YOUR VIEWS
ISN’T it ironic, that our politicians can send us to conflicts worldwide without needing a referendum, yet they can’t make a decision on gay marriage without asking everyone to vote on it.
Shouldn’t this be reversed so before we send troops to any conflict the Australian public vote to Go or Stay on Australian soil? DAVID, MERMAID BEACH
RECENT ABS figures show 94,500 net new jobs created under the Palaszczuk Government’s economic plan including the three State Budgets I have delivered.
In just over two years initiatives in our economic plan have lifted growth and investment to generate jobs as we promised Queens- landers at the last state election.
The 94,500 new jobs in just over two years is more than three times the corresponding figure over the full term of the Newman-Nicholls LNP government.
Yet, right on cue, LNP Shadow Treasurer Scott Emerson chimes in with his trademark negativity and tries to change the subject to talk about wages growth – a responsibility of the Federal Government that happens to be his own LNP at the moment.
Yet even Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison effectively admits his own policies haven’t worked when he said this week: “It has been some time since Australians have received a decent pay rise.”
Mr Emerson’s supposed con- cern about earnings wasn’t evident in 2012 when the LNP’s first State Budget delivered by his own leader Tim Nicholls reduced earnings to zero for 14,000 Queenslanders.
He also complains about the 3.5 per cent annual indexation of fees and charges, yet fails to declare it was Tim Nicholls who set the policy when he was Campbell Newman’s right hand man.
Labor maintained the revenue settings of the LNP in this, our first term. I have said if we are re-elected we will adopt a system of CPI indexation from 2019-20.
Mr Emerson complains about the current 6.3 per cent trend unemployment rate but fails to say it was 6.6 per cent when the LNP left office and hit 6.7 per cent for four months in late 2014.
That’s despite the LNP inheriting a rate of 5.5 per cent in 2012 and promising to take it to 4 per cent over six years – a promise Tim Nicholls just abandoned because he was simply too lazy to try.
As usual, the LNP’s only answer then was to sack workers, cut services, and sell assets.
With still no sign of any LNP policies or economic plan, it is clear they will once again fall back on cutting, sacking, and selling if they get the chance. CURTIS PITT TREASURER MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
WHY is it that Golden Casket lotto ticket operator, tattscomlotto, and other operators selling tickets online are allowed to charge a commission of $.1.20 to $1.40 commission per ticket?
I can understand agencies such as newsagents etc. charging this to help cover extra wages and overheads, but surely to charge this fee on their own online sales needs to be looked at by the appropiate authorities. RON CADDELL, WEST BURLEIGH