Editorial: Both leaders playing loose with the truth

The cynicism that voters have for politicians should not be a surprise, especially for those who are students of Queensland’s political history, writes The Editor.

Steven Miles and David Crisafulli

The cynicism that voters have for politicians should not be a surprise – when just yesterday one of the men campaigning to lead Queensland wrongly claimed he had released the details of how he would fund his promises, while the other defended a letterbox-drop that falsely accuses his opponent of having a plan to “sell off” the state’s public hospitals.

Three full days in and all we can say about this 26-day campaign so far is, well, sigh. Is this the best they can come up with?

First to Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, who yesterday claimed that: “Every time we have made an announcement we’ve shown how it’s costed and how it’s going to be funded.” Well, he hasn’t.

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What he has done is promise that he will deliver his own version of a magic pudding budget, where he will match most of Labor’s pledged commitments and add a few more of his own – and deliver all this while reducing both taxes and debt.

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It is, one might charitably say, a challenging task. But don’t you worry about that, because – like most political leaders during a campaign – Mr Crisafulli says all will be revealed on the eve of polling day when he unveils his costings.

Or, as he put it yesterday: “When we’ve made all our announcements, you will see that fully costed and fully funded in the same way that all levels of government and all sides of politics have always done – and that is an open and transparent way, and it’s not anything startling.”

Meanwhile, Premier Steven Miles is literally now claiming as true leaflets authorised by his union mentor Gary “Blocker” Bullock that have been distributed in 10 different electorates that falsely say the LNP plans to “sell off” whatever is the nearest local hospital.

But for students of Queensland’s political history, Premier Miles’s reaction would not have surprised.

At the 1995 election – around the time Mr Miles joined the party as a 17 year-old – Labor sent postcards of hospitals to voters in 20 marginal seats that claimed: “The Nationals and Liberals will sell our hospitals and make you pay for health care.” The party based that claim on then-Liberal leader Joan Sheldon having said in her maiden speech to parliament five years earlier that: “The great socialist experiment of … Medicare has failed; the answer to this health dilemma is privatisation, while retaining a publicly funded system for those incapable of providing for themselves.”

When the postcards emerged, Ms Sheldon said she had been talking about primary healthcare – funded by the federal government – and not about state-run hospitals.

The Liberal Party state director at the time made a formal complaint to the Electoral Commission, which – just like this week – said it was powerless to act. The coalition then sought a Supreme Court injunction to stop Labor distributing the postcards. The case was thrown out.

Labor’s campaign director and state secretary at the time? It was none other than Mike Kaiser, now Premier Miles’s director-general.

And Mr Kaiser was unrepentant, saying the postcard claims were fair comment as they had been based on previous coalition statements – and the record of conservative premiers.

The Kaiser-led campaign then doubled down – ordering voters in the target electorates be targeted by a telephone survey that asked, among other things: “Would you be more or less likely to support a party whose policy was to push through hospital privatisation after the next state election?” It was, in other words, a targeted push-poll.

The opposition leader at the time, Rob Borbidge, labelled it all “pathetic, dirty, dishonest, sleazy, unethical politics”. But then-Labor premier Wayne Goss defended the postcard affair as part of a robust campaign – despite also conceding the coalition had no plans to privatise hospitals.

Mr Goss said it would be up to the voters to cast judgment on the scare campaign, and on July 15 they did.

The coalition enjoyed a swing to it of 7 per cent on the two-party preferred vote. Labor lost nine seats and snuck home with a majority of one. But seven months later it lost office after the Mundingburra by-election – and Mr Borbidge became premier. History, huh.

ROAR FOR NEW STADIUM

Lachie Neale’s crowning as the team’s best and fairest last night capped off a well-earned week of celebrations for the Brisbane Lions after their stunning demolition of the Sydney Swans in Saturday’s AFL Grand Final – the club’s first since its famed three-peat two decades ago.

While the team now heads off on holiday, the club’s off-field team should set about doing what the North Queensland Cowboys so successfully did a decade ago – use the premiership as a springboard to making the case for a new stadium.

We do understand why the club – and the AFL – have been largely mute. There really is no point in having the conversation with the state’s politicians ahead of the election, as determined as they are to not talk about stadiums because of fears of upsetting regional voters.

But the day after the government is decided, the Lions should have their ducks in a row. Sentiment has shifted in recent months, and Queenslanders understand the need for a new or better stadium than the Gabba. This is the moment for the Lions. They must take it.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here