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QUEENSLAND Good Organisational Skills Chronicle 233 US politicians. The "party boss" governed without rivals from a strong power base using QUEENSLAND good organisational skills. But "boss" leaders tended to have low levels of activism and low levels of innovation in policy terms. In a sense, their leadership was a holding operation. The Goss Labor Government: Structured Underachievement or Progressive EARC's New Electoral Redistribution for the Conservatism? Legislative Assembly The Goss Labor government began 1991 in firm The Electoral and Administrative Review control of the political agenda and with a high Commission announced its new electoral level of confidence. By the end of the year they redistribution on 30 August for the eighty-nine were showing considerable strain as a Legislative Assembly seats. Five electoral parliamentary rorts scandal claimed the scalps districts of over 100,000 square kilometres of two ministers. A growing nervousness (Charters Towers, Cook, Mount Isa, Gregory, characterised the state government and signs of and Warrego) were given a weightage policy inertia and indecision were apparent. The advantage ranging from 3,906 notional voters to government moved into damage control, 7,193 voters, whereas the other eighty-four actively battening down the hatches even electorates were expected to have a quota of though they were still twelve months away from 23,128 by 1995. By contrast, Warrego, one of the next election. With revived spirits among the larger land mass seats was expected to have the non-Labor parties, the Goss team was only 11,482 electors. This effectively provided relieved to struggle through to the Christmas Warrego voters with a vote worth twice that of break. By December a crisis of political will the eighty-four unweighted electorates. imposed itself over the government's previously With many of the proposed seats involving cavalier style. entirely new boundaries with new names, The overriding philosophy guiding existing politicians immediately began jossling government policy was that Queenslanders were for safe areas to represent. The Labor Party innately conservative and resented any resolved some fifty of its seats in late September significant changes. This confined government and early October, leaving only three sitting action and imposed a fairly limited filter over members to contest local plebiscites (although decision-making according to electoral damage. at one time both the Environment Minister, Pat Where the electorate appeared not to care or to Comben, and new boy Rod Welford, were be uninterested in issues, this gave the contesting the seat of Kedron). In the National government room to manoeuvre, but where Party the then leader Russell Cooper appeared electorally sensitive issues emerged the left out when Brian Littleproud received government ducked for cover. Thus, Goss backing for the seat of Western Downs strenuously opposed the decriminalisation of (covering Roma, Chinchilla and Dalby). Cooper prostitution, pornography remained restricted, had to opt for Crows Nest — a similarly safe and the government performed a backflip over seat and one much closer to Brisbane than his the contentious issue of daylight saving because old seat of Roma — but one which was some of rural opposition. Government ministers and 350 kilometres from his property. As a face- advisers, who tended to regard themselves as saving ploy the Nationals announced that smart operators, were prepared to show a little Cooper had "chosen" the Crows Nest electorate structured underachievement and slip easily into because it was fitting that the party leader was a style of gradual conservatism. In response, a closer to Brisbane. Other battles ensued over number of pointed jokes circulated in safe conservative seats between sitting members Queensland about nothing changing in in the Liberal and National Parties. The new Queensland. seat of Surfer's Paradise was to be contested by The role of the Premier, Wayne Goss, and the sitting Deputy Leader of the Nationals, Rob his style of management was emerging by late Borbidge, and the Liberal's Trevor Coomber 1991. Goss worked at the image of a popular, (then the member for Currumbin), in what ordinary, hard-working leader. He maintained would become a tight contest on the 1989 high credibility in opinion polls, and was by fax figures. the Labor Party's main asset. In leadership The process of reforming the state's electoral terms, though, Goss assumed the role of a seats by EARC was in the end a major typical "party boss" in a similar way to many achievement by the Commission. EARC 234 Chronicle successfully diffused a potentially highly police, and provided for the expansion of charged and contentious political issue of available financial assistance for low income immediate concern to serving politicians and home ownership. The Treasurer also announced their political party machines. The new system slight reductions in land tax rates and payroll was introduced with little fuss, and with a tax. Although the Treasurer kept the promise of measure of broad acceptance. But the issue of "no new taxes", the government announced optional preferential voting was a remaining (contrary to CJC recommendations) that poker "worry" to party organisers in all three major machines would be introduced into Queensland, parties. with an expected revenue to the government of $80-100 million. Following the Budget, teacher The Bjelke-Petersen Perjury Trial numbers were increased by 1,500 in an attempt to absorb the numbers of graduates looking for The trial of Joh Bjelke-Petersen commenced on positions. 24 September with perhaps more media interest Local business generally welcomed the than a royal visit. Although initially charged budget's measures, especially the capital works with three counts of perjury and official programme. The Opposition presented a very corruption, the former premier was tried on only different assessment of the Budget, claiming one charge of perjury. The trial lasted over four that it simply maintained present arrangements, weeks ending on 19 October, and in the end and was not sufficiently directed toward job produced an inconclusive result (thus a not creation and private sector growth. guilty verdict) due to a hung jury. Allegations Clearly, the rural drought impacted on the surfaced after the trial that the jury had been state budget in both reducing some sources of purposely stymied on political grounds (with a revenue from affected industries (and regions), 10-2 split going against the former premier). and in requiring additional state expenditure to The Crown Special Prosecutor decided not to alleviate the effects of the drought on farmers. push for a retrial due in part to the age of the The cost of the drought was calculated by former premier. Treasury to be in the order of $570 million to In the trial the previous state president of the the state's gross domestic product. Moreover, a Nationals, Robert Sparkes, and a number of rescue package of $38 million was also set aside former private secretaries admitted in court that as compensation for the timber industry as a the former premier's thought processes were not consequence of the Fraser Island Inquiry, which methodical, that he was inarticulate and would recommended a stop to logging within six often forget details and names of people he months. knew well. The Crown, fearing that it might not secure a conviction if this evidence was The Public Sector Management Commission unchallenged, countered by suggesting that the former premier was not befuddled but had In its first full year of operations the PSMC cost deliberately lied to the Fitzgerald Inquiry. But $3.6 million (1990-91) and employed fifty-three the evidence presented by the Crown was not full time staff plus casual staff and assistance sufficient to convince the jury thus implying seconded from agencies under review. During that the former premier's defence was accepted. the last six months of 1991 the review area The man Bjelke-Petersen appointed as his completed its programme of first-round police commissioner was less fortunate. In management reviews into departments. Reviews August 1991 Terry Lewis was gaoled for of Education, DEVETIR, and Tourism Sport fourteen years for corruption. The former police and Racing were completed by September, commissioner was found guilty on fifteen while reviews into the last departments of counts of corruption spanning over a decade and Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander began his sentence the day before crime bosses Affairs, Transport, Resource Industries and Geraldo Bellino and Vittorio Conte were also Housing and Local Government, were gaoled for seven years for bribery. completed by the year's end. With these completed the review area was to be scaled A "Helping Hand" Budget down with its future role being to oversee implementation and conduct smaller functional The state Budget was described by the Treasurer reviews. as "a helping hand" but responsible budget for In the PSMC's work plan for the latter part of Queensland. It included a modest growth in 1991 they developed principles for capital works (up to $3 billion), in education regionalisation some time after many agencies funding, health and nursing, national parks, had actually regionalised. The Commission Chronicle 235 supervised the introduction of the Senior Aboriginal adviser to the government, Marcia Executive Service from 1 July 1991 (involving Langton, also resigned at this time because of around 300 senior public officials). SES officers
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