Reforms pushed through as change of state govt looms

Fraser Barton and Savannah Meacham |

Queensland’s parliament will have later sittings in a bid to pass legislation before the election.
Queensland’s parliament will have later sittings in a bid to pass legislation before the election.

Queensland’s government will continue to push through legislative reforms before October’s election as the Liberal National Party dominates in the polls.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is on track to win the top job, with 44 per cent of respondents in the latest survey indicating the LNP will be their first preference at the ballot box.

Polling by Resolve Strategic, conducted between June and September for the Brisbane Times, showed 23 per cent of voters would put the Labor government first on the ballot, down three percentage points from May.

Mr Crisafulli is also ahead as preferred premier, with 40 per cent of the 939 Queenslanders surveyed giving him the nod and placing him 13 points clear of incumbent Premier Steven Miles.

David Crisafulli
Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is on track to become the next state premier. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

The polling was carried out during a big spending period and increased campaign announcements, with the government’s cost-of-living-centric budget in June plunging the state into a $2.6 billion deficit.

As the data forecasts a change of government, the first in nine years, parliamentarians are sitting for the last time before voters head to the polls on October 26.

The government has kick-started its final sitting week by passing laws that regulate assisted reproductive technologies.

The reforms provide greater access to information for donor-conceived people and establish a $7.9 million retrospective donor conception register, set to be operational in 2026.

Counselling services will be built into the register to support families, Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said. 

Queensland Health will have powers to shut down companies if they don’t comply with the laws, and to conduct inspections at provider facilities and impose conditions on licences. 

A limit on the number of families who use a particular donor will be set to 10, bringing Queensland in line with Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.

“Donor-conceived people in Queensland should be able to know their genetic and medical history, and I know that this has been long fought for, and it is well overdue,” Ms Fentiman said.

Queensland is one of the last remaining jurisdictions in Australia without a register.

Queensland's Parliament House (file image)
Queensland’s parliament will have later sittings in a bid to pass legislation before the election. (John Pryke/AAP PHOTOS)

Debate is expected on Wednesday over working with children and child safety laws, and vaping legislation. 

Valedictory speeches are due to be held for retiring MPs on Thursday. 

The last time the LNP held power in Queensland was between 2012 and 2015, when Campbell Newman won the largest house majority in state history. 

The Newman government held 78 of 89 seats. 

AAP