcome of their projects,” Deb said.
“I just hope that in the next round more groups in my Nanango Electorate are successful with their grant submissions,” she said.
Deb is keen to hear from any group who submitted a Gambling Community Benefit Fund grant in Round 87 (lodged in November 2015) and were unsuccessful. Please contact the Nanango Electorate Office on 4190 7100 or email nanango@parliament.qld.gov.au to let them know.
Member for Nanango, Deb Frecklington, has called on Police Minister Bill Byrne to explain why handgun (Category H) licence renewals are being consistently denied for primary producers.
Mrs Frecklington said that in Parliament last week the Minister admitted he had serious reservations about the need for handgun licences for agricultural use.
“Mr Byrne’s statements are offensive to primary producers and show he really doesn’t understand the daily operations of a farming enterprise,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“Landholders have legitimate and lawful needs to carry firearms, including handguns.
“There can be times when heavier, longer rifles are not practical, such as on horseback or riding
motorbikes - especially at the moment when vast areas of regional Queensland are in drought and
having to humanely dispatch sick and starving livestock is, sadly, commonplace.”
“It is not acceptable that Mr Byrne has already formed a personal view that farmers should not have handguns. If this is the case, he needs to answer what facts his views are based on, including what crimes are committed by licensed handgun owners who run and manage farms.
“Minister Byrne needs to be at arm’s length from any decision on licence renewals. He cannot play Minister and Magistrate,” Deb said.
Mrs Frecklington is calling for any primary producer who has received a denial for a Category H handgun licence to contact her office on 4190 7100.
Extract from Hansard – 12 May
“Mr Byrne: The idea of the lone cowboy having a pistol strapped to his hip as an effective weapon in agricultural applications simply does not cut it with me…… I am happy to take any number of representations that it is a good idea for someone to strap a .45 to their hip as an essential tool of agriculture, but I do not know too many people – although there are some- who genuinely support the application of firearms in the agricultural sector.”
New laws pushed through parliament by the Palaszczuk Labor Government late last night will boot hard-working grazing families off grazing and pastoral leases in nature conservation areas and parks across Queensland and abolish any right of appeal.
LNP Member for Burnett Steve Bennett said the move by Labor would destroy grazing businesses, while the loss of the right to appeal was an attack on Queenslanders’ basic rights.
Mr Bennett, deputy-chair of the Agriculture and Environment Parliamentary Committee which reviewed the Bill, said Labor’s changes in its Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment (NCOLA) Bill 2015 would deny natural justice to the holders of 78 leases across the state, many held by farming families for generations.
“Labor is deliberately riding roughshod over leaseholders, destroying their grazing businesses and stripping away their appeal rights,” Mr Bennett said.
“Labor wants grazing families out and decisions on renewal of leases vested solely with the department head with no right of appeal. The whole process stinks. The loss of the basic right to appeal is un-Australian.”
Mr Bennett said Labor’s laws also removed recognition of the use of protected areas for education and eco-tourism purposes.
“This is not about looking after the environment. This is about payback to radical greens - paid for by taking rights off hard-working Queensland grazing families and small business tourist operators.
“Many hard-working grazing families have held these leases for a century and more, and they’ve been managed responsibly for generations, keeping them free of weeds and feral animals and reducing dangerous fire loads.”
Further, Mr Bennett said Labor’s reinstatement of ‘conservation of nature’ as the sole objective of the Nature Conservation Act, and the removal of all other references, including community use and enjoyment of protected areas, threatened smaller regional tourism operations and jobs.
“Labor wants more land locked-up without any resources or proper management plans in place,” he said.
“Potentially this will mean an end to management by local families and lead to dangerous and uncontrollable wild fires which will cause far more and permanent damage to pastoral and forest areas than any livestock or eco-tourism business ever would.”
Mr Bennett said only the LNP was committed to commonsense management of protected estates in Queensland, by working closely with local landholders and communities. This will achieve the best outcomes for protecting high-value natural areas, while allowing other uses, including on-going grazing of robust rangeland and forest areas and educational and eco-tourism ventures.
The LNP today called for a “genuine and generous response” from the Palaszczuk Labor Government despite the lack of agreement from the Rural Debt and Drought Taskforce on recommendations.
Deputy Opposition Leader and taskforce member Deb Frecklington said the Premier and the Treasurer needed to deliver immediate and ongoing support in the upcoming Budget as farmers and regional communities faced their fourth and fifth year of drought from yet another failed wet season, with no cash flow and little hope on the horizon.
“The response needs to be genuine and generous,” Ms Frecklington said.
“After years of drought and little to no cash-flow farmers can’t handle more debt so more loans aren’t the answer. What they desperately need is better targeted support measures to help with immediate outgoings, and this should happen quickly.”
