George Street Beat: Premier’s painful week gets even worse
He’s the government’s best weapon of attack in parliament, but even ambitious Deputy Premier Cameron Dick occasionally buggers it up. THIS IS GEORGE ST BEAT
Opinion
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It’s been a painful week for Premier Steven Miles – in more ways than one.
After days of backlash following his rejection of the recommendation for the centrepiece venue for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mr Miles was roped into trialling a menstrual pain simulator as part of a Parliamentary Friends of Endometriosis event.
It’s understood the Premier said he had a “low pain threshold” before the machine was dialled to its highest setting.
“I felt every second of that pain simulator and take my hat off to the women and girls living with endo, or any other type of reproductive condition,” he said.
Endometriosis affects one in six Queensland women, and is a more common condition than asthma. It can cause debilitating pain and infertility.
And it must be said Miles’ moment in the hurt locker was captured by the Courier-Mail’s photographer after Health Minister Shannon Fentiman spotted him in the hallway and pulled him in to witness what was to happen.
IT’S OFFICIAL, TRUST US
Queensland’s newest MP is the LNP’s Darren Zanow in Ipswich West, with the Electoral Commission of Queensland on Friday confirming it had returned the writ in the hotly contested by-election.
So how many votes did Zanow win by? What’s the new margin in Ipswich West? The answer is, who knows. Those results aren’t available on ECQ’s website.
There is no indicative preference flow, let alone the official distribution of preferences count. Instead voters are greeted with a message that says “the official distribution of preferences is underway, and the elected candidate has received a majority of votes. The full preference count will be published upon completion”.
If this counting rate keeps up the results of the October election might be known just before Christmas.
SKELTON’S VOTE LOSER
It’s a bold play for a man whose $195,851 salary relies on a wafer-thin 0.1 per cent margin – winning in 2020 by some 84 votes – to publicly shun the loss of supporters.
In a now-deleted Facebook comment, Nicklin MP Rob Skelton attacked a local business owner who questioned whether there was support available to clean up the mess left by people sleeping rough in the Nambour CBD.
Mr Skelton’s bizarre response and demand the business owner “don’t lecture us on our obligations” snowballed into a tit-for-tat that ended with the first-term Nicklin MP accepting defeat.
“Oh well. One less vote,” he wrote.
MPs will never please everyone, but digging the hole deeper is a strange tactic for one holding the state’s second-most marginal seats.
KING KATTER COSPLAY
Katter’s Australian Party has lived up as the self-proclaimed party of fun with a dress-up at Queensland Parliament.
The trio, Robbie Katter, Nick Dametto and Shane Knuth, donned crowns, robes and wielded swords to promote their motion that “cash is king”.
No wonder why Assistant Minister Bruce Saunders wanted to join them.
The Katters’ cosplay argued parliament should say it “openly supports the rights to use cash as a lawful form of payment throughout Queensland” and demands the state mandate all government offices must accept cash as a legal method of payment.
That part of the motion was amended by the government to note offices accepted “an array of payment options”.
SHORT JABS
There was plenty of soul searching needed this week among Labor MPs and powerbrokers after the government suffered major swings in its heartland electorates and the LNP snatched the seat of Ipswich West.
As the post-mortem began and State Secretary Kate Flanders reviewed the failings with parliamentary figures, The Courier-Mail revealed the party planned to turn the blowtorch on the Opposition, frustrated by a perceived lack of scrutiny on leader David Crisafulli.
In the following days, it became clear the government was eager to play the body rather than the ball – narrowing its attack in the Chamber on the Opposition’s lack of decision making and revealing an obsession with the LNP leader’s height.
Mr Miles was first in the ring.
“You cannot do this job with leaflets full of glamour shots of yourself and no plans or no real solutions,” the Premier said.
“You cannot do this job hiding behind the Member for Kawana (Jarrod Bleijie) — although you are the only one in this place who could actually hide behind the Member for Kawana.”
Next was Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, notorious for her stinging barbs, repeatedly mocked Mr Crisafulli for being “short on detail”, while Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said he was “short on options”.
Even rookie Transport Minister Bart Mellish had a turn, teasing the Opposition for being “long on talk and short on delivery”.
DICK’S SLIP
He’s the government’s best weapon of attack in parliament, but even ambitious Deputy Premier Cameron Dick occasionally buggers it up.
In the theatre of question time on Thursday morning he declared: “We will ensure Queenslanders pay more for power” – before quickly correcting – “….no more for power than what the Australian energy regulator says”.
With cost of living tipped as a key election battleground, it’s an unfortunate slip.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Do you enjoy sifting through the state government’s finances with a fine-tooth comb? Are you willing to scorch the government, its bureaucracy and their myriad decisions in the name of transparency and accountability? Then there’s a job opening for you.
Queensland Auditor-General Brendan Worrall’s seven-year non-renewable term comes to an end on July 11, 2024. And the QAO is officially looking for his replacement.
An advertisement placed in the national broadsheet revealed Brisbane-based recruitment outfit OnTalent is running the process, with applications closing on April 1.
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