The marriage of Bligh and her questioning Queensland public, have hardly been consummated, yet there's talk everywhere this weekend that she will come, I mean go. early.
As those getting ready for the onslaught of a Labor massacre from Coolangatta to Cairns, and Kurumba to Kuranda, the speculation has increased that Premier Anna Bligh is likely to call an early state election. According to the trusty source of right-wing propaganda NewsLTD, it would also leave "a September window for Kevin Rudd to go to the polls nationally."
Just this afternoon, Bligh announced Queensland's Speaker Mike Reynolds' retirement, paving the way for a likely election of Saturday March 28th - just six weeks away. The Courier Mail reports that Bligh might delay calling it until March 1 or 2, to "give her another sitting week in Parliament," meaning the minimum 26-day campaign.
The Courier-Mail poll of over 2,000, strongly weights against Labor.
There's been questions about the lack of visibility of local LNP candidates. However Joel Harrop, running for the seat of Cairns against the grandma of local politics Desley Boyle, has been door-knocked hundreds of houses since early January.
"People are pleased to see someone, ask questions and find out about their local MP. So many tell me they've never heard from the current MP," Joel Harrop says.
A local LNP (Liberal National Party) party insider, says it's an issue of getting noticed by the 'Big Mac Media'.
"Wendy Richardson, running for Barron River against Labor's Steve Wettenhall, has taken a well-researched look at the question of the Arnold Street lights at Aeroglen," the insider told CairnsBlog.
"She spoke to the residents and business owners, went down at peak hour with her camera, searched Government papers, looked at what Wettenhall and Pitt had said on the issue, and then went into bat for the speeding up of the already recommended installation of traffic lights as the safest solution to a dangerous situation," the LNP source said. "Wendy sent the call to the Cairns Post who promptly advised Wettenhall and Pitt in the interest of 'journalistic fairness'.
It was obvious that the Cairns Post did nothing with the information for several days, but then reported the announcement that Wettenhall and Pitt had got the 'green light' for the traffic lights.
Last Tuesday in Parliament, Steve Wettenhall spoke about the Cattana Wetlands at Smithfield. He implied that LNP was supporting placing residential developments on this unique wetland site, that will be connected to the proposed Smithfield Beaches Town Centre. I don't know where he gets these ideas from, but I know he's aware his 5.1% margin isn't much to hold onto.
Following the big wet we've all endured over the last month, Wendy Richardson, who has her own farm and an eco-tourism venture on the Tablelands, has been out to inspect creeks and washouts, many alongside poorly managed and policed developments. I've highlighted these on CairnsBlog over the last two years, that have sustained appalling damage under Labor's mis-management of the environment. Look no further than the major report last year stating that Queensland's environment is in decline under the last 10 years of Labor at the helm.
Richardson also visited the Clifton Beach high-density development, thirsty for first-hand information.
"All of us want a roof over our heads; our own space, to do that we do need to build accommodation for a growing population," the LNP source said. "So the issue is the need for a balance, lifestyle verses environment."
With a $59 billion debt in Queensland, how can you vote that lot back in?
14 comments:
Do you honestly think that the Nationals will be better at managing the environment than Labor? The bloody farmers from the Nationals will just dump tonnes more chemicals out into the great barrier reef, which I am sure will be fantastic for the environment.
And you think that the Nationals will miraculously rid of debt by making jobs 'denecessary' and by 'front-ending' them? How is a man who can’t even speak simple English meant to manage the economy? And how is he meant to keep the budget from going into deficit when governments across all levels all over the world are going into deficit in order to build infrastructure and stimulate jobs?
As for the hospital, their promises are just ridiculous. Planning a new hospital would take at least 3 years, and then another 2 or more to build it. So that's at least 5 years wait for another hospital with no upgrades of the current one, which is already at capacity. How much worse would it get in 5 years while we are waiting for the new one to be built? That also means another 5 years without oncology services. Not to mention the fact that to get the funds to build a new hospital (especially when they have said they won’t go into deficit) they would have to go into partnership with the private sector which means no more public hospital for cairns...how are all of those people who's jobs have been made 'denecessary' meant to pay to go to a private hospital.
The Nationals are a joke.
No prizes for guessing where Ralph 'The Borg" Wiggum gets his orders from. He repeats as mantra the Anna'ism of mis-calling the LNP. Or is it the Steve'ism in this case?
