Queensland Election 2017: Vote LNP for best chance to unite state
THE Premier chose to use boxer Jeff Horn to help launch her campaign. But if Horn was as cautious and listless in the ring as Labor he’d have been knocked out in the first round rather than crowned world champ.
QLD Election
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ON SATURDAY, Queensland faces arguably its biggest test.
Our proud state finds itself at a critical crossroad. Voters have the chance to put Queensland back on the path to greatness – or choose a repeat of the past three years of torpor under Labor and risk creating a dangerous legacy for generations to come.
There is still much to look forward to in Queensland – the Commonwealth Games will showcase us to the world, tourism remains a highlight with a second Brisbane runaway set to increase the influx, while Queen’s Wharf will enhance city vibrancy.
However, our state faces serious challenges and is becoming deeply divided, as today’s Courier-Mail/Galaxy poll results show.
Queensland was once envied by the rest of the nation and indeed the world.
We were a dynamic economic juggernaut that championed a diverse range of job-creating industries rather than cherrypicking favourites based on ideology. If you were willing to work hard, opportunity and success followed, no matter your postcode.
Today, Queensland has the highest unemployment rate of any mainland state. In some regional areas, the jobless figure is well into the double figures.
We are weighed down by the largest mountain of debt in the country – set to hit $81 billion in 2020 – and have no will or plan to reduce the burden which flows through to every Queenslander.
Power prices are surging, while Labor squanders our natural advantage as a home of cheap baseload energy by pursuing a 50 per cent renewables target no matter the cost to struggling households.
At the start of this election campaign we declared “Queensland deserves better’’. It was an opportunity for a government and Premier roundly condemned as “do nothing’’ to set a bold new agenda. Instead, the Labor campaign has mirrored its term in government – cautious and listless.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk chose to use boxer Jeff Horn to help launch her campaign. But if Horn was as cautious and listless in the ring as Labor’s political performance he’d have been knocked out in the first round rather than crowned world champ.
Queensland wants its title back as the nation’s powerhouse, but Labor has offered no compelling long-term vision for the state or cogent strategy to rebuild our economic fortunes.
Ms Palaszczuk remains captive to her union masters, who fund Labor’s political machine and view themselves as the state’s ultimate rulers. We all pay the price of this sham marriage in everything from inflated building costs to the infamous “rail fail”.
The pervasive influence of the Greens has turned the Government openly hostile to vital job-generating projects like the Adani mine. It sends a chilling message to those looking to invest in Queensland. The bizarre backflip to veto the Adani loan – and Ms Palaszczuk’s ever-changing justifications – have been the nadir of her campaign. It exposed the Premier’s political chicanery and showed a callous contempt for the thousands of workers pinning their dreams of secure employment on the project.
The only job Ms Palaszczuk cared about in this tawdry affair was that of deputy leader Jackie Trad.
Instead of offering real hope for a better Queensland, Labor has devoted vast resources to attacking LNP leader Tim Nicholls for his role as treasurer in the Newman government. Mr Nicholls remains petrified by the ghosts of Newman government past, which paid dearly for going too hard, too fast with debt reduction. This has forced him to spend much of the campaign apologising for his perceived past sins and, to his discredit, joining Labor in kicking the debt can down the road.
Despite this, Mr Nicholls and the LNP began have delivered a far stronger series of proactive policies aimed at jump-starting Queensland, including slashing payroll tax and funding key infrastructure such as dams. While Mr Nicholls doesn’t enjoy the profile or popularity of Ms Palaszczuk, he’s clearly regarded as the superior economic manager.
The LNP leader’s Achilles heel has been his inability to articulate how he will deal with One Nation if they hold the balance of power. By contrast, Ms Palaszczuk has vowed not to work with any other party or independent – a promise she broke at the last election.
One Nation looms large in tomorrow’s poll. Its preferences will decide many contests and there remains a real possibility Pauline Hanson’s party will win enough seats to act as kingmaker. The One Nation resurgence has been driven by angry voters, particularly in the north, who feel abandoned by both major parties.
Many are voting against Labor and the LNP, rather than for One Nation. The deep sense of disenfranchisement behind One Nation’s rise cannot be ignored. But nor can the chaos One Nation inevitably invites, as memories of the 1998 election aftermath make so clear. A hung parliament with Ms Hanson pulling the strings will not assist Queensland’s recovery.
With the introduction of compulsory preferential voting, four extra seats and new boundaries, this election is shaping up to be unlike any other. It will be a pitched battle across 93 electorates.
Many seats will be decided by a handful of votes and opaque preference flows. It is vital that every vote counts.
Ms Palaszczuk portrays herself as a safe bet against the threat of more cuts and chaos offered by the LNP and One Nation. But the biggest gamble Queenslanders could take is doubling-down on three more years of lacklustre Labor leadership, beholden to the influence of unions and the Greens, letting us slip further behind the pack.
It’s time to breathe new life into Queensland. Mr Nicholls and the LNP have delivered a far more credible road map to unleash the business and entrepreneurial energy that will revitalise our state, not just in Brisbane, but from Cape York to Coolangatta and Mount Isa to Mackay.
Queenslanders deserve better than three more years of a “do nothing’’ government. A vote for the LNP is the best chance we have of uniting our state, putting it back on track to prosperity and restoring Queensland to its rightful place as the envy of Australia and the world.
Responsibility for election comment is taken by Sam Weir, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at www.couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us
Originally published as Queensland Election 2017: Vote LNP for best chance to unite state
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