Queensland July to December, 2008
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Political Chronicles 279 Queensland July to December, 2008 PAUL D. WILLIAMS School of Humanities, Griffith University Overview The second half of 2008 underscored the end of Premier Anna Bligh's honeymoon with the Queensland electorate. Media and public outrage over an alleged lack of ministerial and bureaucratic integrity, continuing policy crises in water, health and education, and the spectre of a successfully merged Liberal-National Party all haunted government strategists powerless to halt Labor's public opinion decline. As the global financial crisis bit into Queensland's economy, it seemed all a "small target" LNP Opposition had to do was wait. July The period opened explosively when District Court Judge Hugh Boning dismissed charges against paedophile Dennis Ferguson on the grounds his notoriety would prevent a fair trial. Botting's judgment would be overturned in August after Attorney- General Kerry Shine ordered the Director of Prosecutions to appeal, but not before igniting fears of the allegedly errant surgeon Dr Jayant Patel — the so-called "Dr Death" of Bundaberg Hospital — escaping justice on similar grounds (see previous Chronicles). In the interim, the now released Ferguson was forced to relocate several 280 Political Chronicles times around South East Queensland, under expensive police protection, to evade angry local mobs. But the real soap opera belonged to the Liberal and National parties. On the eve of their merger, billionaire businessman Clive Palmer raised questions of political influence when he allegedly donated $100,000 to the cash-strapped Coalition (Courier Mail, 2 July 2008). Despite declaring an early intention to become inaugural Liberal- National Party (LNP) president, incumbent Liberal President Mal Brough soon dropped out, leaving just a Liberal Gary Spence and Nationals' President Bruce McIver. But legal advice suggested any amalgamation agreement may be void should four of the Liberals' six state divisions, and the Federal Council, fail to approve the merger. Matters were hardly helped when Federal President Alan Stockdale insisted a Liberal be the first LNP President lest the new party merely resemble a Nationals' takeover. The now sceptical Brough, with the support of Stockdale, then called an emergency State Council meeting to postpone amalgamation. But when four of the Liberals' eight MPs (Mark McArdle, Steve Dickson, Jann Stuckey and Tim Nicholls) threatened to resign should the merger be scuttled, amalgamation was voted to proceed, and was soon supported by federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson and Nationals leader Warren Truss. It was a far cry from Prime Minister John Howard's previous reservations. But, just two days before the joint party convention, the Liberals' forty-seven- member State Council voted, 26-21, to postpone the merger, ostensibly on advice that Stockdale was preparing an alternative to amalgamation. Pro-merger Liberals again warned they would walk should the merger be dropped. When Supreme Court Justice Glen Martin overturned the State Council's resolution, the convention of 26-27 July proceeded, with the two parties, after separately endorsing amalgamation, symbolically coming together with the lifting of a room partition. McIver was elected inaugural President, with Nationals leader Lawrence Springborg leader and McArdle the new deputy. Brough vowed never to join the new party, and Liberal Sue Boyce refused to call herself an LNP senator. Premier Anna Bligh wrested back the spotlight by way of strong leadership, insisting Canberra lift its share of health funding from 35 per cent to 50 per cent (or $2.1 billion), and in halting — amid local residents' complaints — a new Mater Hospital car park in Bligh's own South Brisbane electorate (Courier Mail, 5-6 July; 9 July 2008). Bligh on 6 July also announced Penny Wensley as Queensland's twenty- fifth Governor to replace Quentin Bryce — Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's choice for Governor-General. Despite murmurs over Wensley's long absence from Queensland, and her $79,000 pay rise to $190,000 per annum, the new Governor took her Oath on 29 July (Courier Mail, 7 July 2008). But the government faced more serious issues. Firstly, there was anger at a $30,441 bill for public servants' attendance at Bligh's public addresses — one the Premier defended as civil service networking. Secondly, Scott Flavell, former Director-General of Employment and Training under Peter Beattie, admitted to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) he had emailed "sensitive" information to a Brisbane businessman — with whom Flavell would later establish a commercial enterprise — concerning potential government grants. By year's end, the CMC would recommend ex-ministers and bureaucrats be banned from lobbying former colleagues for at least two years. But Bligh faced the toughest criticism when she failed to reveal in the Members' Pecuniary Interests Register a gratis three week holiday at the luxury Sydney home of former federal Labor minister, Ros Kelly. As this $60,000 "gift" far Political