Opinion: Sentiment polling a massive waste of taxpayer money

Queenslanders are sleeping in their cars and Annastacia Palaszczuk blows $400,000 on sentiment polling? Here’s one thing that won’t cost a cent, writes Kylie Lang.

Queenslanders are sleeping in their cars and Annastacia Palaszczuk blows close to $400,000 of our money on finding out what people think of her and her government.

Step outside your cushy office in William Street, Premier – and not to head to the international airport – and you’ll get an instant read, for free.

Our state is in crisis, on so many levels. However, the person occupying the top job sees fit to splash $393,000 on checking the sentiment of voters, every six weeks until the October 2024 election.

The findings of the Ipsos polling won’t be released publicly after a motion to do so – and put an immediate end to the polling – was knocked on the head in Parliament on Wednesday.

Laughably, the government tried to turn this dreadful abuse of taxpayer dollars into a positive, praising itself for its ability “to continue listening to Queenslanders”. Listening, really?

This government has had ample opportunities to listen to the issues that strike at the heart of liveability in this state.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk during Question Time this week. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

The housing shortage, brought on by a lack of foresight and planning despite experts warning for decades of the looming disaster, is just one.

Shelter is a basic human need, along with food and water, but never mind.

Another basic need is safety. In fact, in the well-known Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from mid last century, safety – which includes security, law and order, stability and freedom from fear – sits just above shelter. Another minor technical detail, as far as this government is concerned.

This week, the shambolic safety standards in the construction industry drew the deserved ire of unions and devastated families of people who’ve died on building sites, including 17-year-old Tyler Whitton.

The young lad fell through a hole at a CS Development Group worksite in West End in September.

I’m no fan of CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar but he’s right this time.

At a rally outside Parliament House on Wednesday, Ravbar said blood was on the government’s hands.

“They have ignored repeated warnings about deteriorating safety standards and refused to cut out the cancer at WHSQ (Workplace Health and Safety Queensland),” he said.

“Our members are sick of seeing Labor politicians cry crocodile tears for dead workers and then do nothing to help prevent the next tragedy from occurring.

A lack of housing is just one of the crises confronting Queensland people. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Workers now know exactly where they stand with a missing-in-action Minister for Industrial Relations (Grace Grace) and an out-of-touch Premier. They will not forgive or forget this betrayal.”

Following the protest, some union reps and members of Tyler’s family met the Premier.

The teen’s grandmother Joanne Crisp had this to say: “I thought after the last rally (two months ago), we thought she might have got the message. I was hoping when it comes to safety she would care.”

The tin ear of the Premier is evident too in the diabolic approach to youth crime.

Palaszczuk was a no-show at an August victims of crime march in Brisbane and, learning nothing from this poor Judgement call, did the same thing at a rally in November when the Noosa Triathlon, in which her partner was competing, took priority.

The flawed health system, the basket case that is public education, and lasting anger over callous border restrictions during the height of Covid are among the many thorns in Palaszczuk’s side.

Family and friends of Tyler Whitton at a union rally outside Parliament House. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

You have to wonder what her highly-paid advisers are doing – are they also completely out of sync with the real world, or hesitant to speak the obvious truth? What of the MPs embedded in communities around the state – are they doing their jobs properly and reporting back on the concerns in their electorates, or choosing to stay silent?

A YouGov poll commissioned by The Courier-Mail last month showed Palaszczuk was no longer Queensland’s preferred Premier, her worst result since assuming office in 2015. It revealed the LNP had strengthened its two-party lead over Labor to 52-48 per cent, suggesting a crushing defeat at the next election.

All this considered, the Premier is persisting with costly polling at our expense, perhaps hoping to get a result she likes. Not only has this government stopped listening to the people of Queensland, it has failed to take the bold and decisive action required to make our lives better.

Kylie Lang is associate editor of The Courier-Mail

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