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NEWS AND VIEWS
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Queensland Government NewsThe Premier plays NutsyWednesday, 6 August 2008 - There must be votes in koala bears.
The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is doing her best to pretend her Government cares about the cuddly critters with an announcement of measures she says need to be taken to save an estimated 20,000 koalas living in the state's southeast. Dogs may be banned in new housing developments and fences made compulsory around existing houses with dogs kept indoors at night to ensure the safety of the Blinky Bills. Exact details of the rescue plan, which may also include lowering speed limits around koala habitats and building tunnels under major roads so koalas can safely cross, will be worked out by a taskforce including the RSPCA, local councils, developers, conservation groups and koala experts. Same, same but differentWednesday, 19 March 2008 - Tourists come across it when they step off a plane in south-east Asia ; Hustlers from hotels too poor to have their own brochure waving one from their more affluent competitors. Same, same but different, they cry. This morning it was Peter Beattie's turn. more Knowing When to GoMonday, 10 September 2007 - Peter Beattie as a politician has not run away from hard decisions. He took the job as state secretary of the Labor Party back in 1981, against the wishes of the party bosses, after the Federal Executive intervened to try and bring a little sanity to party proceedings. There were some of the old guard who never forgave him for that as was shown when, after being elected to state parliament in 1989, he did not receive the immediate elevation to the ministry which a successful state secretary in another state would have expected. Peter Beattie, according to the factions, was not a man to be trusted so he was pushed aside to be chairman of a parliamentary committee overseeing what was then called the Criminal Justice Commission. Making the best of a bad job the new-boy again showed his independent streak by siding on occasions with the Commission in decisions that irritated the Premier Wayne Goss and perhaps the then senior Goss adviser Kevin Rudd. more The Power of the PoliceTuesday, 30 January 2007 - Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is certainly a realist. He understands there's not much fun in being a policeman forced to deal with drink crazed violence. He knows too that the patience of Job is hard to maintain when provoked by a drunk throwing punches. And above all he realises that things would be a lot worse in Aboriginal communities if police refused to serve in them. The prospect of just such a police boycott must be giving Mr Beattie more sleepless nights than treated sewage as the Queensland Police Union prepares for meetings throughout the state over the next week to consider industrial action in protest over the recommendation to charge Senior Sergeant Hurley with the manslaughter of Mulrunji Doomadgee as recommended by an independent review of the case by former NSW chief justice Sir Lawrence Street. At least the Premier can be thankful for the assurance yesterday by union vice president vice president Denis Fitzpatrick that Queenslanders would not see police abandon their responsibilities. A full scale police strike is thus unlikely. Limits to the Underdog EffectWednesday, 30th August, 2006 - Back in September 1999 the Victorian Government of Jeff Kennett led Labor in the opinion polls by around 54% to 46% and ended up narrowly losing office when Labor gained the support of independents holding the balance of power. In Queensland the Newspoll this morning has Labor leading the non-Labor parties 58% to 42%. Further Down the American Path?Tuesday, 23 rd May, 2006 - There might be a declining number of practising Christians in Australia but there is no sign of a decline in their political influence. The latest example is the retreat by the Queensland Labor government from plans to widen the range of beliefs able to be taught in state schools. more Government and Opposition Level Pegging in QueenslandMonday, 3rd April, 2006 - Newspoll has had the Labor Government and the Liberal/National coalition opposition sharing the two part preferred vote fo0r the last eight months. more Out Sourcing Hospital EmergenciesWednesday, 8th March, 2006 - The magnitude of the breakdown in Queensland's public hospital system becomes apparent when the Government has to outsource a government hospital's emergency service. This week private company Aspen Medical won a $7 million contract to provide doctors and a nurse educator to keep Caboolture Hospital's emergency department open for a year. If the government's Queensland Health could have found the doctors themselves the cost would have been $3.5 million. more Gaven By-ElectionThursday, 2nd March, 2006 - Voters in Queensland will soon get another chance to let Premier Peter Beattie know how unpopular his Government has become with a by-election to be held in the Gold Coast seat of Gaven following the resignation of backbencher Robert Poole to live in Thailand. It will be the third by-election in seven months after Labor lost the seats of Redcliffe and Chatsworth in August last year. more Merit Appointments Temporarily Abandoned for DoctorsMonday, 23rd January, 2006 - Appointments based on merit have been the foundation of public service appointments under the Westminster system for more than a century but the principle is being temporarily abandoned in Queensland. more
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