Chronicles 281 exceeded the $500 threshold for declaration, and as Kelly was also a director of the leviathan developer Theiss, few were surprised at the clamour. But Bligh's reputation suffered only further when she denied the need to consult the state's Integrity Commissioner. Despite her backflipping days later and declaring the holiday, the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee in November still rebuked the Premier for her oversight. Health soon returned to the headlines as Dr Patel returned from Los Angeles on 21 July. Patel, on fourteen charges including manslaughter, immediately faced a Brisbane court, and was bailed on $20,000 surety (Courier Mail, 19-20 July 2008). Bligh then proudly announced a coal port at Shoalwater Harbour in central Queensland, but only attracted environmentalists' criticism for being "stuck in the past". August Emboldened by his merger success, the Opposition Leader distributed "I love the Borg" tee shirts and pledged to axe all eleven parliamentary secretaries (increased from six under Beattie in 2006) in a $3 million saving (Courier Mail, 1 August 2008). But the first post-merger Galaxy opinion poll offered little optimism, pegging the new LNP two points lower than the old Coalition to just 40 per cent primary vote, compared to Labor's 44 per cent. But this did not prevent rumours of defeated federal Coalition MPs lining up for LNP candidacy. Campbell Newman hardly enhanced the unity cause when he insisted his Brisbane team were Liberal — and not LNP — councillors, nor did a leaked email referring to former Liberal director Geoff Greene's allegedly large separation payout. Former Liberal leader Bruce Flegg could perhaps have cared less, given his replacement as Treasury spokesperson by factional rival Tim Nicholls. Bligh, too, appeared reform-minded when the government legislated for judge-only trials (at defendants' request), and for majority jury verdicts. On 20 August, Bligh released the government's long-awaited response to the Solomon review of FOI laws (see previous chronicle), with a pledge to support in full 116 of Solomon's 141 recommendations, partially support another 23, and reject only two <http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=59777 >. This would, Bligh said, "completely re-write" cabinet disclosure rules and make Queensland the most transparent administration in the country (Courier Mail, 21 August 2008). While formal cabinet submissions, briefing notes, and documents compromising personal privacy and commercial-in-confidence would still remain secret for twenty years (reduced from thirty), a document's mere presence in the cabinet room would no longer be cause for exemption. A Privacy Commissioner would also be appointed by mid-2009. Political donation laws also came under review, with Queensland legislation now mirroring federal thresholds of $1,000 before disclosure. In a rumoured bid to embarrass billionaire and LNP backer Clive Palmer, donations of over $100,000 must now be declared within fourteen days. But Bligh's leadership continued to be undermined from within her own faction as the Premier clashed with newly-elected state Party President and Left acolyte, Andrew Dettmer, over her alleged failure to secure more pre-election MP retirements. When Bligh prematurely gave public endorsement to long-serving sitting MPs, documents were leaked suggesting Bligh's leadership was "weak" (Courier Mail, 21, 22 August 2008). Education Minister Rod Welford the following month announced his departure from Everton, and lambasted colleagues for not making similar considerations. The Premier then added a touch of populism in calling for a ban on "junk food" advertisements during children's television programming. Former Premier Peter 282 Political Chronicles Beattie, meanwhile, admitted he enjoyed his new Los Angeles role and told his critics to "get stuffed" (Courier Mail, 30-31 August, 2008). September The Premier began the month on a note of fiscal prudence. On the heels of damaging stories of bureaucratic excess — aggressive news agendas largely run by The Courier Mail against Queensland Rail's so-called "Gravy Train" in April and its $30,000 "Riverfire" celebrations in August — Bligh urged restraint among CEOs of all government-owned corporations. But in November the issue would arise again when it was revealed the Port of Brisbane had planned, but later cancelled, a $40,000 Christmas party. The government was further embarrassed at ministerial expenses growing between 2007 and 2008 by 6.9 per cent to $32.2 million per annum, a rise Bligh defended as "prudent", and in December when it was reported a $30 per month bottled water allowance for ministerial limousines had been introduced, along with memberships to Qantas Club's Chairman's Lounge being extended to ministers' partners (Courier Mail 27 August 2008; 22 December 2008). Education policy soon resembled health failures when figures showed Queensland children trailed all states across Year Seven performance benchmarks: where 90 per cent of Victorian twelve-year-olds met minimum standards, only 77 per cent of the Queensland cohort did likewise (Courier Mail, 5 September 2008).