One Nation questions dog leaders

Another day of One Nation issues has overshadowed the major parties' campaigns, which mirrored each other on policy.

Queensland Opposition leader Tim Nicholls

Qld LNP leader Tim Nicholls gets set to follow the premier to the northern election battleground. (AAP)

A One Nation candidate claims she's been stitched up over suggestions she was handing out LNP how-to-vote cards, as the major parties mirrored each other on policy on Day 17 of the Queensland election campaign.

Photos emerged of One Nation's Suzanne Black handing out LNP campaign material at a pre-polling station for Lytton on Monday.

They were taken by a Labor volunteer and given to journalists by a Labor staffer.

The volunteer, who didn't want to be named, claims overhearing Ms Black tell an LNP volunteer she was happy to hand out their cards "because you're preferencing us," referring to the LNP's decision to preference the minor party second in over 50 seats.

"When voters were coming across, they thought it was bizarre someone in One Nation was handing out the LNP cards as well," the Labor volunteer told AAP.

But Ms Black said she was trying to recycle a used LNP how-to-vote card by handing it back to that party's volunteers.

"We've only got limited how-to-vote cards and we go through them and then hand them back to Liberal or to Labor. That's what I was doing. I had no idea I was being photographed," Ms Black told AAP.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls on Tuesday said his office hadn't been able to confirm the incident but other parties handing out LNP material was not condoned by him.

"It is unacceptable for that to occur and I've instructed the campaign director to ensure, to the extent that is humanly possible, that it won't happen again," Mr Nicholls said.

The Electoral Commission confirmed to AAP a volunteer from one party handing out material for another would not be a breach of the Electoral Act.

It came as One Nation's Queensland leader and former LNP Minister Steve Dickson accused Mr Nicholls of engineering the previous Newman government's unpopular plan to lease state assets.

Mr Nicholls said Mr Dickson couldn't be trusted because he had abandoned the LNP for One Nation.

Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk refused to rule out sending voters back to the polls if One Nation gained the balance of power after the November 25 election.

"I'm not dealing with hypotheticals, I'm focused on a majority," she told reporters in Cairns.

Mr Nicholls also called on voters to give his party a majority, after days of addressing questions on whether he would form government with the minor party.

The major parties mirrored each other on Tuesday by announcing funding commitments for the Mount Lindesay Highway and law and order policies.

Mr Nicholls promised to hire 535 police officers across the state over four years while Ms Palaszczuk pitched an 85-strong counter terrorism taskforce.

Labor has also promised to employ 3700 new teachers over four years.

The rival campaigns will briefly intersect on Wednesday morning with both leaders in Cairns.


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world