Annastacia Palaszczuk has made an embarrassing stumble in her campaign as the Labor party prepares to release its costings, failing to answer when asked what the rate of the goods and services tax was.
The opposition leader was campaigning in Townsville but called into the Brisbane commercial radio station FM97.3 to take part in a 10-questions-within-60-seconds segment.
The first question was: “The goods and services tax is taxed at what percentage?”
“Pass,” Palaszczuk responded.
She went on to answer six of the 10 questions correctly but was chastised by one of the hosts at the end of the 60 seconds. Told the rate was 10%, Palaszczuk responded: “That’s what I thought”.
“They’re going to change it,” she said when asked by one of the hosts how she could not know the answer.
Palaszczuk later brushed off the incident at a press conference in Gladstone, blaming it on a lack of coffee.
Asked again what the rate was, she responded: “The GST is 10%.
“I did three radio interviews, I didn’t have my coffee, these things happen,” she said.
With just two days left before the election, the polls have the major parties neck and neck. After Palaszczuk’s pass on the GST question the premier, Campbell Newman, quickly changed his campaign tack, flying from Cairns to Brisbane instead of continuing to visit regional electorates.
His advisers said the imminent release of Labor’s costings was the reason for the change, although it has been known since Wednesday when that announcement would be made.
Asked the same question about the GST rate, Newman did not give a specific answer.
“Look, I heard that, and people will draw their own conclusions. I know full well the rate but, again, this campaign is crystallising as a contest between the LNP who have the clear economic and financial management credentials to create jobs, to fund the future, versus the Labor party who do not have the credibility,” he said.
“They won’t create jobs. Frankly there’s been a whole lot of announcements that will destroy jobs – not just in the far north, but right across the state.”
