Saturday 21 March 2009

Springborg concedes, phones Bligh

Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg phoned Anna Bligh at 8:15pm to congratulate her on the ALP win.

He has also announced that he will stand down as leader of the LNP, following three attempts to lead his party. He will remain as the member for Southern Downs.

7 comments:

KitchenSlut said...

That’s a shocker result i think! With potential national political consequences .....

Feeling sorry for Wendy Richardson who is someone i personally know and respect deeply. I will always recall a personal conversation at the regional gallery a few years back between Wendy and Val Shier when both were coping with personal political losses from the last electoral round and yet both saw them themselves as winners for having competed and stood up. Good on you both!

Apart from any personal bias none of the ALP local members deserve endorsement and this can only entrench their belief in the success of inappropriate behaviour in resort to evolutionary tribal party politics? The wall to wall coverage in Cairns is not a positive exept for some Neanderthal beings?

Incompetence rewarded has never in my experience led to fulfilling outcomes ..... many things to think about on this beyond politics the philosophical bent of the Qld dominated Federal ALP leadership is not in sync with that of the Hawk/Keating’s that have deserved support from free thinking liberals in the past .......

All the more reason why some of us recalcitrant bloggers are more needed than ever!

Anonymous said...

oh and i didn't mean for that last post to be anonymous either... for it was me.

Anonymous said...

Having supported Labor over many years, this time, I chose not to, as the their attitude to the current and future development in Cairns seemed less than convincing. They have advocated the destruction of the most beautiful aspect of Cairns, those fabulous unobstructed views over the inlet(City Port) - wait 'til you see the end result of this! No stopping them now!
I believe that this era of change of the skyline of Cairns is a disaster on a par with the introduction of the cane toad. Once it it there you can't get rid of it! It promises short term gain and long time pain! An absolute tragedy.
The idiots in Govt. have sold all their productive assets (State and Federal) - what now?
Now I fervently hope that the election promises regarding the health and welfare of the region are adhered to.

Michael P Moore said...

As I've said a zillion times before, and it is cvlearly stated on the posting window ANON comments will be removed immediately. Also, personal abuse will not be tolerated,

Anonymous said...

Kitchen Slut and Not the Chaser, I'm with you. Rewarding incompetence and selling off the productive assets has never worked.
Anonymous 1. It wasn't about who the Pitts are and their friends and relations, it is about how the selection process came about. It reeks of nepotism.
Anonymous 2/Cam - Plonker.

Anonymous said...

THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS FROM A MEDIA REPORT GOT TO ME AND I JUST HAD TO POST SOMETHING

Queensland Liberal National Party (LNP) leader Lawrence Springborg regrets not fighting "fire with fire" during the state election campaign. Mr Springborg on Sunday told reporters the party should have hit back at Labor's "scare campaign" on LNP economic policy, which was to cut $1 billion in waste from the state budget to fund election promises.

LAWRIE: CUTTING $1 BILLION IN WASTE IS ADMIRABLE, EVEN LAUDABLE BUT IF YOU WANT THE ELECTORATE TO BELIEVE THIS YOU NEED TO GIVE SOME CLEAR AND ACCURATE INDICATION AS TO HOW AND WHERE THIS $1 BILLION SAVING WILL BE ACHIEVED. PROMISES WITHOUT SUBSTANCE AND A FOCUS ON NEGATIVE PORTRAYAL OF YOUR OPPONENT WILL CONVINCE FEW IF ANY OF THE ELECTORATE OF YOUR SUITABILITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE LEADER.

Labor and the unions campaigned heavily on claims this would cost 12,000 public sector workers their jobs.

LAWRIE: WHILE THERE IS UNDOUBTEDLY SOME DEADWOOD IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE; THE PUBLIC HAS A VERY HIGH EXPECTATION OF INSTANT SERVICE FROM THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND IS ALREADY COMPLAINING LOUDLY ABOUT THE LACK OF SERVICE, SO HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP?

Mr Springborg said the party underestimated how far Labor would go with the tactic, and the influence the union movement would have on the public service. "I think that we probably should have fought fire with fire," he said.

LAWRIE: THERE HAS BEEN NO FIRE FROM THE ALP BUT LOTS OF SMOKE, JUST AS THERE WAS FROM THE LNP, NO DIFFERENCE COULD BE FOUND ON THIS FRONT. PERHAPS GIVE UP THE NOTION OF THE UNION INFLUENCE AND GIVE THE ELECTORATE SOME CREDIT FOR THEIR GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.

"There are any number of things that we could have pointed out against Ms Bligh including the fact that she said she wouldn't have an early election and she did ... her close connection with her colleagues such as Gordon Nuttall, and her personal exoneration of his criminality in parliament, we could have done that. "Those sorts of things would have stuck significantly, but we chose not to do that." Mr Springborg said he would step down from the leadership for good this time, and would not name any favoured successors.

