The man tipped to become Queensland's next premier may have bitten off more than he can chew after a controversial text message blitz.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli chowed down on pies and chewed the ears of locals on the campaign trail after early voters hit the polls on Monday.
But the Liberal National Party leader also bit back after being accused of launching a "Mediscare" text campaign before the first ballots were cast.
Flanked by the prime minister, Premier Steven Miles on Monday accused the LNP of lying after the opposition launched the texts.
Before pre-poll stations opened on Monday, the LNP blitz told Queenslanders to "stop Labor's patients' tax" and "change the government".
It refers to a payroll tax set to be imposed on general practitioners that the opposition claims would make visiting a doctor more expensive, end bulk billing in Queensland and make it harder to get an appointment.
Both the LNP opposition and Labor government have committed to abolishing the tax ahead of the October 26 poll.
Election favourite Mr Crisafulli reiterated the stance on Monday, defending the mass text message campaign as he visited the Sunshine Coast.
"I'm campaigning to remove a Labor tax if elected," he said in Labor-held seat Caloundra.
He also vowed there would be no change to abortion laws after again being peppered by reporters.
Mr Crisafulli sunk his teeth into a crispy pie at a Noosaville bakery before being given some food for thought by a punter at nearby Nambour.
Touring food bank supermarket Everyday Foundation, Mr Crisafulli had a conversation with a man who criticised the incumbent government's handling of the housing crisis.
"I hate to see politicians coming to a place and acting like they care, they pop in, good photo op but you're not really doing anything to change things are you?," said the man who did not want to be named.
Mr Miles instead travelled south with Anthony Albanese, taking the Gold Coast light rail to spruik his 50 cent public transport fares before chatting with families at a children's playground.
He took aim at the LNP's text message campaign, saying what they were claiming was untrue.
"There can be scare campaigns that are lies and scare campaigns that are true and we know that their claims about the patient tax are just lies," he said.
Labor also launched a text campaign, saying it "will ensure GPs don't pay payroll tax" and "the LNP hide their planned health cuts".
A NSW tribunal ruled in 2021 that tenant GPs were subject to payroll tax as they were employees not contractors, sparking changes nationally.
The state government struck an amnesty in 2023 meaning practices did not have to pay the tax until June 2025 or for the previous five years so the businesses could adjust before it came into effect.
The tax is set to be repealed after the election.
But long-standing Labor supporter and GP Jen Kettleton-Butler said she didn't trust the Miles government to stick to its word and scrap the tax.
"It just comes down to a trust issue and track record ... how the primary sector has been treated by this government over the last 18 months has been horrendous," she said.
Dr Kettleton-Butler is now the face of the LNP campaign, featured in a video speaking about the payroll tax's impact on GPs in the party's mass text messages to voters.
She claimed if the payroll tax continued, it would cost patients an extra $30 per visit on top of the average $80 fee.
