Qld Leaders to Blitz Seats on Voting Day

Qld Leaders to Blitz Seats on Voting Day
An election official sanitizes a table at a polling booth on March 28, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. (Jono Searle/Getty Images)
AAP
By AAP
10/30/2020
Updated:
10/30/2020

Queensland’s undecided voters are being called to either keep the ship steady or back change on election day.

The incumbent Labor government and the aspirant Liberal National Party are offering two different visions for the future on Oct 31.

Both leaders are blitzing marginal seats on election day, but 1.65 million voters or half of the electorate have already cast their ballots.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is on the hustings in Brisbane, while Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington has quite an itinerary.

The opposition leader is hitting Townsville early, then voting in her southeast seat of Nanango, before heading to marginal Brisbane seats.

Palaszczuk has campaigned on her health response to COVID-19 and her $11 billion in stimulus to boost the economy.

She warned against changing the government and risking the progress the state has made this year.

“It’s probably the most important election Queenslanders have ever had to face and it’s a very clear choice,” the premier told AAP.

“Now is not the time to risk the LNP, we have been on a clear path this year - we’ve managed the health crisis, we are on the road to economic recovery.

“Now is not the time to risk all that we’ve achieved together.

“This election is on a knife-edge, every single vote will count. We'll be working hard for every single vote right up until the polls close.”

Labor are offering to employ thousands of more teachers, doctors, nurses and police and make TAFE free for all students under the age of 25.

The government has promised billions of dollars to upgrade schools, roads and hospitals, as well as loans to businesses doing it tough.

Frecklington has been making the case for change, pointing to Labor’s record before the pandemic.

The opposition is promising a $300 car registration refund and a subsidy to reduce electricity costs for business.

The LNP will also upgrade hospitals and roads, fund a tropical fish accelerator and install ship lifts in three ports.

Down the track they want to upgrade major roads, including widening 1450 km of the Bruce Highway from two to four lanes.

Frecklington has also promised to build the New Bradfield irrigation and hydropower project.

She said the LNP will deliver nation-building infrastructure to secure the state’s economic future for a generation.

“Labor has dragged Queensland to the bottom of Australia’s economic ladder and we'll stay there as long as Labor is in power,” the LNP leader told AAP.

“Labor has no plan for economic recovery, but the LNP does.

“The LNP’s plan will stimulate the economy, create 150,000 jobs and lead Queensland out of recession.

“I want to make this state an economic powerhouse again, like we used to be, and we won’t get there without the LNP’s plan to create jobs.”

The vote is set to be extremely close with a Newspoll showing Labor leading the LNP 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent on two-party preferred basis on Friday night.

The poll, commissioned by the Weekend Australian, showed Labor’s primary vote steady at 37 percent, but the LNP’s down one percent to 36 percent.

Palaszczuk led Frecklington as preferred premier by 56 percent to 30 percent.

The premier also enjoyed an approval rating of 62 percent compared to 35 percent for the LNP leader.

Queensland’s polling booths close at 6pm.

Marty Silk in Brisbane