David Crisafulli is likely to become Queensland’s next leader in a narrow victory after his party’s position on abortion eroded a larger margin.
A Newspoll poll conducted for The Australian ahead of Saturday’s election shows that despite Prime Minister Steven Miles’ efforts to make up ground in recent weeks, the Labor Party is on course for defeat after almost a decade in power .
Nearly half of eligible voters have already cast their ballots at a polling booth or by mail ahead of Saturday’s election.
The Newspoll shows the opposition leading the Labor government by 52.5 to 47.5 per cent after preferences.
The poll of 1,151 Queenslanders conducted from October 18 to Thursday shows the Labor primary vote increased three points to 33 per cent, while support for the LNP remains stable at 42 per cent.
Labor polls, seen by The Courier-Mail, show Katter’s Australian Party winning two of three seats in Townsville, casting doubt on the LNP’s bid for a majority government.
Crisafulli is confident of winning all three Townsville seats to secure a majority on Saturday.
Steven Miles aims to visit 36 electorates in 36 hours. (Adam Head/AAP PHOTOS)
Steven Miles has become known as “Australia’s most deluded prime minister”
Thousands have pledged to visit 36 seats in the 36 hours until 7pm on Friday in a last-ditch effort to win votes.
By 5pm on Thursday, it had visited 13 seats from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane.
His opponent reached a dozen southeast Queensland electorates on Thursday, ignoring the premier’s suggestion it was a comparatively “lazy” effort.
“They’ve seen my energy levels,” Crisafulli said.
‘I get out of bed before everyone else in parliament; I also work a little harder.”
Once the policy announcements are finalized, the cost of each side’s promises is the key topic of conversation.
The LNP has promised to cut $6.8 billion from the budget over four years by reducing external consultancy costs.
Shadow treasurer David Janetzki said it was not about cutting consultant jobs but rather about “flattening the trajectory of their growth”.
David Crisafulli is likely to become Queensland’s next leader in a narrow victory after his party’s position on abortion eroded a larger margin.
“Anyone with a contract, consultant or external contractor will continue that contract to deliver the services they offer,” he said.
“But what we need is an end to over-reliance on consultants and contractors.”
The plan would improve state debt to $143 billion compared to Labour’s $146 billion in 2024/25.
But Treasurer Cameron Dick rebuked the proposal as a “fantasy”.
“The only way you can get to your numbers and your bottom line is through cuts, and the only cuts you can make are to jobs because that is the biggest proportion of spending in the budget – wages, pensions and superannuation,” Mr Dick said.
The government has made $9.7 billion in election commitments and as a result the deficit is expected to grow from $2.6 billion this financial year to $3.2 billion.
Mr Miles starts on Friday in Brisbane, while LNP starts on the Sunshine Coast.