Ms Frecklington said the Premier and Treasurer needed to look beyond the failure of the taskforce to reach consensus, highlighted by the fact the report was released by the Chairman not the committee.
“While there was no consensus on big-ticket items such as a reconstruction bank and a Royal Commission, there was agreement that the asset criteria for access to Federal farm household payments should be eased, that access to QRAA-managed loans should be easier,” she said.
“There was also agreement for more financial literacy programs.”
Ms Frecklington said at regional hearings, many landholders told the taskforce of difficulties in paying ‘outgoings’ - electricity and land rent bills and also of the fear of the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s plan to dismantle the LNP’s vegetation management framework.
“If Labor is fair dinkum about the taskforce, the Premier needs to deliver more support for drought-hit regional Queensland where everyone is fed up with token listening tours and hearing about record cattle prices when for most, the stock had left long ago,” she said.
“Establishing a reconstruction bank will take time and Premier Palaszczuk and her Treasurer need to deliver immediate genuine relief measures to help with farm and rural business costs.”
Key facts:
As we travel around this great state people stop us in the street, at coffee shops, at community events and ask us what’s happening in Queensland.
They are worried Queensland is grinding to a halt because of a frozen at the wheel Labor Government.
Thousands of Queenslanders used to go to work each and every day without worrying about their government, but this has clearly changed. Queenslanders are unsure if this minority Labor/Independent/Katter Party Government is going to look after them or its union mates.
Rightly, Queenslanders want to know how the Labor Government is transitioning the Queensland economy from the mining boom to a more diversified economy with greater opportunity for all Queenslanders.
Sadly Queenslanders are being let down. Labor has no plan to manage the transition of the Queensland economy, grow jobs or invest in the services Queenslanders need and deserve.
The LNP is determined to Get Queensland Moving.
The team we announced today is the right mix of experience, enthusiasm and new ideas, combined with a deep understanding of the issues affecting all Queenslanders from Cape York to Coolangatta and from Brisbane to Bedourie.
Queenslanders can have confidence that our team will deliver the plans and policies to Get Queensland Moving.
While New South Wales and Victoria continue to create more jobs, invest in more infrastructure and deliver more services, Queensland is frozen. Our children’s future is being put at risk as Queensland falls further behind and opportunities dry up.
We are determined to hold this incompetent Labor/Independent/Katter Party Government to account.
Economy
We all know that a strong economy is the foundation of a more prosperous Queensland. It supports jobs, growth, opportunity, innovation and, most of all, the aspirations of millions of Queenslanders. Our economic team, made up of myself and my Deputy Deb Frecklington, Scott Emerson, Jarrod Bleijie, Andrew Cripps, Andrew Powell, Ian Walker, Dale Last, Michael Hart and Jon Krause will focus on plans and policies that will build a more diverse and robust Queensland economy, now and for future generations. This team will hold Labor to account for its lack of action in creating jobs and growth.
Given the importance of small business to the Queensland economy and the hard work of millions of small business owners, we have combined the portfolio of the Shadow Treasurer with the Small Business portfolio.
Productivity growth is essential to Queensland’s economy. Easing congestion and building the infrastructure to ensure we get product to market and people to work on time will be the focus of Deb Frecklington and Andrew Powell as they develop a plan to unleash Queensland’s potential.
Communities champion Tracy Davis moves to the vital portfolio of Education. Education in the 21st century is more about job readiness, employment and participation in the fabric of Queensland society than ever before. Focusing on outcomes, rather than inputs, Tracy, assisted by Jarrod Bleijie, will work to ensure Queensland students are the best in the nation.
The rapidly changing nature of work resulting from the shift away from the mining boom challenges the way we think about employment now and into the future. The jobs of tomorrow and the technological advances that make innovation possible will be Tarnya Smith’s focus.
Of critical importance to Queensland’s future is our agricultural sector. Rural champion Dale Last, with his family background in cane farming and cattle, has more than 15 years’ experience in the agriculture sector and will bring energy, understanding and experience to this vital portfolio.
Strong advocates for North Queensland, Andrew Cripps and Jason Costigan, will continue the LNP’s commitment to this region’s development and highlight Labor’s neglect of a part of Queensland that plays a critical role in Queensland’s economy.
Environment
Queensland is a place of natural beauty and wonder, with an abundance of environmental heritage. The protection of our natural environment for future generations is critical to both our economy and the envied Queensland lifestyle. Recognising this, Dr Christian Rowan and Andrew Cripps will lift the profile and importance of our environment within our team.
