'Temu version': opposition lashes visionless budget
A state opposition has detailed how it will solve the housing crisis after labelling a government's budget a "sad state of affairs".
Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles has taken aim at the Liberal National government's first budget since 2014, claiming it lacks vision and duplicates Labor's ideas.
Mr Miles said Labor's 50-cent fares initiative, health checks for kindergarten kids and sports vouchers were all implemented in the LNP budget unveiled on Tuesday.
"It's just a Temu version of what we had planned," he told parliament in his budget reply on Thursday.
"This budget ... lacks vision, it lacks delivery, and it fails to prepare our state for the future.
"It's a sad state of affairs."
Amid a plethora of jabs criticising the LNP for the record $205 billion debt by 2028/29 while lacking cost-of-living relief, Mr Miles put forward the opposition's plan to solve the housing crisis.
Labor proposed extending its land tax concession indefinitely, matching NSW's recent commitment, if the party won the next state election in 2028.
It means land tax will be reduced by 50 per cent for build-to-rent developments that include at least 10 per cent affordable rental homes.
"By extending the land tax concession here in Queensland, we will further cement the Sunshine State as the place to invest," Mr Miles said.
Queensland Labor introduced the concessions in 2023, ensuring they were available for 20 years.
NSW's land tax concessions were set to end in 2039 but were indefinitely extended in its state budget this week to increase investment and supply.
The LNP committed more than $8 billion in the Queensland budget to improve housing, including its landmark "Boost to Buy" program to provide 1000 first-home buyers 30 per cent equity on new builds and 25 per cent on existing.
Mr Miles slammed the signature policy for being too small to make a difference, saying it helped about one per cent of first homebuyers a year.
"Experts say it won't distort the market, because it is too small to make any measurable difference," he said.
Labor also pledged $10 million to help social organisations scale up their food production and distribution to keep up with the demand on food banks.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie labelled the opposition's reply "underwhelming", criticising Mr Miles for spending the majority of his speech condemning the LNP.
"It was an embarrassing budget reply speech with no new initiatives," he told parliament.
"They've got no views for the history, for the future of Queensland."
The budget reply came after the state parliament rammed through laws to ensure Brisbane 2032 venues, including the centrepiece Victoria Park stadium, were exempt from local planning laws.
Games infrastructure will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including environmental and heritage protections, with final sign-off given to the state government not local councils.
Mr Bleijie vowed to have major Olympic projects under construction "pretty soon".
"You're going to see a lot of work in a very short period of time," he said on Thursday.
The new laws also mean energy developers will need to undertake community consultation before renewable project approvals.
The passing of the laws earned the ire of activist group Save Victoria Park, which says the government "closed its ears" to community outrage.
A state opposition has detailed how it will solve the housing crisis after labelling a government's budget a "sad state of affairs".
Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles has taken aim at the Liberal National government's first budget since 2014, claiming it lacks vision and duplicates Labor's ideas.
Mr Miles said Labor's 50-cent fares initiative, health checks for kindergarten kids and sports vouchers were all implemented in the LNP budget unveiled on Tuesday.
"It's just a Temu version of what we had planned," he told parliament in his budget reply on Thursday.
"This budget ... lacks vision, it lacks delivery, and it fails to prepare our state for the future.
"It's a sad state of affairs."
Amid a plethora of jabs criticising the LNP for the record $205 billion debt by 2028/29 while lacking cost-of-living relief, Mr Miles put forward the opposition's plan to solve the housing crisis.
Labor proposed extending its land tax concession indefinitely, matching NSW's recent commitment, if the party won the next state election in 2028.
It means land tax will be reduced by 50 per cent for build-to-rent developments that include at least 10 per cent affordable rental homes.
"By extending the land tax concession here in Queensland, we will further cement the Sunshine State as the place to invest," Mr Miles said.
Queensland Labor introduced the concessions in 2023, ensuring they were available for 20 years.
NSW's land tax concessions were set to end in 2039 but were indefinitely extended in its state budget this week to increase investment and supply.
