In a heated parliamentary exchange, Annastacia Palaszczuk slammed David Crisafulli for accusing her of being overly preoccupied with “glitz” and “glamour.”
A sour-faced Queensland Premier cautioned Mr. Crisafulli not to approach her during social occasions outside of office hours, and then slammed her in Parliament, during a budget estimates session on Tuesday.
And I advise the Leader of the Opposition not to approach me at social gatherings and be kind, then come in here and put on a show, Ms. Palaszczuk remarked.
“You approach and are polite. I photograph you with Peter Beattie, a former premier.
In his questioning of the premier, Mr. Crisafulli focused on records pertaining to the $200 million “white elephant” quarantine facility at Wellcamp.
After she sarcastically demanded to see Cabinet documents from when he was in government, the opposition charged that the premier had “no future, no vision.”
We’d love to see the Cabinet documents from your period in office as well; wouldn’t that be a doozy? stated Ms. Palaszczuk.
The public service cuts, which total 14,000, would make for very interesting reading.
The building is over there at 1 William Street.
When Mr. Cristafulli intervened, “Same old games, round and round… red carpet, bling, glamour, no vision,” the argument reached a boiling point.
Ms. Palaszczuk has come under fire recently for a string of red carpet appearances she made with her lover, surgeon Reza Adib.
The Premier retorted, “You’re precisely like (previous Liberal premier) Campbell Newman.”
“As I sit here, it feels exactly like Campbell Newman again.”
After Ms. Palaszczuk demanded that Mr. Cristafulli retract his remarks, the argument came to an end.
Ms. Palaszczuk’s commitment to her job was called into question after insiders allegedly stated that MPs and high-ranking government employees were unhappy with her propensity to frequently attend glamorous social gatherings.
Ms. Palaszczuk has attended multiple high-profile events since the start of the year, including three in just two weeks.
Ms. Palaszczuk was spotted on January 15 at the Magic Millions Race Day and on June 4 at the Elvis movie premiere.
She then attended several events, including the TV Week Logie Awards on June 19 and the Strabroke Handicap race day on June 11.
Visits to prominent events were “part of her job,” Ms. Palaszczuk asserted, adding that she was on top of her tasks.