By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-10-03 12:20:18 | Updated at 2024-10-05 13:15:35
2 days ago
David Crisafulli would step down after one term as premier if he could not meet an ambitious crime target within four years, he said during the first of three televised debates with Labor’s Steven Miles ahead of the Queensland election.
The opposition LNP leader, who is well ahead of Miles in the polls, used the debate in Brisbane on Thursdsay night to repeat a promise to reduce the number of victims of crime in Queensland below 289,657, which he said was the highest in the country.
He has often promised to sack ministers who don’t meet key performance indicators, if elected.
Crisafulli was pressed by Nine Network host Tim Arvier if he would himself resign if he failed to meet the goal, which has been the party’s most prominent promise.
He agreed.
“I’m serious about it, and I’m not giving myself any wriggle room. It’s victim numbers,” Crisafulli said.
“It’s not number of unique offences and what happens on a Wednesday, and how many young people repeat. It’s victim numbers. How many people have had their life torn apart? And there will be fewer victims.”
Arvier pressed him for a date by which he would resign.
“You won’t run at the election?” he asked.
“If there aren’t fewer victims, you won’t be seeing me (at the election),” Crisafulli said, confirming he would stand down
The opposition’s crime policy has almost exclusively spruiked their youth crime policy. But just shy of half of all crimes against the person in Queensland are committed by an intimate partner. Police numbers show fully 56.9% of all assaults are considered domestic violence assaults.
The LNP has repeatedly polled well ahead of the government for months, and is the unbackable favourite of the bookies. Miles replaced predecessor Annastacia Palaszczuk in December.
The LNP leader pitched himself as a “fresh start” for a state which has elected Labor governments at 11 of the last 12 elections, and has only ever had one premier from his party.
But the hosts also suggested he was haunted by that leader – Campbell Newman – who, famously, used a record majority to sack tens of thousands of public servants before losing office in a single term.
Crisafulli looked energetic, but also stuck closely to scripted lines already used uncountable times in press conferences in recent weeks.
He also gave few details about his Olympics plans, health or budgetary policy.
At several points in the debate Miles struck out at his opponent in an effort to throw him off what he called “four-word slogans”, interrupting and even accusing Crisafulli of “making things up”.
Miles also accused the opposition leader of over-simplifying the complex problem of youth crime.
“As you know, anyone who pretends it’s as simple as one decision and can be fixed as simply as one four-word slogan is just being dishonest with Queenslanders. It is a much more complex problem than that, and requires a much, much more complex solution,” Miles said.
By contrast the premier’s body language suggested awkwardness and nervousness.
Miles has previously spoken about his awkwardness in the limelight, confessing the job of a politician “doesn’t come natural to me”.
He gradually felt his way into the debate and felt more fluid after a half-time advertising break.
Crisafulli responded by saying he was disappointed about what he called a scare campaign and accused the premier of being “desperate”.
In a final lightning round of questions, both leaders ruled out a plebiscite on adopting daylight saving or rent control.
Along with Arvier, the hosts were Brisbane Times editor Sean Parnell and 4BC announcer Sofie Formica, and at the end theyassessed the leaders’ performances.
Parnell concluded that Crisafulli had lost the debate, and Formica and Arvier said the LNP leader had won it.
Arvier read out a text assessment from former leader Newman live on air.
“The premier smashed him,” Arvier reported.
The election will be held on 26 October.