The LNP committed more than $8 billion in the Queensland budget to improve housing, including its landmark "Boost to Buy" program to provide 1000 first-home buyers 30 per cent equity on new builds and 25 per cent on existing.
Mr Miles slammed the signature policy for being too small to make a difference, saying it helped about one per cent of first homebuyers a year.
"Experts say it won't distort the market, because it is too small to make any measurable difference," he said.
Labor also pledged $10 million to help social organisations scale up their food production and distribution to keep up with the demand on food banks.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie labelled the opposition's reply "underwhelming", criticising Mr Miles for spending the majority of his speech condemning the LNP.
"It was an embarrassing budget reply speech with no new initiatives," he told parliament.
"They've got no views for the history, for the future of Queensland."
The budget reply came after the state parliament rammed through laws to ensure Brisbane 2032 venues, including the centrepiece Victoria Park stadium, were exempt from local planning laws.
Games infrastructure will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including environmental and heritage protections, with final sign-off given to the state government not local councils.
Mr Bleijie vowed to have major Olympic projects under construction "pretty soon".
"You're going to see a lot of work in a very short period of time," he said on Thursday.
The new laws also mean energy developers will need to undertake community consultation before renewable project approvals.
The passing of the laws earned the ire of activist group Save Victoria Park, which says the government "closed its ears" to community outrage.
A state opposition has detailed how it will solve the housing crisis after labelling a government's budget a "sad state of affairs".
Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles has taken aim at the Liberal National government's first budget since 2014, claiming it lacks vision and duplicates Labor's ideas.
Mr Miles said Labor's 50-cent fares initiative, health checks for kindergarten kids and sports vouchers were all implemented in the LNP budget unveiled on Tuesday.
"It's just a Temu version of what we had planned," he told parliament in his budget reply on Thursday.
"This budget ... lacks vision, it lacks delivery, and it fails to prepare our state for the future.
"It's a sad state of affairs."
Amid a plethora of jabs criticising the LNP for the record $205 billion debt by 2028/29 while lacking cost-of-living relief, Mr Miles put forward the opposition's plan to solve the housing crisis.
Labor proposed extending its land tax concession indefinitely, matching NSW's recent commitment, if the party won the next state election in 2028.
It means land tax will be reduced by 50 per cent for build-to-rent developments that include at least 10 per cent affordable rental homes.
"By extending the land tax concession here in Queensland, we will further cement the Sunshine State as the place to invest," Mr Miles said.
Queensland Labor introduced the concessions in 2023, ensuring they were available for 20 years.
NSW's land tax concessions were set to end in 2039 but were indefinitely extended in its state budget this week to increase investment and supply.
The LNP committed more than $8 billion in the Queensland budget to improve housing, including its landmark "Boost to Buy" program to provide 1000 first-home buyers 30 per cent equity on new builds and 25 per cent on existing.
Mr Miles slammed the signature policy for being too small to make a difference, saying it helped about one per cent of first homebuyers a year.
"Experts say it won't distort the market, because it is too small to make any measurable difference," he said.
Labor also pledged $10 million to help social organisations scale up their food production and distribution to keep up with the demand on food banks.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie labelled the opposition's reply "underwhelming", criticising Mr Miles for spending the majority of his speech condemning the LNP.
"It was an embarrassing budget reply speech with no new initiatives," he told parliament.
"They've got no views for the history, for the future of Queensland."
The budget reply came after the state parliament rammed through laws to ensure Brisbane 2032 venues, including the centrepiece Victoria Park stadium, were exempt from local planning laws.
Games infrastructure will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including environmental and heritage protections, with final sign-off given to the state government not local councils.
Mr Bleijie vowed to have major Olympic projects under construction "pretty soon".
"You're going to see a lot of work in a very short period of time," he said on Thursday.
The new laws also mean energy developers will need to undertake community consultation before renewable project approvals.
The passing of the laws earned the ire of activist group Save Victoria Park, which says the government "closed its ears" to community outrage.
A state opposition has detailed how it will solve the housing crisis after labelling a government's budget a "sad state of affairs".
Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles has taken aim at the Liberal National government's first budget since 2014, claiming it lacks vision and duplicates Labor's ideas.
