Labor win will border on crazy: Gleeso
Queensland’s tourism is buggered, the economy is flat (under this Labor Government we’re used to that), border measures are out of control and the unions have gone to war ... but none of that matters because Annastacia Palaszczuk has Scott Morrison in her corner, writes Peter Gleeson. VOTE IN OUR POLL
Opinion
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Scott Morrison may well deliver up the state election to Labor’s Annastacia Palaszczuk.
It’s one of the crazy ironies at play in this weird election to be played out under the cover of COVID-19 darkness.
Right now, the sun is shining in the Sunshine State. Except for the odd Covid cluster here or outbreak there, we’re just about coronavirus free.
If you compare us to little Beijing – sorry Victoria – we’re a world away from the hellhole that Daniel Andrews is presiding over.
Yes tourism is buggered and the economy in general is flaccid, but hey we’re used to that with this Labor Government.
Yes, the Labor Government has overreached with border controls, inconsistent exemptions and lockdown restrictions, but they think they’re on a winner and that won’t change between now and polling day.
Here’s where Scomo comes in. If you’ve lost your job, or are a business in trouble, the Morrison Government’s stimulus measures are getting a lot of Queenslanders through these tough times.
The $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper scheme is a Godsend. It has kept the wolves from the door for many families.
So too, the opportunity to rip $20,000 out of superannuation and of course there’s the obligatory small business grants and loans during this difficult and challenging period.
The welfare handouts are being tightened and the fortnightly payment is being cut back to $1200 but many people are still being cushioned from the economic impact of the virus.
Those rivers of fiscal gold to help people through this crisis – let’s not forget JB Hi-fi and Harvey Norman are doing great business – is keeping people happy.
With the scare campaign being waged by Labor over border issues, the fact the LNP can’t get any traction and people out and about enjoying the sunshine, is it any wonder Labor is now odds-on with the bookies.
The masses are being protected from the ravages of a broken economy because of the artificial and false reality of the Federal welfare flood.
Those stimulus measures were necessary to stop Australia going broke, but the political spin-off for Labor in Queensland is clear.
The states will keep doing whatever they like – thumbing their nose at Morrison if they can get away with it – while the masses are well fed and happy.
And when the tap is turned off, which it inevitably will be, watch the states and territories start banging on about how the feds have abandoned them.
Morrison blindly trusted these Labor premiers and yet they throw him under the bus at every opportunity.
Of course, it’s not all beer and skittles within the Labor Party in Queensland but the internal division and machinations just don’t seem to resonate with the average punter.
Unless, the CFMEU decides to actively campaign against the Palaszczuk Government. Then it would get interesting.
When former Labor MP Christine Smith resigns over the parachuting of celebrity candidate Wayne “Rabbit’ Bartholomew into Burleigh, you know there’s a problem.
It’s the same in Townsville with Mundingburra’s Coralee O’Rourke suffering genuine health issues in recent years and there is a growing suspicion she may not recontest.
Others are saying she is being “encouraged’’ on health grounds not to run again on October 31.
Mundingburra, Townsville and Thuringowa are shaping as big tests for Labor as youth crime
escalates into a vote-changing issue.
There is a also a growing sense that the Katter Party will do well, possibly picking up seats to add to its existing three MPs.
The chances of a hung parliament loom large. If Labor does limp over the line, Ms Palaszczuk should definitely put the PM back on her Christmas card list.
Development uproar in Aspley
Massive state election issue surfacing in the seat of Aspley, with plans by the Palaszczuk Government for the Carseldine urban village development causing much angst among locals.
In October, 2016, then deputy premier Jackie Trad announced that the government would proceed with a redevelopment of the former QUT site at Carseldine.
LNP Aspley candidate Amanda Cooper and locals say the planning approval does not pass the pub test on existing planning benchmarks around vegetation management, koala habitat, biodiversity, acid sulfate soils and a waterway corridor.
The real concern is that the approval has been lodged by the government’s Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) and will be approved by, you guessed it, the EDQ.
The site has been declared a Priority Development Area, so the Planning Act does not apply.
“Where is the probity and integrity attached to this process,’’ said Ms Cooper, a former Brisbane City councillor for the area.
Locals say the site would not get private developer approval if subjected to the normal processes.
Ms Cooper says locals had been promised the 40 hectares would be for education, not new housing.
Here’s the sting. If the EDQ does approve its own application – which looks likely – it is then able to onsell the land, with all the appropriate planning approvals, to a private developer. Job done.
Did someone say asset sale?
Roar deal claim
Logan City Council has taken Brisbane Roar to court because it says the footy club won’t pay its bills.
In its application to the District Court, the council is claiming $165,000 for unpaid water fees at Heritage Park, dating back to 2018.
The Roar say they had a handshake deal with a former councillor, who has since departed, to forego the payment of water bills.
The Roar is saying they brought in millions of dollars in tourism and marketing to Logan. The Roar is owned by Indonesian billionaire Nirwan Bakrie.
Jackie’s on track
Secret Labor polling in South Brisbane has the Greens vote tanking, meaning incumbent Jackie Trad is now firmly back in the race. Pundits say the LNP may even knock the Greens off for second spot on the primary vote, with Trad’s primary vote now being close to 40 per cent.
Good as gold
Property tsar Soheil Abedian is just the 19th person to be granted the keys of the city by the Gold Coast City Council.
Mr Abedian shrugged off a health scare last year to accept the award from Mayor Tom Tate for his services to the city.
Worthy long run
More than 3000 men die from prostate cancer every year and in regional areas, the risk of dying goes up by 24 per cent.
Yet through advancements in treatment and surgery procedure, survival rates have surged from 60 per cent to 95 per cent in the past 30 years.
Next month, the Prostate Cancer Foundation is launching a campaign known as The Long Run, challenging individuals or teams to walk, run or wheel 72km to raise awareness about the disease.
Register at thelongrun.org.au
Nasty fake news
It’s getting nasty in Maiwar. A fake letter on LNP candidate Lauren Day’s letterhead is doing the rounds.
The letter says she’s been called out for lying, is annoying, doesn’t rate former LNP MP Scott Emerson … the list goes on.
Might have something to do with the Greens vote taking a hit in private polling.
One to watch
A high-profile independent will be announced to run in a southeast Queensland seat in coming weeks. Labor will have a fight on its hands when she throws her hat into the ring.
ALP favourites
Sportsbet now has the Labor Party odds-on favourite to win the state election on October 31. As late as June 10, Labor was $2.20 and the LNP was $1.70. Now it’s the LNP at $1.95 and Labor into $1.80.
There’s been a strong push for Labor in recent weeks but 82 per cent of Sportsbet turnover is still on an LNP win.
No hung parliament is $1.50 and a hung parliament is at $2.50. In Burleigh, Labor’s Wayne Bartholomew is $4 into $2.50 to beat the LNP’s Michael Hart, who is blowing out the gate like a 40-knot westerly.
Hello guv’nor
A book is due out in February after being commissioned to detail the lives and highlights of our past Queensland Governors.
Pity it won’t delve into some of the more controversial and juicier stories to come from Government House.
Being a family newspaper, it would be imprudent to regale readers with the more salacious incidents.
Horn hangs it up
Boxer Jeff Horn has been an extraordinary warrior and his victory over the legendary Manny Pacquiao was one of the great sporting moments in Queensland history.
Expect an announcement soon on his retirement from the sport. As a former world champion, he has nothing left to prove or achieve.