Ten questions for parties contesting the 2024 State Elections on 26 October have been raised by the South East Queensland Community Alliance (SEQCA).
These questions were sent by the SEQCA on 23 September to the four politcial parties which currently have seats in the Queensland Parliament:
- The Labor Party
- The LNP
- Katter’s Australia Party
- The Greens.
We received a reply from the Greens on 4 October 2024 and a reply from the LNP on 11 October 2024. Both of these replies are published below.
But first, here are the SEQCA’s ten questions for political parties contesting the 2024 State Elections:
SEQCA Questions – 2024 State Elections
1. Population Growth
What rate of population growth do you believe is appropriate for South east Queensland (SEQ) and what is your strategy / plan / for achieving and managing this rate of population growth?
2. Planning and Development Approval
What are your intentions for changing Queensland’s planning laws, regulations and policies?
3. SEQ Regional Plan
What are your intentions for the SEQ regional plan?, In particular what changes will you make to the SEQ urban footprint, and allowable density of property development in the urban footprint?
4. Housing in SEQ
What are your strategy /plans / targets for delivering social and affordable housing across SEQ?
5. Infrastructure
What is your plan for addressing major infrastructure shortfalls in SEQ over the next ten years, including transport, parks, water supply, electricity supply, medical services, and education?
6. Climate Change Resilience
What are your plans for protecting SEQ residents from increasing risks of harm caused by climate change related events such as floods, storms, storm surges, bushfires, and excessive heat?
7. Environment
- What are your plans for the conservation / restoration of SEQ’s biodiversity, including threatened species such as koalas?
- Also, what are your intentions for expansion / management / commercial exploitation of national parks and other state government protected areas?
8. Integrity
- What plans do you have for any changes to Queensland laws governing the reporting of political donations, and the prohibition of political donations from property developers, and other sectors that benefit inordinately from government decisions?
- What changes will you make to local government integrity measures including laws and regulations about avoidance / management of conflicts of interest and processes for dealing with misconduct by local councillors and mayors?
9. Public Private Partnerships
What will your government do to ensure that public private partnerships are made more transparent (and discoverable through Right to Information) so that communities can see if the public interest is being well served?
10 2032 Olympics
What legacies for the community do you plan to get out of the 2032 Olympics, and how do you propose to ensure that such legacies are delivered?
The Greens reply
The LNP’s reply
Dear Mr Walker
Thank you for raising SEQ Community Alliance’s policy priorities with the LNP ahead of the 2024 state election.
Queenslanders will be asking themselves at this election whether their lives are better or worse after almost a decade under Labor and who has the right priorities for Queensland’s future.
With respect to the issues you have raised, I can advise the following:
Population growth
South East Queensland is a great place to live and people will continue to be drawn to the region for lifestyle and employment reasons. We can’t stop people from moving here but we can ensure that we plan appropriately and have the necessary housing and infrastructure to support the growth.
Planning and Development Approval
Queenslanders have told us that dealing with the housing crisis needs to the focus for the next government. The LNP’s Securing our Housing Foundations plan consists of six key policy areas:
- Big Boost into Home Ownership
- Abolish stamp duty for all new homes, for first home buyers.
- Raise the Stamp Duty concession threshold in full for existing homes, up to $700,000 and partially up to $800,000, for first home buyers.
- Boost to Buy with a new shared equity home ownership program designed to close the deposit gap for buyers without access to the bank of mum and dad.
- Unlock the Homes for Queensland’s Future with a plan for one million extra houses homes by 2044, new Regional Plans for every corner of Queensland and fast-tracked approvals.
- Open the Door to housing by removing restrictions preventing first home buyer grant recipients from renting-out rooms and opening-up rental supply.
- Homes with Purpose, with 10,000 new social and community homes on church and charity-owned land, unleashing the community housing sector and clear targets to ramp-up social housing.
- Breaking Down the Barriers to Building, by fast-tracking development approvals and building new homes quicker, safeguarding the materials and tradies needed to build the homes for Queensland’s future.
As part of our plan to get people into homes quicker, the LNP will establish a Cabinet Housing Ministerial Taskforce will hold Minister and Directors-General account for the delivery of one million new homes.
SEQ Regional Plan
Under the LNP’s, new regional plans will be developed (with matched infrastructure plans) to map out the delivery of one million more homes by 2044.
Housing in SEQ
The LNP will deliver 53,500 more social and community homes in Queensland by 2044. This will be achieved by unleashing the community housing sector and unlocking unused church and charity owned land.
Infrastructure
Please refer to the details provided above.
Climate Change Resilience
The LNP will deliver disaster resilient infrastructure to mitigate against the impact of disasters and drive down insurance costs.
Environment
The LNP has a plan to protect our natural environment for generations to come. The LNP will:
- Boost national parks care with additional pest and weed management, and fuel load reduction. This includes a commitment of $56 million toward 150 new rangers for our parks.
- Reduce litter across our natural environment and a boost to recycling rates.
- Support farmers to be environmental stewards of their land and boost our private protected land estate.
- Reduce emissions and reach Net Zero by 2050 by working with industry sectors to develop achievable and practical plans.
- Boost protection for endangered species with wildlife care.
Integrity and Transparency
The LNP is committed to delivering a government Queenslanders can be proud of and that’s why an LNP government will have a Minister for Integrity.
Public Private Partnerships
The LNP is committed to and open and accountable government. Unlike Labor who will not disclose the real costs for PPP projects such as Cross River Rail.
2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
When the SEQ Council of Mayors proposed bidding for the 2032 Games, it was to be the catalyst for the delivery of necessary infrastructure to cater for the next 20 years of population growth. Its over 1,100 days after we were awarded the Games and we’re still only talking about stadiums.
To end the chaos the LNP will undertake a 100 day review of Games infrastructure to chart a plan for the rollout of venues as well as important infrastructure including roads and public transport.
In conclusion, after a decade of Labor, Queensland is heading in the wrong direction on the key issues of Youth Crime, Health, Cost of living and Housing.
Our State needs a Fresh Start and the LNP has The Right Plan for Queensland’s Future, which includes:
- Safety where you live – through stronger laws like Adult Crime, Adult Time and gold standard early intervention
- Health services when you need them – by axing Labor’s Patients’ Tax, a tax which doctors have said will end bulk billing and make GP visits more expensive
- Respect for your money – by stopping Labor’s expensive budget blowouts which are pushing up costs for families
- A place to call home – by abolishing stamp duty on new builds for first home buyers
- A government that works for you – to address challenges for the long term, not band-aid solutions at election time
See more of our plan and keep up to date on recent announcements at rightplanqld.com.au.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to SEQ Community Alliance’s priorities and we look forward to future engagement about these matters.
Yours sincerely
Ben Riley
State Director
Any more before the 2024 State Elections?
If we receive any more replies to our questions for the 2024 State Elections, we will include them in an update to this story.
Chris Walker
President
South East Queensland Community Alliance
Email: President@seqalliance.org