Great expectations

Queensland’s new Parliament met for the first time this week, one month since the October 26 election and almost 10 years to the day (November 27, 2014) since the last time the Liberal National Party sat on the Treasury benches.  It’s a vastly different LNP team from that final sitting day in 2014.  It’s smaller for starters – Premier David Crisafulli has a comfortable majority but not the unwieldly and often unmanageable team that Campbell Newman led.

It also has four years, rather than three, to tackle the policy challenges it has inherited, notably the State Budget, health and ambulances, and youth crime. This extra year gives critical breathing room between the difficult decisions that must be made in coming weeks and months, and the next time the LNP Government must face the voters in October 2028.

As promised, youth crime has been the Crisafulli Government’s first priority – its Making Queensland Safer legislation was introduced to the Parliament this week and will be ushered into law before the year’s end. Having made reducing crime rates in the population the litmus test for his first term in office, the Premier will be keen to see these laws in place quickly.

The Government has also set about dismantling the controversial Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) for the construction sector – widely derided as the “CFMEU tax” in business circles and blamed for accelerating construction costs across the state.

Today, it has released the details of the Olympic and Paralympic Games review committee, which will have a 100-day mandate to settle the many questions over potential games venues.  And while 2032 may seem a long way off, it’s sobering to consider that Brisbane will actually be the Olympic city by the time of the next state election (after Los Angeles hands over the baton in July 2028).

To mark the opening of the Parliament, the SAS Group’s team of consultants has compiled a guide to the first Crisafulli Cabinet, which you can download here. It’s our insight into the 19 women and men who now lead the state. We’ve tried to help you understand what drives them based on their backgrounds, interests and guiding principles.

Queenslanders can expect there will be very little down time in 1 William Street over the Christmas break.  The Premier is well known for his work ethic and boundless energy, and he has written charter letters to all Cabinet Ministers outlining his expectation “that you will work every day of this term” to deliver on the Government’s priorities. 

While Ministers will no doubt receive a day or two of grace at Christmas, it’s a certainty that the offices will be busy across summer as the Government prepares to roll out its agenda in 2025.