The war of words between the Queensland Police Union, a former LNP government ally, and the government over funding shows no signs of abating.
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QPU President Ian Leavers all but accused the government of lying over funding promises for the police service in his latest union journal column.
"$80 million promised - $2.1 million was all that eventuated - and it wasn't even for what was promised in the first place," Mr Leavers wrote after an extended break down of the figures.
"And they wonder why we lose faith in politicians?"
Mr Nicholls said his black and white figures showed otherwise.
"No one has been able to point anything out that shows that anything other than what we have done in the budget, which is additional funding around all of those services, whether that is the extra police that are going on to the beat, the extra 850 police that we have already employed, whether that is the extra funding into vehicles, the two extra helicopters that we have got going, the iPads that police are now using – all of that equipment is all out there, it is all being provided by the government, on behalf of the tax payers and we are doing that because we believe police deserve all the support we can give them," Mr Nicholls said.
"I am not sure what Mr Leavers is doing or saying in relation to it. As you know, there are, as the Police Minister pointed out, some union elections that are due in February next year.
"We know that we are heading into the election period for the government.
"...We are providing the police with all that they need in order to do the job that they do so well."
The QPU had been a supporter of the Newman government. If recent exchanges between the two are any indication, that could change come the next election.
Vice-president Shayne Maxwell publicly claimed at least six LNP backbenchers had approached the union individually for support, if they were to run as independents at the next election, while Mr Leavers accused Mr Nicholls of attempting to "destabilise" the government, labelling him the "Kevin Rudd of the LNP".
Premier Campbell Newman backed Mr Nicholls in parliament against the attacks.
The shift in attitude appears to come from a $20 million promise which was made to the union to fund the government's alcohol and drug-fuelled reduction plan, the Safe Night Out precincts, which they said did not eventuate, despite what Mr Leavers described as a "face-to-face promise from Mr Newman.
When we raised it with the Government that the funding originally promised back in March did not seem to eventuate, we were reliably informed that, 'the Treasurer had vetoed it in CBRC'.
"CBRC is the Cabinet Budget Review Committee that approves all the Government's funding.
"It appears the announcement of the $20 million a year for policing the Safe Night Out Precincts was made long before the funding was even formally approved!
"I cannot vouch for the veracity of this claim, that the funding was 'vetoed in CBRC', other than to say that this is what we were reliably informed."
Mr Nicholls only holds one vote in the CBRC, and does not hold a veto power. The committee's deliberations are meant to be entirely confidential, which has led to questions about who blamed the treasurer – and why.
