QLD state election result: Figure who is key to outcome
Over the next ten weeks, expect to hear a lot from Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deb Frecklington. But it is a person who is not even a Queenslander that has the most sway over this state election, writes Keith Woods.
Opinion
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In ten weeks time Queensland goes to the polls.
Annastacia Palaszczuk seeks her third term of office, Deb Frecklington her first.
But another figure, one who is not even a Queenslander, looms large in this campaign: Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.
It was Mr Andrews’ government that let COVID-19 back into Australia via the abysmal mismanagement of its hotel quarantine scheme.
Mr Andrews’ government which thus forced Queensland to once again close its borders, at enormous social and economic cost.
Ms Palaszczuk, as Premier, should perhaps be asking Mr Andrews to apologise to Queenslanders.
Instead, her party has been trialling messaging that seeks to take electoral advantage from the chaos, saying that LNP leader Ms Frecklington called for borders to be reopened “64 times”, and claiming her challenger would “ignore” medical advice.
“The LNP have said they wouldn’t listen to the expert health advice and would have opened Queensland’s borders”, Ms Palaszczuk said last week.
“That would have meant forcing the closure of our economy – or letting the virus through our population. Either way, that would have stopped the economic recovery in its tracks.”
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It is an act of deep cynicism. Ms Palaszczuk and her team well know that when those calls were made by Ms Frecklington and others, this column included, the first wave of COVID-19 had passed and little or no cases were being recorded.
Indeed, Ms Palaszczuk herself ultimately relented and announced borders would reopen on July 10 to all states except Victoria.
Seeking hope for small business at that time was and is nothing to be ashamed of. Allowing the virus to run more rampant than ever as a result of mismanagement, as Mr Andrews’ team has done, certainly is.
The outcome of October’s state election could hinge on how successfully Ms Frecklington can fend off this unseemly attack line.
So far, perhaps wary of the old maxim that when you’re explaining you’re losing, Ms Frecklington’s response has been timid. When challenged on her previous border stance, she invariably replies that she has “always said” border restrictions were not “set and forget”.
The only thing set is the soundbite – and it is utterly forgettable.
CANDIDATE SLAMMED FOR ‘APPALLING’ BORDER COMMENTS
However visiting the Gold Coast last week, there were signs that Ms Frecklington may soon be ready to fight back with a little more gusto.
“The Premier needs to stop playing politics with the borders,” Ms Frecklington said.
“We heard (on Thursday) the Premier announce that borders would be made into a political weapon for this election. When I hear that I get really disappointed because I’m thinking about the 234,000 Queenslanders out of work and the fact that the Labor government doesn’t have any economic plan. Quite frankly that’s risking the lives and livelihoods of Queenslanders.”
There are other reasons to believe that Ms Frecklington may have more of a chance in October than her low approval ratings suggest.
She appears passionate about issues of importance to ordinary people, most particularly regarding the economy and crime.
A recent event was telling. Eyebrows were raised when Ms Frecklington failed to appear alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his last visit the Gold Coast on July 18. What few knew was that she declined to attend because it would have meant cancelling a meeting with the grieving parents of Jack Beasley, an innocent teenager who died after being stabbed in a random attack in Surfers Paradise.
That she put that commitment ahead of the Prime Minister said a lot about who Ms Frecklington really is – something the LNP, with their lame soundbites, have so far failed to convey to voters.
WHAT GOLD COAST LOCALS THINK OF BORDER BUBBLE
They have also failed to convincingly convey the message that Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young’s name will not be on any ballot sheet, meaning Queensland’s excellent health response should be unhindered by any change of regime. Or that the LNP is capable not only of maintaining that health response, but doing so with less damage to the economy.
The opposition need voters to believe that Ms Frecklington can be Queensland’s answer to Gladys Berejiklian, the real stand-out politician in this pandemic, not Queensland’s answer to the failed Mr Andrews – the spectre that haunts this election.
Mr Andrews’ influence will continue right up until election day in ten weeks time. How his government performs will continue to cast a long shadow.
Three weeks ago, with Victoria at the height of its miseries, this columnist would have put money on a Palaszczuk victory. Support for her draconian border policy was rock solid.
Now, as case numbers there ebb away, questions are once again being asked about the collateral damage caused by Ms Palaszczuk’s approach.
It promises to be a fascinating ten weeks.
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