Mr Miles said Labor's 50-cent fares initiative, health checks for kindergarten kids and sports vouchers were all implemented in the LNP budget unveiled on Tuesday.
"It's just a Temu version of what we had planned," he told parliament in his budget reply on Thursday.
"This budget ... lacks vision, it lacks delivery, and it fails to prepare our state for the future.
"It's a sad state of affairs."
Amid a plethora of jabs criticising the LNP for the record $205 billion debt by 2028/29 while lacking cost-of-living relief, Mr Miles put forward the opposition's plan to solve the housing crisis.
Labor proposed extending its land tax concession indefinitely, matching NSW's recent commitment, if the party won the next state election in 2028.
It means land tax will be reduced by 50 per cent for build-to-rent developments that include at least 10 per cent affordable rental homes.
"By extending the land tax concession here in Queensland, we will further cement the Sunshine State as the place to invest," Mr Miles said.
Queensland Labor introduced the concessions in 2023, ensuring they were available for 20 years.
NSW's land tax concessions were set to end in 2039 but were indefinitely extended in its state budget this week to increase investment and supply.
The LNP committed more than $8 billion in the Queensland budget to improve housing, including its landmark "Boost to Buy" program to provide 1000 first-home buyers 30 per cent equity on new builds and 25 per cent on existing.
Mr Miles slammed the signature policy for being too small to make a difference, saying it helped about one per cent of first homebuyers a year.
"Experts say it won't distort the market, because it is too small to make any measurable difference," he said.
Labor also pledged $10 million to help social organisations scale up their food production and distribution to keep up with the demand on food banks.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie labelled the opposition's reply "underwhelming", criticising Mr Miles for spending the majority of his speech condemning the LNP.
"It was an embarrassing budget reply speech with no new initiatives," he told parliament.
"They've got no views for the history, for the future of Queensland."
The budget reply came after the state parliament rammed through laws to ensure Brisbane 2032 venues, including the centrepiece Victoria Park stadium, were exempt from local planning laws.
Games infrastructure will not be subject to 15 planning laws, including environmental and heritage protections, with final sign-off given to the state government not local councils.
Mr Bleijie vowed to have major Olympic projects under construction "pretty soon".
"You're going to see a lot of work in a very short period of time," he said on Thursday.
The new laws also mean energy developers will need to undertake community consultation before renewable project approvals.
The passing of the laws earned the ire of activist group Save Victoria Park, which says the government "closed its ears" to community outrage.
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He also said his use of the pronoun 'it' did not necessarily dehumanise them, but rather highlighted their internal conflict. In fact, Thaler said, he was the one being picked on. He told the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), as it considered his appeal against a three-month suspension, that some of his fellow councillors had been hostile ever since his election last year, when they tried and failed to uphold a longstanding ban on his presence in council chambers (which arose from the risk council felt his behaviour posed to its staff; his election to the council in September automatically overturned the ban). But he thinks they dislike him 'because I'm a man', he told the tribunal. 'It's because I have five kids. It's because I've been married for 19 years … those are the things that [people are hostile about] at that council.' The drawn-out saga over Thaler's behaviour has gripped the Snowy Monaro region, where he was known as a serial pest before being elected to public office with little more than 100 first preference votes. His behaviour while a councillor has prompted the minister to issue a performance improvement order to the council, that says the drama is interfering with the operations of local government. His comments about the councillor and staffer in March earned him a three-month suspension, the maximum, from the Office of Local Government (OLG). But the Snowy's controversy is the pointy end of a bigger issue. Councillors are behaving badly across the state, yet the NSW system for holding them accountable is broken. This has been openly acknowledged across the sector for at least 10 years, but there has been no reform. A government discussion paper last year laid out the problem. Council debates are 'too often personal slanging matches', it said. Frivolous complaints clog the system, leaving little capacity for it to deal with serious issues. The system for handling misconduct should not be so unwieldy and ineffective that it inhibits 'the operation and function of local democracy'. Councils manage their own complaints (which can lead to politicisation), but can refer them to the OLG if they think it's warranted. In