Claims made on his official website by LNP Member for Cairns Gavin King are intended to mislead the public about his personal achievements and those of the Newman Government says Member for Mulgrave, Curtis Pitt.
“There are so many blatant misrepresentations of the truth that I can’t allow it to go unchallenged,” said Mr Pitt.
“So many of the claims are spurious, so much of the content false. He’s obviously already feeling pressure from voters in Cairns about being ‘Brisbane’s man in Cairns’, that he sees it necessary to embellish his record.”
Among the list of “projects, funding announcements and initiatives” since the LNP came to power, Mr King claims credit for announcing a $10 million mental health care facility at Manunda without admitting that it’s a Commonwealth funded project.
Under the heading of ‘Law and Order’ his website claims 39 additional police officers have been allocated to Cairns and says there is a new boot camp for Cairns.
“The Newman Government’s comical attempts to establish a boot camp in Cairns are well documented and I can’t understand anyone claiming it as anything other than an embarrassing debacle,” said Mr Pitt.
“As for the additional police officers, they just don’t exist. The Police Union, quoting the head of Queensland Police Service Human Resources, is on record this month saying there has been no increase in police numbers north of the Sunshine Coast since the LNP took office.
“Mr King also makes inflated claims for a range of tough crime-fighting measures as if a host of new laws are already in place. I can accept that the LNP has introduced some legislation, some of it highly criticised and misguided, but in most of the cases referred to by Mr King, the legislation has not yet been passed and the measures are not enacted.
“Some of the ‘laws’ have not even been introduced to Parliament yet.
“Under the heading ‘Jobs and the Economy’ he spruiks the false notion that there is now a streamlined approval process for the Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort. There is not because it has not yet been finalised.
“He claims that he, or the LNP, has secured direct flights with China Eastern without giving credit to the previous Labor Government whose initiative it was.
“And he lists the ‘$10 billion state-federal plan to fix the Bruce Highway’ without mentioning the not insubstantial rider that there is no money in the state budget for it.
“He also claims credit for the launch of a ‘Homes with Books’ program without providing any details about it. What he doesn’t mention is that his Government cancelled the Ready Reader Books for Bubs and axed the Pyjama Foundation which provided for reading to children in foster care.
“This is by no means an exhaustive list of the false claims contained on the website. Some of his simplistic claims on hospital funding should also be removed or at least clarified.
“Just like his claims that this year’s budget saw a real health funding increase of 3.5% for the Far North. This is less than inflation and population growth at 4.5%.
“I have no problem with local MPs keeping their constituents informed about their achievements, but fantasy should play no part in the information process.”
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