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Wendy Richardson withdraws from Barron River race

Four-time political candidate, Wendy Richardson, has said she will not contest the Baron River seat at the upcoming State election, due to family matters.

Richardson, who won on the primary vote in the last State election, but preferences from the Greens favoured Labor's Steve Wettenhall, said it was a "very difficult decision."

“I have been very committed to providing honest, decent and hard-working representation in government, and I still have great faith that this can be achieved by the right individuals,” Wendy Richardson said. “However, my partner has new work opportunities away from Cairns for a while, and family rightly comes first in these considerations."

Richardson, who still has a working farm on the Atherton Tablelands, will continue to undertake her speech pathology services in the Far North.

“The well-being of the people of my home town of Cairns and its beautiful surrounding region will always be very important to me, and I will stay involved politically, though from the sidelines for the time being,” Richardson says. “I am very happy to see other worthy candidates running in the region and wish them well in maintaining their resolve to fight for the best for the electorate and the region.”

“Standing for election is far harder than most people imagine; it requires massive personal input of time, energy, resilience, and financial resources in order to even have a chance. But most of all, I believe it requires strength of character to withstand the public’s understandable skepticism about anyone putting their hand up for election.”

“I would like to see the public rally behind good candidates, helping them to maintain their integrity, not demeaning them before they even start," she said today. "However, I’m sure others feel too that it is high time for politicians and parties everywhere to lift their game; to do what they were elected to do – simply, properly and effectively.”

“Politics should be about a contest of ideas, not the contest of personalities we currently see.”

Premier Bligh explains election date choice

Here's in Premier Anna Bligh's statement on the State election announcement, and how this will affect the Local Government elections.

The current Parliament will enter ''caretaker mode'' on February 19th and will seek to move the upcoming local government elections to late April or early May. The deferral of the State election was made after Bligh received a request from the Floods Commission of Inquiry for an extension of time until the 16th of March to complete the report.

• "The Commission and the Commissioners have my full support in their decision to hold further hearings and in their request for an extension of time," Premier Anna Bligh said. "I established this inquiry because I wanted answers about the circumstances of the floods. I said I would leave no stone unturned and I meant it."
  
  "My family and the people I love, live in this city and, like every other Queenslander I want the truth about what happened last year. It had been my intention to call the state election for a March 3rd or 10th - after the COI report had been due for release, giving the public the opportunity to consider the report and the responses of the major parties to the recommendations."
  
  "It is not now possible to do that without denying Queenslanders the opportunity to consider the Commission of Inquiry Report," she said.
  
  "So, I intend to call the 2012 State election for Saturday the 24th of March – giving the public time to consider the findings of the inquiry. I intend to visit the Governor on Sunday the 19th of February to ask her to dissolve the Parliament and issue the writs for a 24th March election.
  
  "This would make the State election date just one week prior to the scheduled Local Government elections on March 31," she said.
  
  "I don’t believe that would be fair to local candidates or to the public and the LGAQ themselves have described the prospect of simultaneous state and local government campaigns as disastrous."
  
  "Local government is entitled to be consulted on this proposed change and I have instructed the Attorney General and Minister for Local Government to do so today.
  
  "But I will make it clear that the deferral of local government elections will be for the shortest reasonable period - most likely to be late April or early May and a final date will be agreed before the end of this month."
  
  "For local government, I understand that this will cause some political inconvenience and I regret that these unusual and unpredictable circumstances have given rise to this decision. However, for those who suffered in the floods and are still living with the consequences, there is much more at stake here than mere inconvenience.
  
  "What is at stake here is the truth about the cause of our floods and that matters to its victims. It also goes to the heart of the future safety of our State and its people."
  
  

Queensland election March 24, Council election late April

The Queensland State election has been called for Saturday March 24, with local Council election expected late April or even early May.

This will provide a long two-month election campaign.

Premier Bligh's announcement also suggested she wanted to go to the polls on March 3rd, however wanted to grant an extension to the 2011 flood inquiry to examine new claims that the Wivenhoe dam was mismanaged.

The decision to delay the flood report will anger many as it is very likely Anna Bligh and Labor will be dumped at the State election, well before the investigation reveals the State Government's serious management that exacerbated the death toll.

Former Val Schier candidate, Richie Bates, joins Bob Manning's Unity team

Trade Union and Labor activist Richie Bates, has joined the Unity team to contest the central city division 5 seat for Cairns Regional Council.

Bates will join a team headed by former Cairns Ports chief Bob Manning, who will contest the mayoralty.

"Cairns needs a collaborative and disciplined Council, one that will work together for the benefit of the region," said Richie Bates, who has been outspoken in recent weeks about the current Council's inability to work together over issues like the Cairns Entertainment Precinct.

Richie Bates says the Unity team represents a diverse group.

''It is a team that is broadly representative of the community and ready to govern for all," Bates says. "Bob Manning has shown courage and passion by bringing together a cohesive team of people from a range of backgrounds and expertise."

"Unfortunately, independent candidates have not delivered the cooperative approach needed to restore confidence and prosperity to this city," Richie Bates says. "The Cairns region deserves much better and now is the time to return to a united team for the community, Unity 2012 is that team."