LAWRIE: WHAT GOOD WOULD YOUR ALTERNATIVE ATTACK HAVE DONE ANYONE? IT IS NOT SURPRISING YOU ARE A 3 TIME LOSER, YOU HAVE FOCUSSED ON BEING DEROGATORY EVERY TIME. THE PUBLIC SIMPLY NEEDED TO BE CONVINCED THAT YOU HAD FORMULATED SOME PLANS AND POLICIES THAT WERE LOGICALLY AND RATIONALLY FOUNDED AND THAT THESE POLICIES AND PLANS WOULD ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT THE ELECTORATE HAD IDENTIFIED AS NEEDING TO BE ADDRESSED, THEY WOULD HAVE EVEN GIVEN YOU THE DESIRED OUTCOME, YOU JUST NEEDED TO PUT SOME BOFFINS TOGETHER TO DEVELOP THE MEANS TO GET TO THE END.

Another likely replacement for Mr Springborg is his deputy leader, Mark McArdle.

MM HAS HAD BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE HIS POLITICAL SAVVY BUT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN FOUND WANTING FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.

Mr Springborg nominated the merger of the coalition parties in July last year as his proudest achievement, and said the result of its first outing proved its strength.

LAWRIE: IF YOU HAD COORDINATED THE MERGER OF GROUP OF EVEN SLIGHTLY COMPETENT POLITICIANS YOU WOULD HAVE WON GOVERNMENT WITH A HUGE MAJORITY; THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT OF IS A VERY POOR STANDARD BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE IS PERCEIVED AS EVEN LESS COMPETENT BY THE ELECTORATE (AS THE RESULTS SHOW).

MY PERSONAL TAKE ON THE NQ RESULT:
HARROP HAS HUGE POTENTIAL, IS OBVIOUSLY INTELLIGENT AND ARTICULATE UNLIKE HIS OPPONENT BUT WAS HAMSTRUNG BY FAITHFULLY FOLLOWING THE LNP RANT. GO IT ON YOUR OWN OR JOIN A RESPECTABLE MOB JOEL. HOPEFULLY BOYLE IS ONE OF THOSE RELEGATED TO THE BACK BENCH BASED ON PERFORMANCE.

RICHARDON IS NO FOOL BUT WAS SIMILALRY HAMSTRUNG BY THE ILLOGICAL AND BASELESS LNP RANT, SHE IS UNLIKELY EVER TO SUCEED BECAUSE OF WHO HER DADDY WAS AND HER ATTACHEMENT TO HISTORICAL THINKING. WENDY-THE THINKING THAT CAUSES A PROBLEM WILL NEVER BE THE THINKING THAT SOLVES IT. WETTENHALL IS CLEARLY INTELLIGENT WITH WORTHY INTENT, PERHAPS WAS FEELING HIS WAY AGAINST THE MIGHT OF THE PARTY MACHINE IN HIS FIRST TERM. STEP UP AND STRIKE A BLOW THIS TIME STEVE OR GIVE SOME ONE ELSE A GO.

JASON JASON JASON OH DEAR- EVEN JUST A HALF DECENT OPPPONENT WITH SOME KNOWLEDGE OF CAPE COMMUNITY AND TSI ISSUES WOULD HAVE ROMPED IN WITH A HUGE SWING.

HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING TO PROMPT A SAY ABOUT CURTIS, VIC SEEMED LACKING IN ANY OTHER RESPONSE THAN THE BORG’S NEGATIVE AND BASELESS DRIBBLE.

THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO RANT MIKE

Anonymous said...

I think we should keep in mind that the return of Labor to Queensland reflects a fear vote. With the GFC and all, and with the LNP seeming to make up policy as it went along - or rather, to not have policy, I reckon people just stuck with what they know for the time being. The Devil you know is better than the Devil you don't know etc.
Also, I'm afraid I found Springbored unable to string more than two sentences together. The LNP merger looked and felt like a group of odd bedfellows - and didn't give an image of being a united party. It will be interesting to see the internecine squabbles amongst the LNP crew in the coming weeks. Well, actually, not interesting, just rather boring.
However, I reckon all Labor crew should remember some of these results were indeed very slim - there's obviously a LOT of discontent out there. Wet'N'NoBalls just about lost his seat, if not for the Green vote. Very close call too with Cairns & Demolition Desley.
Also, candidates only had a month to put their campaigns together - a tall order in any circumstance. Which of course Labor knew - good strategy, but it stinks, really. A month is a short time for (especially new)candidates to get around the electorates & get known by the community.
I do hope in future we see many more candidates running as independents. I think a lot of us are sick & tired of these old Party structures, most of which are being run from Brisbane, with little or no regard for the Far North.
Before I moved up here years ago, I used to hear noises about the Far North succeeding from South Queensland, and I thought it was a case of too much fishing & Fourex. Now, I don't think the idea is so silly at all. Queensland is a huge state, & as many policy and strategy items are formulated in Briso with no regard to the actual needs of the region, it could make sense. Even running elections in March - when it's stinking hot, & with the possibility of flooding & cyclones indicates the utter disregard that the Briso crew have for our region. Local Council elections are also run in March. Go figure.
On a brighter note - that's the State election done, Kevin O7 has another year to two to go, no Council election till 2010 - geez - we might have an election-free zone for a good 12 months or so. Blissssss.
Now, back to the task of fighting with the buggers that are incumbent. What joy (not).
And Mike - if you want to deter people from posting as Anonymous, why don't you take the tag off the Choose an Identity options. I actually posted as Anon the other week when I clicked in a hurry. Just a housekeeping suggestion.