George St Beat: Premier gives press seconds to read 278K words

Queensland media have been left fuming after being given just seconds to read a 278,630-word landmark review into Queensland Police responses to domestic violence ahead of a press conference.

Howard Berg is recognised as the world’s greatest speed reader – able to get through, and recall with accuracy, 25,000 words in a single minute.

But not even Berg would have passed the test set for the press gallery on Monday – when the Premier gave them just a few seconds to read all 278,630 words of the landmark review into Queensland Police responses to domestic violence.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

While the reporters were given a printout of the recommendations and a press release a few minutes ahead of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk standing up at her press conference to answer questions, the actual 411-page report itself was only released as she stood up at 2pm.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few testy exchanges between the journos and the Premier about if they would actually be allowed to ask questions of her after having, you know, actually had a decent chance to read the thing.

The Premier assured reporters she would be available “today or tomorrow” for follow-ups, but in the end it was left to Police Minister Mark Ryan – who was the only one up the next day to answer questions from reporters who had, by then, had the hour or so required to actually read it.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, meanwhile, also made a Tuesday morning appearance – right in the middle of the QPS fallout – to reveal she had sacked the entire board of the Mackay Base Hospital after serious concerns about their maternity unit, which led to the deaths of babies.

Asked whether the timing of that announcement was a bit suss – given the minister had their show cause notice for weeks – Ms D’Ath of course, rejected it was anything of the sort.

GRACE UNDER FIRE

The Premier did, however, seem to enjoy herself this week as she hit back at her former leader Peter Beattie’s suggestion that she should be grooming a successor.

So far Ms Palaszczuk has made no real attempt to identify anyone who should succeed her when she inevitably moves on from the Labor leadership in the future – a point made by Mr Beattie’s piece he wrote to mark his own 70th birthday.

And as for whether the next term of government will be her last as Premier, Ms Palaszczuk simply sidestepped the question by saying it was up to Queenslanders to decide.

MP Grace Grace. Picture: Liam Kidston

But she received a strong endorsement from Old Guard faction boss Grace Grace – who was also at the press conference – and chipped in with her support from the sidelines: “Not if we have anything to do with it,” she called out, in response to questions about whether the next term would be Ms Palaszczuk’s last.

Ms Palaszczuk would not be drawn on who should succeed her as leader, even when Ms Grace’s name was suggested alongside Deputy Premier Steven Miles – who leads the Left faction – and Treasurer Cameron Dick – who hails from the Premier’s Right faction. But she could not resist a dig at Mr Beattie – saying she hoped that on her 70th birthday she would be with family and not writing opinion pieces for newspapers. Touche, Premier.

ROLLED GOLD COAL

The Premier of a resource-dependent state going to war with the state’s resources industry was nothing we had on our 2022 bingo card.

But so it came to pass this week, after Queensland Resources Council splashing (apparently) $40m on an advertising campaign to ask the government to simply “reconsider” their super profits mining tax so angering the Premier that she imposed a government-wide boycott of the sector’s annual lunch.

Her ban on ministers attending the QRC lunch was, unsurprisingly, the talk of the event – and the apparent hypocrisy of the government crying foul over non-taxpayer money being spent wasn’t lost on the crowd.

One major industry executive quipped that “it’s a bit rich for the Premier to talk about wasting money after her government oversaw the Wellcamp fiasco”. Again, touche.

Another a big talking point at the event was the government’s highly touted hydrogen plan, with comments made there was surely plenty of money to be made in that sector – but only if you are a consultant.

And where was the face of the mining royalty regime himself while all this tit for tat was on? At a mine – of course!

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick visited Mount Morgan...

As did Minister for Resources Scott Stewart.

We had to chuckle when we got word that the Treasurer, along with Resources Minister Scott Stewart, was in Mount Morgan that very day announcing that the government would chip in cash to reinvigorate an abandoned gold mine. It is reasonable to say that announcement was a touch overshadowed.

SOCK IT TO ME

There’s just something about sport which brings out the pollies, so it perhaps should have come as no surprise to see them dishing out their support in droves for the Socceroos this week – or their social media teams spending even more time than usual on memes anyway.

Time to set your alarms for the @Socceroos v France match tomorrow morning. It’s a game not to miss. pic.twitter.com/iim0KiKhmg

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 22, 2022

The Premier eagerly tweeted a screenshot of her iPhone “alarm clock” pledging a pre-5am wake-up call, while Grace Grace and Stirling Hinchliffe also got in on the action.

Perhaps “what was the score?” needs to become the new “what’s the unemployment rate” question (or “what’s the GST rate”) over the next few weeks to flush out the true believers from the hangers on.

IT’S UTOPIAN

AND we’ve long felt that we are in a loving, breathing version of satirical show Utopia, so good to see the announcement late on Thursday that it’s making a return in 2023.

We’re sure given the political antics of the past few years they will have no shortage of material.