Gleeso: Palaszczuk gets election wish as Morrison unable to help campaign in Queensland
Who could have imagined that the border ban would be a blessing for the Palaszczuk Government’s campaign prospects now they don’t have to compete for attention with any visits from Scott Morrison, writes Peter Gleeson.
Opinion
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How fortuitous for the Palaszczuk Government that Queensland won’t be seeing much of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese – if at all – during the upcoming state election campaign.
Inadvertently or not, the four leaf clovers keep coming for Queensland Labor, with Scott Morrison, arguably Australia’s most popular Prime Minister since Bob Hawke, not joining the campaign fray to help the LNP.
Conversely, the hapless Anthony Albanese – who doesn’t know whether he’s Arthur or Martha on coal – won’t be here to deflect questions and put lead into the saddlebag of Labor.
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It’s another one of those delicious ironies that go into this most weird and crazy of Queensland elections on October 31.
Without COVID-19, voters had every right to banish this terrible Labor Government.
They are hopeless on the economy, dysfunctional on child safety, negligent on youth crime and careless at best on Ministerial integrity.
But they may get another four years because Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s hard line stance on keeping the borders closed has kept most Queenslanders safe.
As Queenslanders go about their daily lives, with few restrictions, they compare themselves to the hellhole of Victoria and, quite rightly, give Labor a big tick.
Yet with the business, aviation and tourism communities now running out of patience with Ms Palaszczuk’s unwavering border ban, there are mounting calls for the restrictions to be lifted.
Under current COVID-19 quarantining provisions, when Queensland federal MPs go to Canberra this week for a two-week sitting, they will return and have to spend 14 days in home isolation.
There are two more sittings after that, meaning for Queensland MPs there will be six weeks of home isolation. Yet there are more active cases of coronavirus right now in Queensland than Canberra.
For the federal party leaders, it is simply unsustainable. The Prime Minister’s office has made it clear that he is highly unlikely to be seen in Queensland for some time.
With Morrison enjoying a two party-preferred lead of 58-42 over Labor in Queensland, his presence would have been highly beneficial to Deb Frecklington.
No doubt he would have taken aim at Ms Palaszczuk’s jingoistic stance on the borders, accusing her of being negligent to the medical needs of people in northern NSW.
Being all about Queensland is okay at footy or boxing matches but not when it involves life and death medical treatment.
Albanese is at war with Labor’s Right faction over coal, with Joel Fitzgibbon warning the party may be split, such is the friction.
In Central and North Queensland, pro-coal voters cost Bill Shorten victory.
They have long memories and the sight of Albanese in Queensland would simply reinforce Labor’s inconsistent messaging around coal.
The irony is that the Queensland Government reaps $5bn a year in royalties from coal.
That employs a lot of doctors and nurses.