State has ‘run out of ideas’

THE Palaszczuk government has “run out of ideas” for Queensland after recording the lowest number of new laws for more than 20 years while struggling to even manage its existing workload.

Six years after coming to power, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government is sitting in parliament 100 fewer hours a year and introducing fewer new laws than at any point in the past 23 years.

Government critics have labelled the damning figures as proof Labor had run out of steam.

The bungle comes as the number of Bills introduced by the Palaszczuk government has declined each year from 56 in 2015 to 37 in 2020.

To date in 2021, the government has introduced just 20 pieces of legislation and sat for 305 hours, with nine sitting days left this year.

Manager of Opposition Business Jarrod Bleijie accused the government of failing to set an agenda for Queensland.

“The third-term Palaszczuk government has run out of ideas, ” he said.

Griffith University political expert Paul Williams said it may be “natural”.

“This tends to happen in Queensland with long-term governments,” he said.

“When the Palaszczuk government came to office it really was like a bull out of the gates, where you saw a raft of legislation, especially social legislation.

“It might be the case the government has ticked off a lot of its agenda.”