Taxing questions dog Premier on eve of poll

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended Labor’s election- eve revelation it will introduce four taxes should it retain government following today’s election, insisting she was upfront with voters.

Ms Palaszczuk was yesterday challenged on the decision to wait until Thursday afternoon to reveal Labor’s plan to raise almost $ 500 million through four taxes as it at- tempts to pay for its $ 2.8 billion in election commitments.

“I believe in being upfront because I would not have been able to look Queenslanders in the eye to have done that after the election,” she said of the move yesterday at the Queensland Media Club in Brisbane.

Ms Palaszczuk insisted the taxes would affect less than 1 per cent of Queensland’s population. The taxes would hit buyers of luxury cars and owners of land holdings valued at more than $ 10 million.

Ms Palaszczuk also moved to defend the lack of a promised new debt- reduction plan, pointing to documents detailing what the Government had already done.

The documents were handed out by Treasurer Curtis Pitt on Tuesday afternoon during his costings release as proof Labor was paying down debt.

Debt will still reach more than $ 80 billion by 20- 21 under Labor but the party has managed to shave $ 276 million off the total to stop it reaching the previously estimated $ 81 lion that year.

Ms Palaszczuk was once again subjected to questions regarding the Adani coal mine yesterday. She said no taxpayer funds would go “directly” towards the project.

The Premier used her address at the media club to launch one last major attack on the LNP, asking its voters to consider parking their votes with Labor instead to avoid installing an LNP- One Nation government. bil-