the financial year to June 2024, Bathurst clocked up the most complaints with 38 (none were upheld), followed by Lismore with 24 (none were upheld) and Sutherland with 23 (again, none were upheld). Of a total of 381 complaints, only 45 were found to constitute a breach. They cost almost $1.5 million to investigate. There were also concerns from the sector that penalties for councillor misconduct, when upheld, are too light. The maximum suspension the OLG can hand out is three months, while NCAT can issue a disqualification of up to five years. A 2022 report found the sector was concerned that the sanctions, and the OCG and NCAT's reluctance to invoke strong ones, was an ineffective deterrent to poor conduct. That earlier report, commissioned by the Coalition government, raised myriad problems with the system, ranging from conflicts of interest, partisan behaviour, incompetence, and the lack of appropriate penalties when misconduct was found. 'Key stakeholders in the sector have lost confidence in the current arrangements,' it found, and called for an overhaul. A road map for change went to cabinet in February 2023, just before the election. But when Labor won, the new local government minister, Ron Hoenig, jettisoned that plan and began his own review. Another discussion paper was released in September last year. There's not enough dignity in local government, it said, and proposed letting the OLG issue fines to councillors, suggested a privileges committee of experienced mayors examine allegations of misbehaviour, and said bans should be solely imposed by tribunals such as NCAT (they often end up there on appeal, anyway). It also proposes councillors have to rid themselves of real estate and development business activity and contracts. A spokeswoman for Hoenig said the Labor government felt the Coalition's solution would add more bureaucracy and complexity 'to an already broken system'. A new code of conduct, mechanisms to 'surcharge' councillors for frivolous complaints and a new meeting code would be released 'soon', she said. The behaviour problem is putting people – particularly women – off running for local government. A Victorian survey found 61 per cent of female local councillor respondents had experienced threatening or intimidating behaviour from fellow councillors, while another study found half of women left council after the first term. Women have been among Thaler's most frequent targets; he has called female elected officials dumb, fat, a pig, deliberately childless, a horrendous excuse for a human, and has told a state MP – and, on a separate occasion, this reporter – to go 'suck a dick'. Licia Heath from Women for Election said women were increasingly leaving councils due to bullying and harassment. 'We will shortly have a crisis of representation in local government,' she said. That will affect other levels, as state and federal MPs often cut their teeth in council. 'I'm getting increasingly concerned that there will be a pipeline issue of talented women in our state and federal parliaments, unless relevant ministers insist now on a similar review as the Kate Jenkins Set the Standard to be conducted at the local government level,' Heath said referring to a report by the former sex discrimination commissioner. Thaler is right that there are people in the area who don't like him. Before he was elected, he'd been banned from council chambers because his behaviour was considered a workplace health and safety risk. He'd also been banned from a few businesses. He was the subject of 19 complaints over a two-month period last year, the performance improvement order said; complainants alleged his behaviour left staff and fellow councillors feeling unsafe, anxious and in one case, physically sick (Thaler said he was never given a chance to respond, and those complaints have not been investigated). Loading He told the tribunal that the council had sought legal advice about what to do with him, which said it could not ban him but they could 'discipline me out of council'. In his appeal against his suspension on Tuesday, Thaler's barrister, Searle, argued the decision made by the Planning Department deputy secretary responsible for local government was invalid because he had not conducted a proper investigation first. He also said a three-month suspension was too harsh. 'We would say the applicant would say not much weight should be given to those incidences, they occur in the context of Councillor Thaler raising significant matters of public interest,' he said. Thaler insisted he was telling the truth when he used the word liar, despite not being able to produce evidence, but admitted he should not have referred to the councillor's size. However, the barrister for the Department of Planning, Matthew McAuliffe, said the penalty would be a deterrent to both Thaler and councillors statewide. 'He was barely able to accept that what he had done amounted to misconduct,' McAuliffe said. 'Each time I asked him whether he was remorseful it was heavily qualified, if at all. Any offer to apologise was only forthcoming if there was an order to do so. It's clear that despite the passage of time, he continues to believe that his conduct was justified.' The tribunal is considering its decision.