Yes the word national is in the LNP party name; its a shame such honesty is not reflected with the Australian (taking our orders from Peel Street Union Headquarters) Labor Party - but then ATOOFPSUHLP is a a little hard to not only pronounce but to remember. Try saying it several times in rapid succession - its a giggle for sure - which is about as much fun as you are likely to get out of Anna Bligh's mob!
Remember the Cairns Yacht Club !!! Off with their heads, enough said.....
In response to Noj, the LNP is clearly just the National Party renamed, otherwise why would half of the Liberal party members of QLD refuse to join the LNP, including people like Mal Brough. It's because they recognise the fact that the whole exercise was just a national party take over of the liberal party. that's why i will continue to call them the nationals. i'm glad to hear that Anna thinks the same way.
Well powerful stuff and it's just what I have been saying since the National takeover in July of last year. That we Liberals who are still out in the wilderness, with no where to go and no political home, since certain traitors in our own Party undermined and help dump the old QLD Liberal Party for this pile of Euro trash dog crap called the LNP, headed by Viking Boy or better know as the Smorgasbord!
I will never support the Smorgasbord and the LNP, but I do strongly support and highly recommend voting for the Conservative candidates of the North:
for Cairns Joel Harrop,
Barron River Wendy Richardson
and Mulgrave Vic Black!
All three have the vision and leadership to drag North Queensland out of the Dark Ages and into the light of good representation and clear thinking for the people of the North. These individuals will be working from day one for the North and not for Brisbane. I know when they are elected they will get things done up here, not wait for the nod form there Brisbane handlers. My only advice to this group is to ignore direction from the LNP organisational people from the South and run your campaigns on your own. If you listen to them you do so at your own peril!
If you disagree with me or questions my expert advice, check the dismal record of QLD State election drubbings by this bunch of campaign experts, ignore them! My Schnauzer Duncan knows more about running a winning political campaign, then those pack of idiots. You allow them to run a presidential style campaign and you can save your money and time and give up now. Why you ask? Well you will be running with Gomer Pyle not Ronald Reagan!
So Anna, thank you for not uttering the Liberal portion of the LNP name ever again, your 100% right those National grubs just don't deserve the right to use our name at any time!
A warning to the Nationals you can steal our name, but you can never truly have ownership of it! It belongs to the loyal and hard working members of the QLD Liberal Party and we will always own that name in spirit and in our hearts!
And that's the Northern Truth!!
The LNP will continue with upgrades on the CBH, as the facility needs immediate intervention in order to fix the Emergency Department crisis. This is a problem that was created under Labor mismanagement, and they have been unable to fix the crisis after more than a decade of government.
The LNP is committed to providing a public world-class health system for all Queenslanders. In the Cairns region, that starts with a proper hospital which not only provides enough beds to cope with our growing population, but also provides the full range of services we need. For example, there has been much talk of Radiation Oncology, which of course, our new hospital will have. However, there are other much needed services such as Urology which the Labor government has no intention of providing. The LNP will deliver a fully functional and comprehensive Tertiary Hospital for Far North Queensland.
Building a new hospital will create more jobs than trying to patch up the old one. Any kid with a calculator can work out that a $1 billion dollar health investment in Cairns will create more jobs than a short-sighted upgrade of an inadequate facility.
In terms of the name of the LNP, I am not concerned with what the Labor mis-managers tell their local "Emergency Response Team" to call us – about the only thing they're good at is producing the "dog whistle" around each election time. Everyone knows that Labor has failed Queensland and failed Cairns. We all know that the Labor Premier is building a new hospital in her own electorate, and that our local MPs supported that hospital being built. So why can't Cairns have a new hospital? Labor don't care about FNQ. Never have. Never will.
Joel Harrop
Candidate
Electorate of Cairns
Liberal National Party
Good on you Michael, it seems you have stirred up some interest again with this one!
I see Labor has produced an internet site on which Premier Bligh talks about ‘listening’ to people. At the risk of sounding like Scrooge, “Bah! Humbug!”
Most people equate listening in the political sense to ‘taking on board the constituents view point and at least working with people’. But the experience of Far North Queenslanders could not be more different!
Firstly Bligh didn’t listen four years ago when she was Minister for Education, when a group of local educators and parents warned her that literacy standards for many of our kids were way too low (I led this delegation and we all watched in dismay as she spent half an hour arrogantly avoiding our questions and suggestions.) Yet late last year she expressed grave concerns for our literacy standards, as if this was news to her, and she still hasn’t really heard the solutions.
