Thursday, 26th March 2020
LNP Leader Deb Frecklington today said Annastacia Palaszczuk’s request for the Speaker to cancel Queensland parliament is inconsistent with the health advice and a devastating blow to democracy.
“Throughout this crisis, the LNP has tried to be constructive but Labor’s decision to cancel Parliament must be called out,” Ms Frecklington said.
“If it is good enough for Labor to expect people to vote this weekend and send their kids to attend school, it should be good enough for Parliament to sit and lead by example.
“There is no consistency by the Premier and people are getting frustrated.
“Shutting down the Parliament means crucial laws to manage Covid-19, measures to protect jobs and changes to the Youth Justice Act to crackdown on youth crime are still not in place.
Leader of Opposition Business Jarrod Bleijie said the LNP wasn’t consulted and the move by Labor was an afront to democracy.
“The LNP was happy to sit down with the government to make the Parliament workable. Other workplaces are making arrangements to keep working, so should Queensland’s Parliament. If that means significantly reducing numbers, we were happy to do that,” Mr Bleijie said.
“The LNP firmly believes the Queensland Parliament should continue to sit with the appropriate precautions in order to pass legislation required to deal with the coronavirus health emergency and other important business of state.
“We need cool heads in this crisis but the Labor Government’s dysfunction is now on full display and the people of Queensland deserve better.
“Parliament is a fundamental instrument to our democracy and Labor cancelling it sends the wrong message to the community.
“The emergency services aren’t shutting down, but the Palaszczuk Labor Government is.”
