George Street Beat: Qld politics news and gossip
With Queensland no longer a Labor state, is its most powerful unionist eyeing a national switch? THIS IS GEORGE STREET BEAT
The trouble facing the state’s most powerful worker organisation, the United Workers’ Union, doesn’t seem to have dampened Gary “Blocker” Bullock’s search for national power.
GSB hears Blocker is eyeing the national executive, with reports of a rift between him and national secretary Tim Kennedy.
His hand-picked Labor leader Steven Miles is staring down the barrel of a long three years as opposition leader – if he chooses to stay on.
Add to that an effort by Together Union boss Alex Scott to take more control of the Labor caucus, and Blocker’s power in Queensland isn’t what it once was.
Watch this space.
NO MEMOIR FOR YOU
Another Queensland Christmas will pass without the ideal stocking stuffer – former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s tell-all book.
It was revealed mid last year a book deal was on the cards and there was brief speculation it would be released near the state election.
However, Christmas came and went without any news and, again, GSB understands the former Premier’s memoir won’t be available for us political junkies this silly season either.
We couldn’t reach Ms Palaszczuk’s agent Max Markson, but the last we heard was that it now won’t come until early next year.
GSB has asked several current and former Labor figures whether they’d appear in the book and how they’d be portrayed.
“I don’t care,” one hit back.
FISHERS SHAFTED
Commercial fishermen were excited the decade of Labor management to end and a fresh start to begin under new Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett.
A gathering of 100 commercial fishos at the Fishing and Seafood State Forum on October 10 brought high hopes Mr Perrett would be available to discuss costs, rules stock limits and compliance.
However, one fisho told GSB they were shafted.
“We turned up, the minister for primary industries didn’t,” they said.
“If it was cattle he would’ve turned up.
“He’s a cattle bloke.
“How are we meant to believe there’s a future for commercial fishing when the one bloke in charge won’t show his face at the only statewide forum about our future?”
Instead, Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett turned up.
While Mr Bennett is a passionate advocate for fisheries, Mr Perrett is the decision maker.
“People drove for hours, left boats tied up, paid out of pocket,” GSB’s furious fishing source said.
FIXER OUT
Shannon Fentiman’s health fixer Robert Hoge is on the way out of Queensland Council of Social Service after three months in the role.
The short tenure comes after Mr Hoge – whose contract as Queensland Health’s top spinner was terminated soon after the LNP came to power – was tasked with delivering strategic communications at QCOSS.
The departure will leave QCOSS chief executive officer Aimee McVeigh again on the hunt for someone who can drive communications as this new LNP government turns the screws on the social services sector.
Mr Hoge was instrumental in leading Queensland Health’s communications under then minister Fentiman as the Labor government desperately tried to rebuild confidence in the organisation.
GSB hears he’ll leave at the end of November.
MISSED THE MEMO
Health Minister Tim Nicholls told reporters at a 1pm press conference on Tuesday that police were investigating a rat poisoning cluster in Logan — only for Queensland police to tell The Courier-Mail at 2.50pm they were not investigating and had not been contacted by Queensland Health.
Cue some frantic keyboard tapping, because 25 minutes after that denial, out came a fresh police statement declaring they were indeed working “with the view of conducting an investigation”.
Sources told GSB that police were sent scrambling to clean up Mr Nicholls’s slip.
SURF 1, MINISTER 0
Remember last week GSB applauded Police Minister Dan Purdie’s tennis skills?
Well, turns out he might want to stick to the court.
Purdie posted a glum snap to Instagram this week with his poor snapped surfboard captioned: “My day can only get better from here.”
Hang ten, minister.
TWIGGY NO TRUMP FAN
Andrew Forrest’s beef with US President Donald Trump heated up in Rockhampton this week, with the nation’s rich lister praising Aussie journalists for “barbecuing” the President.
Twiggy’s comments were made at a wind farm opening where he told journalists they could ask him any hard-hitting questions.
“I see how you barbecued Donald Trump so I think that’s fantastic Australian media, go Australian media, I just love it,” he said.
‘Sitting on his backside’: Hadley blasts Premier over sunset clauses