Then of course she failed to listen to 3 petitions over 4 years with a total of 16,000 signatures, or the numerous letters and emails about the retention and restoration of the Old Cairns Yacht Club building.
Nothing anyone said was going to change this hard hearted and hard-hatted person, not even the logic that Heritage tourism was a growing market and we could have used the building as a hub for that. We didn’t even get a good reason why things had to go the way they did.
All secrecy — no accountability!
But perhaps worst of all her dictatorial ways, we got lumbered with the 2025 Strategic Plan. Most Far North Queenslanders still haven’t heard about this or understood its implications. That in itself is a disgrace. It is Brisbane’s plan for future land development of our region that has been very strongly criticized by local leaders, mostly for its lack of consultation and the resistance of the government to be willing to alter the plan even after major flaws were found.
One example of the nonsense Brisbane has created in ‘2025’ is that the plan cites our airport as ‘Prime Agricultural Land’. Now unless someone is planning to make mangrove furniture or farm the mud crabs, that is not correct. It would be funny, except it is just one mistake amongst many more significant problems with the Plan. More on that another time.
And if we need more proof of Bligh’s resistance to really listening to us, let’s go for amalgamation of the Shire Councils.
Now whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, the reality was that Bligh didn’t care how affronted people were to be ordered to do as she commanded. Bligh rode rough shod over everyone in her determination to push this through.
And it doesn’t stop there! Now we have forced fluoridation of our water supply. BIigh knows that referendums on the issue would fail so she had the necessity for them removed by amending the Fluoridation Act.
LNP fought hard to keep the referendums in place and if all else failed to at least subsidise the cost of reverse osmosis filters for people who did not want to consume or bathe in fluoridated water. But Bligh had the numbers, so like it or not, whether you believe the latest on fluoridation from experts who cast serious doubt on the idea, or not — you are getting it!
But perhaps I’m wrong! If we think about it, Bligh IS listening, but only long enough to figure out the spin that will negate our protests! Then she goes and does the opposite of what we want, over and over again!
Enough is enough!
Wendy Richardson
LNP Candidate for Barron River
At least we now know for sure where this blogger's political allegiances lie.
As Monty Python would say "Nudge nudge, wink wink - say no Moore".
Now that's way too funny when Lance-right-wing-Royce pipes in... and says things like "you can steal our [Liberal] name, but you can never truly have ownership of it!..."
I seem to recall the Libs got rid of you last year Mr Royce!!!
Something to do with that you're closer to Hilter that Stalin?
Johno
My my my my...the humanity! It sure is funny how proximity to an election can set the dogs howling.
I can't bring myself to pay any attention to anything said by those commenters hiding behind phony names.
"Sir Bwooce" for example would like us all to believe that Michael Moore has "political allegiances", as distinct from political analysis. Methinks Bwoocey is a very humdrum kind of shill - with zero nouce or understanding.
I'm 54 years old, and been politically active for decades. I don't believe in shining knights any more, just flawed human beings having a go.
Whenever the election is I'll be voting against the ALP 'cos they're tired, unimaginative, old-style head-kickers who've forgotten how to listen and respond.
LNP, LPG, Nats or Nazis, I'll be voting Green first and Labor last. Deadhead dropkicks with phony names - do whatever you want.
We will Bryan (if that's your real name), we will.
Would be good to see Desley follow in Warren Pitt's footsteps, out the exit door.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25068366-3102,00.html
Good constructive stuff, as usual. Not that anyone would notice, but premature ejaculation really only affects women. I would plagiarise that to say only a premature election will affect Sister Anna. And only ramping affects the poor beggars in the ambulance.
Thanks for the kind words re my activity on behalf of the people of Barron River Michael.
It would have been nice if the mainstream media had the same attitude, but unfortunately it is a well-known phenomenon in politics, that they are disinterested in candidates before an election is formally called.
Their reasoning seems to be that the public will be bored by all this 'political discussion'. I'm never sure why that means sitting members still get heard though.
And then there are the voters, who according to the same media, are not interested, but who always complain that they haven't heard anything from the opposition, and assume we have nothing to say.
Thank heaven the days of e-electioneering are beginning to be upon us, at least in some ways, so there are cheap or free ways for messages to get out whenever a candidate wishes.
Wendy Richardson,
LNP Candidate for Barron River
Post a Comment