Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk scrapped the land tax change after facing disapproval from other state and territory leaders.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“He’s delivered a very good budget,and contrary to public opinion,everyone in the cabinet gets along well and has full and frank discussions,” Palaszczuk said on Tuesday in response to questions about her support for Dick’s judgment.
The land tax change,announced in December and backed by legislative amendments passed this year that are now likely to be unwound,would have essentially lowered the tax-free threshold for those with landholdings in other states.
Property groups,the state opposition and other state and territory leaders – most notably NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet – campaigned strenuously against the change,labelling it a “renters’ tax” amid cost of living pressures.
Facing media in far north Queensland,Palaszczuk said she spoke with her interstate counterparts about the issue in Canberra last week because she “wanted to get to the bottom of the origins” of the concerns.
“This is going back to before it was implemented;before it went through the budget. There[were] discussions with the treasurers across Australia,” she said.
When defending the scheme – slated to earn the government an extra $20 million and impact about 10,000 people – Dick did not publicly detail any pushback from other states and territories.