Shadow Treasurer Curtis Pitt says thanks to Treasurer Tim Nicholls the Newman Government cannot argue 99-year leases over facilities such as ports are not asset sales.

Mr Pitt also said the LNP was tainting the Queensland Plan process by pushing its asset sales agenda in its official response to the plan.

“Tim Nicholls is on the record as saying 99-year leases are asset sales,” he said.

“If anyone in the LNP tries to suggest 99-leases over assets such as export ports are not asset sales, then they need to ask Mr Nicholls to explain his unambiguous previous statements.”

Mr Pitt said on 23 March 2010 in State Parliament Mr Nicholls said:

“As anyone would know if they had observed the privatisation of assets, a 99-year lease is as good as giving away the farm….”

“Just more than four years ago Mr Nicholls was very clear that a 99-year lease is an asset sale,” Mr Pitt said.

“If he tries to argue differently he needs to confess whether he was misleading Queenslanders then or is he misleading them now.”

Mr Pitt said the Newman Government’s official response to the Queensland Plan injected its own plan for asset sales even though they did not form part of the Queensland Plan outcomes.

“It’s clear that Campbell Newman’s Queensland Plan is simply Campbell Newman’s asset sales plan,” he said.

“By trying to use the Queensland Plan to justify plans for asset sales, the Newman Government is tainting what it has always claimed was a non-political process to develop a 30-year vision for our state.

“Its response shows the LNP will stop at nothing to push its asset sales agenda.

“It once again proves the decision to sell assets has already been taken by the Newman Government despite its claim that it will seek a mandate from voters at the next election.

“We already know big multi-national consultants are at work right now and are being paid unknown millions of dollars in public funds to ready assets for sale.

“The LNP won’t tell taxpayers how much of their money they are spending on this process.

“Regardless of what Queenslanders want, the LNP will sell assets. The Labor Party won’t.

“That’s the stark choice voters will have at the next election,” Mr Pitt said.