Limp Election Campaign Launch Does Anna Bligh No Favours

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Limp election campaign launch does Anna Bligh no favours • by:Steven Wardill • From:The Courier-Mail • February 20, 2012 12:01AM Yet the backdrop for Anna Bligh's first campaign contribution after her scheduled trip to see the Governor actually demonstrated Labor's weaknesses as much, if not more, than its strengths. The location was Ashgrove State School, where the "Keep Kate" team were blowing up balloons and painting signage in the pink hue Labor incumbent Kate Jones has chosen for her campaign. Labor's aim was to keep the Ashgrove electorate firmly in the forefront of voter's minds as the campaign for the March 24 election began in earnest. They wanted to sow seeds of doubt about the LNP's leadership by demonstrating just how hard they were fighting to retain the inner-western Brisbane seat. The aim was to continue pushing the issue of what happens in the event that the LNP wins but leader Campbell Newman loses Ashgrove. However, the Ashgrove campaign is also a graphic demonstration of the problem Labor has at this election. Jones is campaigning as "a local girl made good", not as a member of the Bligh Government. The Labor brand and Bligh herself are all but invisible amid the pink propaganda. This is not a campaign about winning an election with a positive agenda and a united team. It is about an individual candidate trying to separate herself from the baggage of her political brand. The contrast with Newman's launch could not have been more stark. He appeared at a golf club just a few kilometres away, with LNP candidates used as living cardboard cutouts behind the cameras. It was all about presenting the image of a team with Newman as the front man. While he continued to face questions about the leadership and the detail of his policies are as thin as the paper they are written on, Newman's pitch is strong and consistent. And, in the end, it was Bligh facing the bigger questions about leadership, given the Canberra melodrama that is now poisoning Queensland Labor's campaign. Bligh may have wanted that pink to point to the Ashgrove campaign. But an abattoir may have been a more appropriate backdrop, given this election is shaping as a bloodbath. At least it would have been the right colour: Labor red. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Queensland Election 2012: a Voters’ Firestorm
THE QUEENSLAND ELECTION 2012: A VOTERS’ FIRESTORM I. BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS The official Latin Motto for the State of Queensland is “Audax At Fidelis”, translated as “Bold But Faithful.” Both concepts were severely tested and sharply called into question by the historic and devastating result of the 2012 Queensland State Election. The heavily defeated Australian Labor Party Government of former Premier Anna Bligh attempted to be bold but was regarded by hundreds of thousands of voters as lacking in faithfulness. It was this clear perception of Labor in the eyes of voters as being out-of-touch, incompetent and unwilling to listen that cost the ALP Government in Queensland what is the worst electoral defeat in the Party’s own history. It was only the sixth time a sitting Government had been ousted since 1915, with the Parliamentary majority given to the Liberal National Party being the highest ever recorded in the State’s 152 year electoral history. 1 The following Table shows the general trend of results. Election/Votes LNP ALP Katter’s Party 2009 Election 34 Seats 51 Seats - 2012 Election 77 Seats 7 Seats 2 Seats Votes Gained 1,115,303 599,122 256,633 % Of Vote 49.85% 26.78% 11.47% % Swing Plus 8.25% Minus 15.47% Plus 11.47% The extent of the political destruction overtaking Labor can also be seen from the large number of former Ministers of the Crown who humiliatingly lost their seats. Minister Portfolio Seat Andrew Fraser Deputy Premier Mt Coot-tha Stirling Infrastructure Stafford Hinchcliffe Karen Struthers Women Algester Geoff Wilson
[Show full text]
Record of Proceedings
PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/ E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182 Subject FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT Page Wednesday, 15 February 2012 PETITIONS ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 117 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 117 Majella Global Technologies ................................................................................................................................................ 117 Tabled paper: ASIC records extract regarding Invictus Solutions Pty Ltd................................................................ 118 Tabled paper: Copy of emailed letter, dated 20 January 2011, from Seb Monsour, Executive Director, Global Relief Technologies—Asia Pacific to Mr John Bradley. ................................................................................ 118 Tabled paper: Copy of document by Global Relief Technologies titled ‘Rapid Data Management System’. ........... 118 Tabled paper: ASIC records extract regarding Invictus Solutions Pty Ltd................................................................ 118 Tabled paper: ASIC records extract regarding Frank Monsour Family Investments Pty Ltd...................................
