Editorial: Qld Labor government needs to plan, not just react

After being elected without a plan eight years ago, the Queensland Labor government has been more reactive than proactive, writes the editor.

The Queensland Labor government won the 2015 election so unexpectedly it arrived in office without the swag of big and meaningful policy ideas you would normally see from an opposition thinking it has a chance.

The result is that from its earliest days, this now eight-year-old government has responded to so many emerging and existing issues with some version of what appears to be a “make it up as you go along” approach to problem solving.

Its first reaction – of course after checking with the unions to see what they want – has been apparent surprise and then a scramble to produce a media-friendly response, rather than an enduring solution.

Historically this has been to order a review. But its response to two of its most recent headline-grabbing policy challenges – juvenile crime and the housing affordability and rental crisis – are different.

This week, we commended the government for its new youth justice laws as a legitimate, if only partial, response to growing public concern about violent youth crime.

But we also argued these legislative changes were definitely a knee-jerk reaction, sparked by at least 15 deaths linked to alleged youth crime in the past two years – and The Courier-Mail’s Enough is Enough campaign.

In other words, the government was reacting to problems that exist now rather than having had the foresight to instead act years before via considered and thoughtful policy.

So too with the ever-growing affordable housing crisis. It was only after growing public pressure and The Courier-Mail’s Hitting Home campaign that the government sprang into action with a housing summit in October last year.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

It is now following up with a second summit next week where, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, nothing is off the table.

That’s all fine – and commendable, as something must be done – but it does raise the question as to why the government is only now working on solutions to a problem that has been in plain sight for years.

Should it not have already been talking to these groups over the past eight years as part of its core business of identifying and delivering policy responses to make sure Queenslanders had access to affordable housing?

Further, why did Ms Palaszczuk suddenly say on Monday that the government was “very seriously” considering how to put a rental cap in place.

It was a blunt-force idea that came out of the blue and which, we speculated yesterday, appeared to be nothing more than an attempt to distract the media from the bigger story of the day – a study revealing the number of Queenslanders in critical housing stress is twice the population of Cairns.

Either that, or it was just a scary thought bubble offered up by a Premier who had momentarily wandered off the script.

Whatever the case, by yesterday afternoon Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Steven Miles was downplaying the prospect of rent controls – understandable given the near universal rejection from the real estate industry, economists and readers alike.

It may well be that the government has a master plan to address the many policy issues it is confronted with.

But if it does, Ms Palaszczuk and her key ministers are doing a terrible job not only of explaining that – but of also giving voters confidence this government actually knows what it is doing.

RESULT OF DNA FAILURES

The state government’s gobsmacking DNA bungle has opened the door for all manner of convicted criminals to have their appeals heard – and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Convicted killer Andrew John Cobby claims fresh DNA testing prompted by the inquiry into the state’s DNA lab has armed him with exculpatory evidence which should see his conviction quashed.

He was convicted in 2021 of the murder of his estranged wife Kym, who was beaten with a hammer and choked to death in the driveway of her Gold Coast hinterland home in November 2017.

Respected criminal lawyer Bill Potts says the appeal is “essentially the opening of the floodgates”.

This means that over the next few years, convicted criminals who may not otherwise have had their appeals heard could get another go at arguing their case – at taxpayer expense, and, sadly, at the expense of victims and their families.

The failings of the government-run department are coming home to roost.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here