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I can’t tell you how inspired the Parliamentary team was, listening to and talking with delegates at Conference. There was so much passion in the room, it’s clear that Queensland’s modern, dynamic Labor Party is going to be a force to be reckoned with. I’m also proud that Labor can hold its Conference in the full glare of the media, even during some pretty robust debates. It shows how much faith we have in democracy, and how importantly we take issues of openness, integrity and accountability.
On the Sunday, I addressed delegates and told them of the consultative, co-operative Government Labor would be, in stark contrast to Campbell Newman’s Government of arrogance and division. It’s something all our candidates and I will be talking about in the lead-up to the next election.
I’ve included a link to the speech; I hope all members take the opportunity to read it. You can also watch the video here.
The Newman Government has kick-started what it calls ‘Operation Boring’ which shows they have a media strategy, not a governing strategy. And when they deploy it in Parliament, it kills off any hope that the LNP takes accountability issues seriously.
This strategy is all about silencing and gagging Ministers to stop them from making the kinds of mistakes and offensive remarks we’ve become accustomed to from the LNP. The Parliamentary media gallery are awake to this strategy, continually highlighting the ridiculous spectacle of backbencher after backbencher asking the exact same Dorothy Dixer of Ministers time after time.
But it didn’t work. This week in Parliament saw the Premier admit that the LNP’s pollster is receiving taxpayer funds for its asset sales advertising campaign, the Deputy Premier proved how out of touch he is by spending over $470,000 on personal charter flights, and another MP attacked foreign drivers during debate.
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Again it was up to Labor to support evidence and research ahead of vested interests during the debate on the Government’s ‘Safe Night Out’ strategy. The LNP’s strategy involves handing $45 million of taxpayers’ money to the already-profitable nightclub industry, while Labor supports the tough but correct decision to limit trading hours and the availability of alcohol.
It’s a stand based on the evidence, and in the best interests of young people and the families that are affected by alcohol-fuelled tragedies.
For months now Queenslanders have been bombarded with asset sales advertising propaganda. The government have admitted $11.2 million in costs however, it now appears that the campaign is costing Queenslanders much more.
I asked the Premier if the LNP’s long-time pollster and political strategy group Crosby Textor was being paid by the taxpayer, and surprisingly the Premier admitted they were. When asked if the costs were included as part of the $11.2 million, the Premier said “when the work is done, these costs will be available”.
The asset sales campaign will only be completed after the next election, which means Queenslanders won’t be told before they go into the polling booth.
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It’s clear the Deputy Premier, fully endorsed by the Premier, thinks Queenslanders should be funding his extravagant and indulgent personal travel. Since the March 2012 election, Mr Seeney has continually booked personal charter flights from his home near Monto.spending $472,000 on personal charter flights in that time. An extraordinary amount of money when the LNP tells everyone our finances are so bad we have to sell off our assets, sack thousands of workers and cut frontline services. There’s one rule for the LNP and another rule for the rest of Queensland.
Sadly, this Premier has overseen a massive increase to the state’s unemployment rate. Labor are constantly standing up for jobs in the Parliament, especially given the LNP’s scant regard for workers and their rights and conditions. Youth unemployment in Queensland is now 13.7% and in some areas it’s around 20%. The Premier sacked workers, cut employment programs and increased TAFE courses, which have directly impacted our jobless rate.
Our Labor team has released numerous policies to tackle this issue. While the LNP sits on its hands, the jobless queue grows. We know jobs and job security are critical, and we’ll be saying a lot more about the issue in the lead-up to the election.
You can read about our policies here.
Ever since the Fitzgerald Inquiry, issues of integrity and accountability have been of crucial importance Queenslanders. And those who remember the Bjelke-Petersen era often comment that the Newman Government reminds them of those bad old days.
I’m committed to changing all that.
On Wednesday, 3 September, the TJ Ryan Foundation is hosting its ‘Perspectives on Accountability’ forum at Parliament House.
It’s a free public event being chaired by Professor Paul Mazerolle from Griffith University, with other panel members including former President of the Bar Association Peter Davis QC and the editor of The Courier Mail during the Fitzgerald Inquiry years, Greg Chamberlin.
I’ll also be speaking at the event, and I urge anyone interested in these issues to head to the TJ Ryan website to get more details, or click here to see the invite.