Thursday 8 January 2015

Newman gaffe exposes LNP funding blackhole

Media Release



Queenslanders will not know how the LNP intends to fund its election promises following a spectacular gaffe by Campbell Newman on the campaign trail today, Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt said today.
Mr Pitt said the Premier’s admission that he couldn’t guarantee value for money for the LNP’s unwanted asset sales plan meant a Newman Government could possibly be billions of dollars short when it came to funding their big ticket election promises.
“The whole of the LNP’s fiscal policy relies on an uncertain future as laid out by Campbell Newman today,” Mr Pitt said.
“You can’t say ‘maybe we will sell some assets and maybe we won’t’ when your entire fiscal and economic plan for Queensland relies on asset sales.
“With wholesale electricity prices the way they are at the moment, it’s likely that electricity assets would attract less than top dollar which, by Campbell Newman’s own words, means he won’t sell them.
“The Newman Government has already squandered millions in consultant fees to prepare assets for sales in secret and now Campbell Newman says he may not sell them.
“When the LNP first exposed their asset sales plan, the LNP touted a figure that power generators and retailers were worth $3 billion or around 8% of total asset sales proceeds.
“Campbell Newman has just exposed a big black hole in the LNP’s plan for unwanted asset sales.
Mr Pitt said Queenslanders did not want asset sales and there was a better way.
“It makes far more sense to hold on to our assets that generate $2 billion-a-year for Queenslanders rather than flog them off for a short term sugar hit and that’s Labor’s plan,” he said.
“The LNP’s unwanted asset sales plan will also lead to even more job losses and even higher electricity prices.”

“We would retain assets that are under our control, if we weren’t getting that full value.” Campbell Newman, January 8, 2015

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