[Show full text]
2015 Queensland State Election: an Overview
RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2015–16 17 SEPTEMBER 2015 2015 Queensland state election: an overview Dr Joy McCann and Simon Speldewinde Politics and Public Administration Section Executive summary • This paper provides an overview of the issues and outcomes for the January 2015 election for the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Where appropriate, it draws on the Library’s earlier publication on the 2012 Queensland state election.1 • The 2015 Queensland state election result surprised many observers with the dramatic shift in the fortunes of the two major parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP), having lost government at the 2012 election and retaining just seven seats, emerged with 44 of the 89 seats with a swing of 10.8 per cent. The Liberal National Party (LNP), which had won a record majority of 78 of the 89 seats at the 2012 state election, experienced a swing of 8.3 per cent against it with its seats reduced to 42. Of the remaining seats, two were won by Katter’s Australian Party and one by Independent Peter Wellington. • The election outcome was initially unclear when it was revealed that a Palmer United Party candidate was ineligible as a result of being an undischarged bankrupt. Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) indicated that it would refer the Ferny Grove election result to the Court of Disputed Returns but subsequently decided not to proceed based on legal advice, paving the way for the ALP to form minority government with the support of an Independent. • Several key issues emerged during the election campaign including political financing, privatisation and asset sales, the impact of mining on the Great Barrier Reef and anti-association laws.
[Show full text]
Ap2 Final 16.2.17
PALASZCZUK’S SECOND YEAR AN OVERVIEW OF 2016 ANN SCOTT HOWARD GUILLE ROGER SCOTT with cartoons by SEAN LEAHY Foreword This publication1 is the fifth in a series of Queensland political chronicles published by the TJRyan Foundation since 2012. The first two focussed on Parliament.2 They were written after the Liberal National Party had won a landslide victory and the Australian Labor Party was left with a tiny minority, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk. The third, Queensland 2014: Political Battleground,3 published in January 2015, was completed shortly before the LNP lost office in January 2015. In it we used military metaphors and the language which typified the final year of the Newman Government. The fourth, Palaszczuk’s First Year: a Political Juggling Act,4 covered the first year of the ALP minority government. The book had a cartoon by Sean Leahy on its cover which used circus metaphors to portray 2015 as a year of political balancing acts. It focussed on a single year, starting with the accession to power of the Palaszczuk Government in mid-February 2015. Given the parochial focus of our books we draw on a limited range of sources. The TJRyan Foundation website provides a repository for online sources including our own Research Reports on a range of Queensland policy areas, and papers catalogued by policy topic, as well as Queensland political history.5 A number of these reports give the historical background to the current study, particularly the anthology of contributions The Newman Years: Rise, Decline and Fall.6 Electronic links have been provided to open online sources, notably the ABC News, Brisbane Times, The Guardian, and The Conversation.
[Show full text]
Queensland's Budget Austerity and Its Impact on Social Welfare: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
Queensland's Budget Austerity and Its Impact on Social Welfare: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? GREG MARSTON School of Public Health and Social Work Queensland University of Technology While considerable attention has been paid to the austerity experi- ments in Europe, much less attention has been paid to austerity case studies from other parts of the world. This paper examines the case of Queensland, Australia, where the government has pur- sued austerity measures, while making dire warnings that unless public debt was slashed and the public service sector downsized, Queensland risked becoming the Spain of Australia. The compari- son is incomprehensible, given the very different economic situa- tion in Queensland compared with Spain. This comparison con- structed a sense of crisis that helped to mask standard neoliberal economic reform. While pursuing neoliberal economic policies, the Queensland Government has also been introducing draconian laws that limit civil liberties and political freedoms for ordinary citizens. This mix of authoritarianism and austerity has met con- siderable resistance, and this dynamic is discussed in the paper, along with the predictable and unequal impact that austerity measures have had on the general population and social services. Key words: Australia, Queensland, austerity, public service sector, economic policies, neoliberal In July 2012 the Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, declared that “Queensland risked becoming the Spain of Australia” ("Newman Makes," 2012, para. 1). The context for this statement was the lead up to a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting of all State and Territory Premiers and the Prime Minister of Australia to discuss a whole of government commitment to a new Commonwealth–State funded social insurance scheme for people living with a dis- ability.
