To not call on an early election and go full term , the Federal government will have to contend with its own substantial in-house problems which could worsen with the passage of time. As already mentioned , there is the deplorable NSW government where it was even suggested they might, astonishingly , seek an independent as its leader (shades of Gerry Wood ) . Since this insane idea was floated there has been another change of Premier .
A recent poll in Tasmania showed that an election there could result in a hung parliament or a loss by Labor. Who knows how the flirty Mike Rann episode will play out in South Australia where the government will go to the polls in about four months. Before this messy episode broke, the SA Treasurer admitted he had been suffering from depression for a long time. Needless to say , the ALP is beset with problems here in the NT, with another reshuffle taking place a short time ago. Premier Brumby seems to be safe in Victoria, but there is growing unrest there , as in other parts of the nation, over what goes under the generic term of law and order, but which is really more complex. In WA , a resurgence of the mining industry and the distribution of large amounts of money to the hinterland , will improve the standing of the conservative alliance ,so no joy for the ALP there.
While many political commentators and ALP staffers firmly stated a month ago things were looking good for the party federally in Queensland , especially with recent boundary changes, this writer was not so sure . The Anna Bligh government is exceptionally unpopular, especially over the proposal to sell off $15 billion of state possessions . To try and counter the uproar over the sell off, the government has just announced a scheme which sounds like a Lehmann Bros brainstorm and a bit like the Telstra sell off which went sour.
Already she has been nicknamed Captain Bligh after the seadog who caused the mutiny on the Bounty. Peter Garrett actually saved her from suffering the same fate as Joan of Arc by rejecting the proposed Traveston Crossing dam .
The departure of one of her personal staff to take up a federal government job for a king’s ransom raised the ire of many . On top of this the former corruption commissioner Tony Fitzgerald QC earlier expressed concern about conditions which could lead to crime and corruption . The extremely cosy relationship between government and developers has been the subject of much media coverage . Former Beattie minister, Gordon Nuttall, is currently in the slammer over corruption. Bligh has come out with plans to cap the level of donations by unions and business to political parties . She has also been challenged by the Liberal National Party to legislate to prevent telling fibs during election campaigns.
This far out from the next state election, many are conceding she will be lucky to survive, which would be a shame . There is unrest in the building and construction industry in Queensland where late last month builders , bearing SCROOGE -THE MAN WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS posters marched through Brisbane. They were from major State Government building sites in Brisbane’s CBD and the Gold Coast. They had walked off the job over a $2 million pay dispute. Wideform, contracted by Bovis Lend Lease to do work on the new $600 million Law Courts and a $287 million Gold Coast hospital ,was reported as being on the verge of financial collapse . Wideform has been active in the Wollongong area of NSW , a region which has and is again proving embarrassing for the ALP with possible intervention over preselection for Throsby , the seat held by former ACTU head ,Jennie George, which she is vacating at the next election. .
Wideform workers in Townsville have been left in the lurch, one said to be owed in excess of $40,000. Access the Wideform website and you are informed that it is under review. Earlier posts , however, boast about its award winning projects in such areas as the Illawarra (Wollongong) region .
When you see unions running adverts against Premier Bligh , people turning up with protest placards wherever she goes, the police association firmly telling the timid government it must reduce trading hours for clubs and pubs to reduce the violence and attacks on officers, unhappy teachers, irate railway staff , and a hospital system creaking and groaning under pressure , you get the strong feeling that government has the rough end of the pineapple. A bizarre aspect of the Queensland scene , hardly commented on by the Australian media , but not overseas, is the fact that the Sunshine State is merrily shipping vast amounts of coal off to China and other polluters , opening up a new mine or two , and planning new ways to expedite coal exports. It is a typical Queensland attitude : clear fell the land and chop down the native vegetation as soon as possible before those buggers in Brisbane, NGOs and the Greenies deny us the divine right to turn the state into an extension of the Sahara . Don’t think PM Rudd mentioned the Australian coal mining paradox while in Copenhagen.
A contact Little Darwin has , a close observer of Queensland political machinations for years , said some members of the Brisbane right wing union power broking circles are not a pretty sight up close. He went so far as to describe them as a fine bunch of rednecks with views like One Nation foundation members and a great capacity to manoeuvre themselves and mates into plum posts and or seats.
Any attempt to discuss improving the situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with these self- interested fellows usually resulted in a scornful response, said he . Mate, they aren’t a political force or a major issue was the conventional wisdom of this mob. All round, Premier Bligh is beset by problems and - unlike Santa - does not have many bright helpers to package the “product”.
Throw into this mix the explosive asylum seekers-border protection issue which resonates strongly in Qld . Former Liberal PM , Malcolm Fraser, recently said on air he thought Rudd should let his ministers have more say , and opined that going hairy - chested over boat people would damage the PM . Each new arrival would add fuel to the fire, which has proven correct . Indeed longtime Canberra political reporter, Alan Ramsey, subject of a recent Little Darwin post in respect of his book, A Matter of Opinion , said the refugee issue, seized on with joy by the Federal Opposition, has the capacity to poison matters right up to an election.
It was Malcolm Fraser who made the statement life was not meant to be easy -even if you are grazier with a canteen of cutlery filled with sterling silver- and it sure will not be for PM Rudd , no matter when he decides to call an election because his side of politics is performing dismally in most states , even worse than Queenland Labor before the Goss government , in which Rudd was a key player , dubbed Dr No, fell .
