State Election 2017: What today’s politicians can learn from the downfall of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen

The downfall of Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen has a lot to teach today’s politicians, according to veterans of the State Parliament.

SIR Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s dramatic downfall 30 years ago this week has lessons for today’s leaders, according to two of the long-serving premier’s former colleagues.

Queensland’s longest-serving leader was dumped by his own party and forced to resign in what another former National Party premier, Rob Borbidge, describes as “a Greek tragedy’’ that occurred amid the furore of allegations at the Fitzgerald Inquiry and during “the most tumultuous week in the state’s political history’’.

SIR JOH’S THREAT TO NATIONALS

Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen during his last days in power.

Mr Borbidge, who held the seat of Surfers Paradise, and fellow former Gold Coast MP Mick Veivers (Southport) reflected this week on the shock events of November and December 1987, and what the fallout has meant for both sides of politics in the modern day.

“We have seen the same sort of thing happen at a federal level across both the major parties and it proves that disunity is death,” Mr Veivers said.

“Disunity is the killer and this is something politicians of all stripes today need to understand.”

SIR JOH VS THE NATIONALS

Rob Borbidge

Mr Borbidge said the fall of then-premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen premiership was a lesson to all politicians.

“It was a different time and today is a different era but what it does demonstrate is that even the best and most successful leaders often do not realise when it is time to move on,” he said.

“The removal of Sir Joh split the party and it took a long time to move on from it.”

Mr Veivers, a long-time Southport MP and rugby league great, had only been in parliament less than six months at the time Sir Joh was removed and replaced as premier by Mike Ahern.

Sir Joh and Mick Veivers in May 1987. Picture: Grahame Long

Mr Veivers said he did not look back on those days with any fondness.

“I had been a parliamentarian a very short time when all of that happened,” the 78-year-old said.

“I was trying to get my feet under the desk which proved a steep learning curve and the goings-on in Parliament that week made it even steeper.”

Sir Joh served as premier for more than 19 years before his relationship with his ruling National Party collapsed amid revelations at the Fitzgerald Inquiry of institutional corruption in the police force and government.

The Joh for PM campaign damaged the Premier’s standing with his own party.

His ill-fated “Joh for PM’’ campaign added to the discontent that finally exploded in late November 1987.

Threats to sack his Cabinet and call an election, a leadership challenge from then-police minister Bill Gunn and collapsing support in the party room all led to Sir Joh resigning his commission on the night of December 2.

Mike Ahern became premier and sacked several MPs from Cabinet, including the Gold Coast’s so-called “Minister for Everything’’, Russ Hinze.

Sir Joh on the Gold Coast in April 1987.

JURY STILL OUT ON SIR JOH

Mr Borbidge, who later served as premier from 1996 to 1998, was promoted to Cabinet by Ahern in the fallout from Sir Joh’s exit but said the end of the Bjelke-Petersen regime was a deeply traumatic experience.

“It was the most momentous week in Queensland politics and an incredible chain of events which, at the end, moved quickly,” he said.

“What made it even more difficult was that Sir Joh had folk hero status and was a legend of Australian politics.

“He was someone who all of us who were in the government and respected and this made what happened all the more difficult and personal for those involved.”

Rob Borbidge (far left) was appointed to cabinet by new premier Mike Ahern. Picture by Barry Pascoe.

Mr Borbidge, who served as Surfers Paradise MP from 1980 to 2001, said the atmosphere in parliament and the National Party was grim during the standoff as Sir Joh initially refused to resign from the office.

“It was traumatic and the final few months of Joh’s premiership were fairly difficult for a range of reasons,” he said.

“The government was off the rails, there were concerns about a range of issues — obviously the Fitzgerald Inquiry was in full steam and it was just a really sad, terrible, traumatic time.

“There was a sense of Greek tragedy to it and a sense of inevitability that it was going to happen which just added to the whole atmosphere.”

Visit GoldCoastBulletin.com.au tomorrow for a Flashback feature: Downfall: Inside Sir Joh’s dark final days.