Services
Critical to all Queensland families is the provision of quality and timely health services. John-Paul Langbroek, as the new Shadow Health Minister, with an abundance of experience and first-hand knowledge, will hold Labor to account for deteriorating patient outcomes within Queensland’s health system and ballooning waiting lists.
Ros Bates, with her personal experience and commitment to caring for Queenslanders as a nurse, takes on responsibility for Communities, Child Safety, Disability Services and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence. Former QBuild employee Stephen Bennett will take on the important task of highlighting Labor’s mismanagement of the Housing and Public Works portfolio.
Each day thousands of Queenslanders go to work to protect and serve our community. Tim Mander, together with Ian Walker, will continue to fight against the Labor Government’s watering down of anti-criminal gang laws. The LNP is determined to ensure criminal gangs aren’t allowed back in business.
Ethnic communities across Queensland have made, and continue to make, a huge contribution to our economy and social fabric. Fiona Simpson, an experienced servant of the people of Queensland, has the important role of building relationships and bringing issues of concern to the Shadow Cabinet table. Fiona will be a strong advocate on behalf Australia’s first people.
Matt McEachan will be an important asset to the Leader of the Opposition as our LNP team focuses on holding Labor to account.
With energy, experience and enthusiasm, the LNP team will Get Queensland Moving.
The new team to Get Queensland Moving is:
Tim Nicholls - Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Arts and Major Events
Deb Frecklington - Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, State Development, Trade and Investment
Scott Emerson - Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Small Business
John-Paul Langbroek - Shadow Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and Shadow Minister for the Commonwealth Games
Tracy Davis - Shadow Minister for Education
Jarrod Bleijie - Shadow Minister for Employment, Industrial Relations, Skills and Training and Shadow Minister for Fair Trading
Andrew Powell -Shadow Minister for Transport and Main Roads and Shadow Minister for Local Government
Tim Mander - Shadow Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Shadow Minister for Corrective Services
Andrew Cripps - Shadow Minister for Natural Resources and Mines and Shadow Minister for Northern Development
Dale Last - Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Dr Christian Rowan - Shadow Minister for the Environment and Heritage Protection and Shadow Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
Ian Walker - Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for Justice and Planning
Fiona Simpson - Shadow Minister Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multicultural Affairs
Ros Bates - Shadow Minister for Communities, Child Safety, Disabilities Services and the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence
Michael Hart -Shadow Minister for Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply
Tarnya Smith -Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and the Digital Economy
Stephen Bennett -Shadow Minister for Housing and Public Works
Jon Krause -Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Racing
Matt McEachan -Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition
Jason Costigan -Shadow Assistant Minister for North Queensland
Jeff Seeney -Leader of Opposition Business
Trevor Watts -Chief Opposition Whip
Steve Minnikin -Deputy Whip
New LNP Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls and Deputy Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington are determined to hold the frozen at the wheel Palaszczuk Labor Government to account.
Mr Nicholls expressed gratitude to his Parliamentary colleagues for their support and paid tribute to Lawrence Springborg and John-Paul Langbroek for their strong leadership during a critical time for the LNP.
“Queensland deserves a government that will deliver real outcomes innovatively and consultatively rather than put its union mates ahead of hardworking everyday Queenslanders,” he said.
“To hold Labor to account we need an experienced team that understands the issues affecting both metropolitan and regional Queensland and to produce policies that advance the interests of all Queenslanders.
“We provide Queenslanders with experience from the corporate world, small business and local government, people who are honest and upfront, who will work hard for them every day.
“Queenslanders want to know their government is working for them, instead they’ve seen the state grind to a halt under Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor.
“Today is not about Tim or Deb, but about the future of our great state, unfreezing government and getting Queensland working again.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said she was grateful for the confidence her LNP colleagues had shown in her and was looking forward to continuing to be a strong advocate for rural and regional Queenslanders.
“Businesses in the regions drive Queensland’s economy and create thousands of jobs and income that pumps through our communities, but they are stagnating under Labor,” she said.
“I look forward to working with Tim to get greater recognition for the regions and get the regional economy humming again.”
120 concerned farmers and landowners from the South Burnett and further afield gathered in Kingaroy on Thursday 5th May to discuss how the Labor Government's proposed changes to the Vegetation Management Act may impact on them, as the LNP's campaign against Labor's anti-rural policy begins to ramp up.
Member for Nanango MP, Deb Frecklington, organised the information forum in Kingaroy so landowners could learn more about how Labor's aggressive amendments to the vegetation management framework will affect their farm businesses.
"In conjunction with the Shadow Minister for Natural Resources, Andrew Cripps, I wanted to help my constituents get a better understanding of what the Labor Government's bill means for their properties going forward" Mrs Frecklington said.
