WEEK 2 WRAP UP
Common themes from both major parties during the second week of the Queensland State Election campaign have heavily revolved around health, education, jobs and manufacturing. Both Leaders of the ALP and LNP have campaigned in the south, central and northern reaches of the state across the week.
We've also seen Federal representation across the week, with the Prime Minister visiting Townsville on Wednesday along with the Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington to take a helicopter flight over the connection point of the CopperString 2.0 project which in the past fortnight has received both State and Federal Government support. This is also a project strongly supported by the Katter's Australian Party, with both the Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter also in Townsville this week along with Party Leader Robbie Katter.
Deputy Leader of the National Party and Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud was also in Townsville during the week to announce $60M towards natural disaster mitigation and recovery in the aftermath of the 2019 floods. The funding includes recovery and resilience grants, telecommunications and energy improvement, managing disaster risk, economic diversification, and an additional $2M towards the mental health of children.
We've seen Sky News host and News Corp columnist Peter Gleeson in Townsville this week moderating candidate debates for the seats of Thuringowa and Mundingburra. You can watch the debates at the Townsville Bulletin website by clicking on those links.
Pre-poll voting will start on Monday 19 October at around 200 locations across the state. To find your nearest voting centre or polling booth click here.
Please scroll down to view what was announced this week and in the final week of the election campaign we will complete a final summary of all announcements.
WHO WAS HERE THIS WEEK?
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison
- Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Dr Steven Miles
- Opposition Leader, Deb Frecklington
- Deputy Opposition Leader & Shadow Treasurer, Tim Mander
- Katter's Australian Party Leader, Robbie Katter
- Shadow Minister for Tourism, Environment, Science and the Great Barrier Reef, David Crisafulli
- Deputy National Party Leader and Minister for Agriculture, Drought & Emergency Management, David Littleproud
- Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter
WHAT DID THEY ANNOUNCE?
ALP:
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk begun the week in the South East of the state before moving into Central Queensland, announcing:
- $40M towards refurbishing and expanding the Kirwan Health Campus to provide midwifery clinics and upgraded dental services
- 9475 frontline hospital staff over four years, including 350 nurses, 103 doctors, and 100 health professionals in North Queensland
- $1B funding pipeline towards train manufacturing in Maryborough, including $600M for 22 new trains built in Maryborough and $1M for a Business Case on the replacement of iconic long distance passenger train carriages
- "Local Schools, Local Jobs" initiative - partnering with 26 schools to build or upgrade training facilities and trade training centres for emerging growth industries including hydrogen, aquaculture, agriculture, manufacturing, Defence, aviation, aerospace. Includes $500K for Home Hill SHS - Agriculture training infrastructure and $1.2M for Thuringowa SHS - Science labs refurbishment
- $285M for seven satellite community hospitals in the South East
- $27.8M towards 33 additional renal dialysis treatment spaces across rural and regional areas of Queensland, including in Townsville, Charters Towers and Ingham.
- $1M upgrade to the Burdekin Rugby League clubhouse
Labor announcements HERE
LNP:
LNP Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington started the second week of the campaign in the South East with the Prime Minister before travelling to North Queensland and Townsville, announcing across the week:
- $67M towards the Tropical Aquaculture Accelerator at James Cook University
- $1M towards upgrading Radical Bay Road on Magnetic Island
- An unemployment rate target of 5 per cent
- $10M towards expanding the SunRice Brandon Mill in the Burdekin
- $300 car registration rebate to owners of every registered vehicle
- Co-invest with Rheinmetall Defence Australia to build a new $135M Defence technology precinct at Redbank, including a $25M training academy and research centre
- $300M to reduce public hospital waiting lists by fast-tracking elective surgery through the private sector
- Removal of "Grey Nomad" tax on new and second-hand campervan purchases
- $50M 'Tradie Boost Scheme' for coastal regions to access grants of up to $15K to cyclone-proof homes
LNP announcements HERE
KAP:
Across the week, Katter's Australian Party outlined a number of the Party's key priorities for the region, including:
- Decentralisation of government departments, including the relocation of the Department of Environment and Science to Townsville
- Paluma to Wallaman Falls Trail
- Expansion of First Home Owners Grant to include existing homes in regional areas
- Ingham Hospital upgrade
- Crop diversification initiatives such as grain silos in the Herbert River District
- Cut water tariffs for farmers
- Investment towards the North Queensland Bio Energy Sugar Mill
