The Queensland Government is “filling up the mud bucket” to throw at the Newman government’s record on health, Opposition Leader and former health minister Lawrence Springborg says.
He was responding to comments from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on the Government’s priorities over the next three years.
Ms Palaszczuk told 612 ABC Brisbane that Queenslanders would be “learning about some of the things the former health minister may have said in relation to health”.
“There are some issues there that need to be tested and we need to make sure that the money was spent in the right way,” she said.
But Mr Springborg responded by saying he stood by his achievements in the health portfolio.
“I think [what] we’ve just heard from Annastacia [is that] she’s already filling up the mud bucket, so they’re going to come out later this week and into this term and I think that’s pretty obvious that this Government’s going take the approach of just throwing mud,” he said.
“But I can tell you this, that when I walked into health three years ago it was just a cot case.
“[Outgoing premier] Anna Bligh said that, she said it was a basket case that couldn’t be fixed, it had to be torn asunder.
“I’ve been around a long time, I’ve copped a lot. The mud buckets will come out but I really will put our administration up against theirs any day.”
LNP Opposition will be ‘more constructive’
Mr Springborg said his talks with the new Speaker Peter Wellington showed there was scope for a new style of Opposition that played a more active role in government.
“We’re now at a stage where we were with the Borbidge government and the early part of the Beattie government where we have a greater chance to introduce private members’ bills, private members’ statements as well, move motions in Parliament,” he said.
Mr Springborg said he was comforted by Mr Wellington’s assurance that he was prepared to support bills from either side of politics based on their merits.
“So that means we’re going to have to make sure we have a constructive style as an Opposition in Parliament, and not the typical way that Oppositions operate.”
In a frank discussion on the LNP’s loss at the last election, Mr Springborg said the Newman government became too focused on addressing what he described as Queensland’s “moribund public administration”.
“Most people believe we were fixing state finances, education generally improved, health had improved, law and order had improved.
“But it wasn’t about improvements in those areas, it was about the fact that people just felt that government had disconnected itself from Queenslanders.
“We actually lost that empathy with Queenslanders, and when you’re actually caught in that sometimes it’s very difficult to see outside of it and I think that was the big problem and the big mistake we made.”
Source: ABC