[Show full text]
2012-13 Budget Estimates Additional Volume
2012-13 Budget Estimates Additional Volume Finance and Administration Committee October 2012 Table of Contents: Answers to Questions On Notice – Premier Answers to Questions On Notice – Treasurer Questions, and Responses, taken on Notice at Hearing - Premier Documents tabled at Hearing – Premier Documents tabled at Hearing – Treasurer Minutes Correspondence Copy of Answers to Questions on Notice- Premier FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Estimates Hearing 2012 – Finance and Administration Committee Question on Notice Government No. 1 QUESTION: With reference to the Service Delivery Statements 1–4, can the Premier detail how this Budget provides a new framework for law and order that will assist Queensland by funding initiatives including youth boot camps? ANSWER: The Queensland Government is committed to breaking the cycle of offending. This is why we have committed $2 million over two years for courts to provide young offenders and their families with a sentencing option to participate in the Youth Boot Camp Diversion Program. The youth boot camp commitment is one of the Government’s absolute priorities. It will provide a genuine circuit breaker for young repeat offenders, who would otherwise be facing incarceration. The model will commence with a three-month boot camp trial, which will deliver structured training and support for young offenders, followed by close mentoring and supervision. It will also adopt a whole of family approach to working with young offenders, to ensure that the gains achieved through the program are not lost when young people return to their families and communities. The boot camp program is well underway to commence in early 2013, and will divert 80 young people who are otherwise heading for detention or involvement in the criminal justice system.
[Show full text]
Regulatory Obesity, the Newman Diet and Outcomes for Planning Law in Queensland
Regulatory obesity, the Newman diet and outcomes for planning law in Queensland Philippa England* Since 2012, Queensland’s Liberal National Government, led by Campbell Newman, has passed several new or reformed environmental and planning statutes. In every case, cutting red tape, by eliminating duplication and procedural inefficiencies, was top of the agenda. The main pieces of legislation are: the Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) and Other Legisla- tion Amendment Act 2012 (Qld), the Sustainable Planning and Other Legisla- tion Amendment Act 2013 (Qld), the Economic Development Act 2012 (Qld) and, in 2014, the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 (Qld). This article analyses these statutes to assess their contribution to eliminating duplication and cutting red tape. INTRODUCTION In March 2012, the Liberal National Party, under the leadership of Campbell Newman, swept to power in Queensland with a decisive victory over a Labor government that had held the reins of power, with only one short break, since 1989. Top on the agenda of the new government was its mission to cut back on wasteful bureaucracy. By eliminating duplication and cutting red tape, it would become cheaper, easier and more profitable to do business in Queensland.1 Environmental regulation, including planning law, was quickly identified as a hindrance to development in all four “pillars” of the Queensland economy – tourism, agriculture, resources and construction. In a flurry of activity, the new government passed the Environmental Protection (Greentape Reduction) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2012 (Qld), the Sustainable Planning and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2013 (Qld), the Economic Development Act 2012 (Qld) and, in 2014, the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 (Qld).
[Show full text]
Louise Rollman Thesis
CURATING THE CITY: UNPACKING CONTEMPORARY ART PRODUCTION AND SPATIAL POLITICS IN BRISBANE Louise Rollman BA (Visual Arts) (Hons), Queensland University of Technology Principal Supervisor: Professor Andrew McNamara Associate Supervisors: Dr Emma Felton External Associate Supervisor: Dr Gretchen Coombs Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Visual Arts, Faculty of Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology 2018 Keywords Contemporary art; public art; commissioning for the public realm; curatorial practice; Henri Lefebvre, the right to the city and the right to imagine the city; arts policy infrastructure and institutionalization; cultural history. Curating the City: unpacking contemporary art production and spatial politics in Brisbane i Abstract Contemporary art and exhibition-making is increasingly deployed in the urban development and marketing of cities for political-economic benefit, yet the examination of the aesthetic and cultural aspects of urban life is curiously limited. In probing the unique political conditions of Brisbane, Australia, this thesis contrasts two periods — 1985-1988 and 2012-2015 — in order to more fully understand the critical pressures impacting upon the production of contemporary aesthetic projects. While drawing upon Henri Lefebvre's right to the city, and insisting upon a right to imagine the city, this thesis concludes that a consistent re-articulation of critical pressure, which anticipates oppositional positions, is necessary. Curating the City: unpacking
[Show full text]
Final Costs Will Be Determined When the 2007 Plan Is Released in the Middle of the Year
PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/ E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182 Subject FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT Page Wednesday, 14 March 2007 PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................................................................................... 965 Speaker’s Statement—Register of Members’ Interests ....................................................................................................... 965 PETITIONS ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 966 TABLED PAPER .............................................................................................................................................................................. 966 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 966 Water Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................................. 966 South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan ......................................................................................................................... 967 Gold Coast Desalination
[Show full text]
Submission to Senate Inquiry
Submission to Inquiry by Senate Select Committee into Certain Aspects of Queensland Government Administration related to Commonwealth Government Affairs 1. The Select Committee was established to inquire into and report on a range of issues pertaining to aspects of Queensland Government administration relating to Commonwealth Government affairs including “any other matter the committee considers relevant”.1 It is submitted that as part of its work it would be reasonable for the Select Committee to inquire into the following matter. 2. In 2013 the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee of the Australian Senate reported on its inquiry into “Conditions of Employment of State Public Sector Employees”. The Committee had received submissions from many people who had been adversely affected by the Newman LNP Government’s decision in 2012 to cut the jobs of thousands of Queensland government workers (including those holding temporary and permanent positions). The majority report of the Committee, while supporting the managerial prerogative of State governments to make decisions pertaining to their respective public sector workforces,2 concluded: Public sector reform is a contentious issue. The committee understands that staffing reductions and voluntary redundancies can have a significant impact on the individual workers affected, as well as families and communities. The committee trusts that state governments do not make these decisions lightly, and carefully consider the consequences of such reforms.3 3. It is submitted that the Newman Government’s decision to cut thousands of public sector jobs was highly ill-considered given the devastating consequences it had not only for the individuals concerned and their families but also for the whole Queensland economy.
[Show full text]
The Forthcoming Queensland Election
The Forthcoming Queensland Election SCOTT PRASSER Democratic Audit Discussion Paper January 2012 Scott Prasser is Professor of Public Policy and Executive Director of the Australian Catholic University’s Public Policy Institute based in Canberra. Democratic Audit Discussion Papers ISSN 1835-6559 1 Introduction The forthcoming Queensland State election is due by March 2012, though it can be held as late as June. Queensland has three year non-fixed terms. A complicating factor in the calling of the State election is that local government polls are set for 31 March. So, Labor Premier Anna Bligh has to decide to call an election in February, risk going in March near the local government election or to wait till the local government elections are finalised and go considerably later. The other option would be to delay the local government elections to make room for the State election in March. All this uncertainty sets the scene for what will be the most interesting Queensland election during the last decade given current polls, which put the incumbent Labor Administration behind the new Liberal National Party (LNP). The LNP formed in 2008 is an amalgamation of the National and Liberal parties, not a coalition of two separate as occurred previously in Queensland.1 At the 2009 election Premier Anna Bligh led the Labor Party to its fifth consecutive election win. Although suffering a 4.6% swing against it and losing 10 seats, Labor still won easily with 51 out of 89 seats in Queensland’s unicameral parliament. The LNP won 9 additional seats and saw its numbers increase from 25 to 34 – better than the previous four elections, but not good enough (see Tables 1 and 2).
[Show full text]
Beyond the War on Graffiti: the Right to Visual Expression in Urban Spaces
Beyond the War on Graffiti: The Right to Visual Expression in Urban Spaces Author Crawley, Karen Published 2015 Journal Title Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity Version Version of Record (VoR) Copyright Statement © The Author(s) 2015. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/99076 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au BEYOND THE WAR ON GRAFFITI ART SPECIAL ISSUE 2015 BEYOND THE WAR ON GRAFFITI: THE RIGHT TO VISUAL EXPRESSION IN URBAN SPACES KAREN CRAWLEY∗* This article draws on the work of urban scholars, activists, graffiti writers and street artists to explore alternative ways of thinking about visual expression in urban space, with a particular focus on Brisbane, Australia. The article first explores the limitations of criminalisation, arguing that a zero-tolerance approach is counterproductive. Next, the author explores the costly policy of rapid removal, arguing that despite the law’s apparent commitment to upholding property rights, the authorities are ultimately more concerned with maintaining control over the visual appearance of public space. Part four argues that graffiti writers and street artists articulate a different relationship to the city based on being a citizen rather than a property owner. The article concludes by suggesting that harm minimisation is better policy than zero tolerance, and that we need to remain open to the possibilities of illegal visual expression in urban spaces.
[Show full text]