LNP says it's OK – it’s only 14,000 broken promises!

A media release from Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt:

Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt says the arrogance of the Newman Government has again left people wondering after the Treasurer flippantly claims it is OK to sack 14,000 people not 20,000.

"These are 14,000 people whose lives the Premier and his Treasurer have the audacity to ruin because they otherwise can't fund his election promises," Mr Pitt said.

“The fact that the Treasurer is trying to reassure people that it is OK he is firing 14,000 people is the height of arrogance.

"He is not protecting 6,000 jobs just because he floated a figure of 20,000. He is sacking 14,000 jobs and as shown yesterday, many are in frontline service roles in vital community facilities such as our hospitals.

“Regardless of the number of jobs they’re axing these are people’s lives the Premier and Treasurer are playing with.

"They also represent 14,000 broken promises because before the election the Premier said those same 14,000 people had nothing to fear from him or the LNP.

“A couple of days ahead of the budget the LNP Government is trying to downplay the damage they are doing to future generations of Queenslanders,” he said.

Mr Pitt said the cold hard fact is these cuts and others are to fund LNP election promises despite a succession of LNP excuses, each of which had been shown to be false.

"First it was because of the state’s so-called '$100 billion debt. Yet five LNP MPs have had to apologise to parliament for recycling that false claim from the Costello Audit.

"Then the Premier said the cuts were needed because the government was borrowing to pay the wages of government workers. One of his own Costello Audit members told the Industrial Commission under oath that was not the case.

"The Premier repeatedly claimed the government had 20,000 more workers than it could afford to pay. Now he says he won’t be sacking that many.

"The Premier and Treasurer have talked about the previous government’s 'debt binge' as an excuse for their mass sackings. But they have committed to the same level of debt as Labor by 2014-15 and last month they borrowed more than $1.65 billion with no mention of a 'debt binge'.

"The fact is the LNP never told the truth before the election – that it would cut frontline jobs and services to pay for its election promises,” Mr Pitt said.