"Right across the region, landholders are reporting the new restrictions on their properties being greater than under the previous Bligh Labor Government - in particular regrowth being reclassified as remnant vegetation and Category R vegetation being regulated for the first time.
“I would really like to thank everyone who took the time to attend and we appreciated the number of excellent questions and interest shown by local land managers,” she said.
Deb said the current vegetation management framework put in place by the former LNP Government in 2013 provided opportunities for Queensland's agriculture to grow and she strongly believe that it should stay in place.
"The LNP is committed to defending high value agriculture approvals, securing regrowth vegetation for freehold property owners and treating landholders with fairness - this is a critical issue for farmers across Queensland, including farmers in my electorate of Nanango" Mrs Frecklington said.
Shadow Natural Resources Minister, Andrew Cripps, said given the Palaszczuk Government's proposed legislation was retrospective and sought to reinstate the reversal of the onus of proof, the LNP would fight hard to prevent farmers and landholders being treated like criminals.
"Queensland farmers and landowners need certainty to be able to plan for the future, just like any other industry and while Labor's proposed amendments certainly put significant roadblocks in front of agriculture, the constant chopping and changing is also a serious concern" said Mr Cripps.
Mr Cripps said Labor's Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill had been introduced without any consultation, any compensation, or any common sense and he was worried about the accuracy of new maps being issued based on the proposed amendments.
Photo: Standing room only at the Kingaroy Vegetation Management Laws forum in Kingaroy on 5 May
Treasurer Curtis Pitt must outline his support for the tax measures outlined in the Turnbull Government’s budget aimed at Queensland’s 400,000 small businesses.
Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek said businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million will benefit from a 27.5 per cent company tax rate from July. Unincorporated businesses will also be given tax relief.
“This is fantastic news for Queensland’s small businesses, considering they are the true drivers of job creation here in Queensland,” Mr Langbroek said.
“This move will benefit the vast majority of businesses in Queensland, and this in turn will benefit the millions of Queensland workers these businesses employ.
“Treasurer Curtis Pitt should step up for the small business community and outline his support for this crucial measure to his Federal counterpart Chris Bowen, who has indicated he intends to take this comprehensive tax package off the table.”
Mr Langbroek said the Federal Budget showed the benefits of having a government with an over-arching plan for securing economic growth and creating jobs.
“It’s no fluke that Australia’s unemployment rate is forecast to remain at a far lower rate than Queensland over the coming years - it’s because the Turnbull Government has a plan for getting even more Australians into work,” he said.
“The $840 million Youth Jobs PaTH program aimed at helping 120,000 young people secure employment is particularly important here in Queensland, considering parts of regional Queensland have youth unemployment rates as high as 30 per cent.
“It’s clear leading into a Federal election campaign the Turnbull Government has a positive plan for taking Queensland forward.
“This is in stark contrast to the Palaszczuk Labor Government, that is still searching for an economic plan almost a year and a half after the 2015 state election.”
Key Facts:
Queenslanders will benefit from increased health and education spending, small businesses will receive tax relief and major infrastructure projects will create thousands of jobs with the release of the Turnbull Government’s 2016-17 Budget.
Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said Queensland families and businesses had emerged major winners despite the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s attempts to label Queensland the “forgotten state”.
“This do-nothing Palaszczuk Labor Government needs to stop blaming Canberra for its own inadequacies in delivering for Queensland,” Mr Springborg said.
“Scott Morrison’s first budget will deliver better outcomes for Queenslanders, with schools to receive $3.7 billion in 2016-17 and the state’s public health and hospital system receiving up to $3.6 billion.
“While the Turnbull Government has a plan for driving jobs and growth by providing sensible tax relief for small business and investing in much-needed infrastructure, Queensland Labor has no economic plan after almost a-year-and-a-half in government.
“Queensland will benefit from a huge $3.6 billion GST windfall over the next four years, with state GST revenue forecast to hit $16.6 billion by 2019-20.
“It’s time for the Palaszczuk Labor Government to stop crying poor and ensure Queenslanders get the much-needed job-creating projects and improved frontline services they need.”
Mr Springborg welcomed the Federal Government’s almost $11 billion investment in major road and rail projects across Queensland between 2013-14 and 2019-20.
“It’s there in black and white – funding for the Ipswich and Gateway Motorways, the Bruce and Warrego Highway, Moreton Bay Rail Link and Inland Rail – and Labor has no base for its claim the Turnbull Government refuses to fund much-needed infrastructure,” he said.
“These projects will create much-needed jobs for Queenslanders and show the benefit of having a government that has a comprehensive plan for securing jobs and growth, unlike the frozen at the wheel Palaszczuk Labor Government.”
Key facts:
