Queensland Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli have faced off in their third and final debate ahead of polling day on Saturday.
The two men addressed a room of 100 undecided voters selected by polling group YouGov at Brisbane’s Lang Park, hosted by Sky News and the Courier Mail.
A resignation pledge from Mr Crisafulli headlined the first debate, should he not reduce the number of victims of crime in the state if he becomes premier, while the second had few new takeaways for voters.
Here are the five key takeaways from the final debate:
Abortion debate continues
Abortion has arguably been the dominant issue of the election campaign and was again in the cycle on Tuesday night.
North Queensland MP Robbie Katter clarified his party’s strategy for changing Queensland’s abortion laws, saying it wants to first amend them to mandate care for babies born alive.
Mr Crisafulli said the “scare campaign” run by Labor had collapsed and reiterated the laws would not change should he be elected.
Mr Miles used his question to ask the LNP leader if he believed in a woman’s right to choose.
“It probably won’t work for his TikTok, but yes. Oh, that got you, didn’t it,” Mr Crisafulli replied.
The premier repeatedly pressed the issue, asking why Mr Crisafulli voted against the decriminalisation in 2018, and whether he would allow a conscience vote if a private member’s bill was introduced to State Parliament.
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State debt row
The two leaders were questioned on concerns over Queensland’s debt, and the sustainability of measures like 50 cent public transport fares.
Mr Miles said he stood by the government’s record in a cost of living crisis.
“We’ve gone into deficit to fund those extra supports that we’re delivering to households, but our economy is really strong, so we are projecting a return to surplus in 2026/27 and a surplus from those years onwards,” he said.
The final debate invited ‘undecided’ voters to ask questions. (Supplied)
“You can’t tell what David’s (Crisafulli) plan is, because he won’t release it until Thursday.”
Mr Crisafulli, who said spending had “spiralled out of control”, was asked how he could guarantee state debt wouldn’t hit $200 billion.
“Quite easily, because we’re not embarking on the $24 billion wrecking ball that is the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro scheme.
“That plan would make all of your electricity bills completely and utterly unaffordable.
“It doesn’t have planning approval, traditional owner consent. There’s no environmental impact statement done.”
Political donation comparison
Mr Crisafulli said in the second debate he’d like to see a “level playing field” when it came to political donations, that everyone should be able to donate or no-one should.
That was in response to whether property developers should be able to make political donations at local and state elections, which was banned in 2018.
An audience member in the final debate asked specifically whether he would change the laws, and had a follow-up to both leaders.
“What is it that you think developers give politicians money for if it’s not corrupt influence?”
Mr Crisafulli said there would not be changes to the donations to councils, again reiterating his desire for a level playing field and questioning why unions could make donations.
A flare-up between the two leaders ensued.
Miles: “Comparing property developers to trade unions that represent tens of thousands of Queenslanders is not a fair comparison.”
Crisafulli: “CFMEU. CFMEU. CFMEU.”
Miles: “They’re not the same thing.”
Crisafulli: “They’re a criminal outfit. They are bikies, and they own you.”
Miles: “You just want the money from property developers.”
CFMEU was mentioned in the final election debate. (ABC News: Brian Hurst)
Combating hate speech
A member of the Jewish community in Brisbane asked the two leaders how they would tackle rising anti-Semitism in the community, prompting a rare display of bipartisanship.
“Call it out when we see it. Some of the behaviour has been abhorrent, we haven’t seen anti-Semitic behaviour like this in Queensland or this country for over a century,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“I think this is something David (Crisafulli) and I can agree on. There’s no place in Queensland for hate, for violence, for anti-Semitism, and I’ll call it out too,” Mr Miles said.
No time for daylight saving
With the clock changes fresh interstate, an audience member asked each leader their position on daylight saving.
Mr Crisafulli had little time for it, stating it won’t be on his party’s agenda.
“There’s a lot of people who are very passionate about it, but I’ve lived and worked at both ends of the state, and I can tell you I would never embark on daylight saving because I know what it means to people in country Queensland,” he said.
Mr Miles also ruled out any changes.
“It might suit some parts, particularly some parts of the south-east, but there are parts of the state where it could be really disruptive. It’s a big state we’ve got to govern for all of it.”
Queenslanders head to the polls on October 26, with over 900,000 voters already casting their ballots.
