Clearly annoyed Premier at a loss to explain COVID-19 parole backflip

Annastacia Palaszczuk’s backflip on a plan to release criminals on parole a week early due to the coronavirus pandemic is the latest in a series of duplicities from her government, writes Steven Wardill.

MAYBE Annastacia Palaszczuk just hadn’t had her morning coffee.

Because the Queensland Premier sure cut a cranky figure on Wednesday as she attempted to explain away her Government’s coronavirus-inspired decision to let paroled prisoners out early.

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In the space of 60 minutes on Tuesday night, poor Police Minister Mark Ryan, who plods along at the best of times, went from staunchly defending proposed laws to let jailbirds out up to seven days early to parroting the hackneyed line “if you do the crime, you do the time”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the press conference at Parliament House on Wednesday. Picture: AAP/Dan Peled

At her morning press conference, a clearly peeved Ms Palaszczuk claimed the whole thing had been “misinterpreted”.

But she just couldn’t seem to explain what the correct interpretation was.

The Premier insisted the amendment was but one element of an omnibus bill of COVID-19 measures considered by Cabinet and had never been a “priority”.

Well maybe the entire Cabinet didn’t get their coffee order that day because the Government has just plonked this most unimportant of measures in not just in one piece of legislation but in two.

Police minister Mark Ryan. Picture: Matt Taylor

Sure, things can slip through the cracks amid the helter-skelter of a crisis and these are unprecedented times, etc etc.

However that’s a tad hard to accept give the Government’s recent form, which includes quietly retreating from plans to kick some property offences to the Magistrate Courts which could have resulted in lesser sentences just as some communities are concerned about crime.

Maybe the Government’s foibles can all be blamed on long days and a lack of caffeine.

But the popular order seems to be a double shot of soft on crime with a dollop of duplicity.