In Cairns today spruiking tourism, Palaszczuk announced a billion-dollar schools package, almost half of which will fund new classrooms in 46 existing schools. Other funds will go towards new or upgrades school halls and planning for 16 new schools.

“This is what my government is passionate about,” Palaszczuk said, adding that the building program would also create 3,000 jobs for tradespeople.

Palaszczuk said the LNP government of Campbell Newman had “closed schools and sold off land to the highest bidder”. Of Labor’s promised funding, some $180 million will also go to non-government schools.

Treasurer Cameron Dick confirmed $415 million of the funding would come from $4 billion in additional borrowings announced but not specified in his budget update. While Dick has already set aside two dedicated $500 million funds under that borrowing, of the remaining funds only $100 million had previously been allocated, this week, for TAFE upgrades.

That leaves almost $2.5 billion worth of projects and initiatives yet to be announced by Labor during the campaign.

While Dick continued his attack on the Liberal National Party, who he has accused of a secret plan to cut services and frontline staff to pay for promises, he confirmed that the rest of the schools package would also come from separate borrowings.

“All infrastructure investment now has to be funded through borrowings because we’re now in deficit,” Dick said.

“This is the same thing that happened to the LNP, when they went into an operating deficit. You have to borrow to build infrastructure.”

Asked whether Labor was leaving a bigger debt for future generations, Dick said the borrowing was needed to create jobs, and pointed to even larger borrowing by the federal Morrison government. He has already sought to contrast the Morrison government approach with the Queensland LNP’s bid to repair the budget.

“The LNP are hell bent on delivering a surplus and they will cut to do it,” he said.

Having previously declared a re-elected Labor government would not push through any new taxes for households, Dick today went a step further and ruled out new taxes altogether.

“There will be no new taxes under the Labor government,” Dick said.

Both Labor and the LNP government have promised to prioritise a budget if elected on October 31.

Palaszczuk avoided a campaign encounter with Frecklington in Townsville by heading to Cairns today, where her political rival had campaigned yesterday. The Premier revealed the Skyrail had been given a $5 million concessional loan to keep operating, and announced 20 women’s basketball games would be played in Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, in a further boost to local tourism and hospitality operators.