Axe to grind at LNP headquarters and Labor top rivalry not so friendly on Facebook
The old proverb “live by the sword, die by the sword” was given a new edge during the latest bloodletting at Liberal National Party headquarters.
Tony Eyres had only been LNP state director since June but walked the plank last week at arguably the worst time as the party gears up for its battleground Queensland campaign in the federal election.
As The Australian reported last week, Eyres’ move follows a swag of resignations from HQ (some before his arrival) and the engagement of a human-resources consultant to find out if there was a problem with staff and his management style.
But before the consultant delivered his report, Eyres decided the perfect tonic for the office bitterness was for some team-bonding activities.
And instead of lunch or lawn bowls (sooooo 2006) to help stop the back-stabbing, Eyres dipped into the LNP coffers to hire a few lanes at a local “axe-throwing” venue. Look it up, it’s a thing.
Seemingly, it didn’t work and Eyres got it in the neck two weeks later.
For the record, LNP prez Lawrence Springborg issued a statement saying Eyres resigned because the director’s position was entering a “more operational role”, otherwise known as an election campaign.
A (cropped) picture is worth a thousand words
Political ambition can be expressed in the smallest of ways.
On Sunday, Annastacia Palaszczuk was in Gladstone to unveil Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s plans to build a $1bn hydrogen equipment facility as the next step in the government’s strategy to become a renewable powerhouse.
It was a big day, and the Premier’s omnipresent team of photographers were on hand to capture the announcement for posterity and, possibly more importantly, to feed the government’s never-ending stream of social media posts.
Along for the ride was Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Treasurer Cameron Dick, Energy and Renewables Minister Mick de Brenni and Regional Development Minister Glen Butcher.
Miles (of the dominant Left faction) and Dick (of Palaszczuk’s Right faction) are undeclared rivals for the top job when the Premier gives it away.
Chooks couldn’t help but notice that after the media scrum on Sunday, the Facebook pages of Palaszczuk, Dick and Miles all carried various pics of the announcement.
But while the Palaszczuk and Miles pages had images of all in attendance, Dick’s Facebook post had the Deputy Premier cropped-out of every single image.
Ruff laws for landlords
A landlord’s general dislike for flea-ridden, stinky, hair-shedding cats and dogs will not be a good enough reason to decline a renter’s application for pets under housing reforms being debated in Queensland.
The long-awaited legislation, delayed more than a year because of Covid-19, will make it easier for renters to keep pets, requiring landlords to have “reasonable grounds” to refuse an application.
Lessors will have to respond to pet requests in writing within 14 days and can put conditions on allowing animals, such as it being kept outside.
Conditions cannot include a rent increase or an additional “pet bond”.
Reasons for refusing a pet could include the property being unfenced or that it would breach a body corporate by-law.
Housing Minister Leanne Enoch said the bill struck “an appropriate balance between lessor and tenants’ rights”.
Her counterpart on the opposition benches, Tim Mander, thinks homeowners shouldn’t have to justify why they want to keep pets out of the house.
“We all know that you can enter a house and know immediately that a dog or a cat has been in the house because of the odour,” he said.
Living large
Would-be inmates at Toowoomba’s Wellcamp quarantine facility might get to live large, if the public servant working on the project stays true to form.
Bureaucrat Jasmina Joldic has been appointed to run government oversight of the construction of the quarantine hub.
Ms Joldic, formerly executive director in the Queensland Health director-general‘s office, made headlines last year when it was revealed she had requested An $8000 renovation to her Queensland government office despite a Covid-induced pause on works.
She argued that the room was apparently so noisy officials could not think while working on the pandemic response.
The government’s capacity restrictions also meant not enough public servants could cram into the original 11.5 sq m space.
Ms Joldic requested the works, which included knocking down a wall between her office and a neighbouring meeting room, effectively doubling the size of her office.
She also argued she had to discuss confidential matters and the soundproofing in the room was inadequate.
We’re sure anyone spending two weeks at Wellcamp will be glad for a little extra space and soundproofing.
In the numbers?
Some of Queensland’s Chinese community were a little unnerved last week when they received a text message from the Palaszczuk government, calling on them to sign up for a Covid-19 vaccine.
Did anyone else get this message? pic.twitter.com/uVfb7YVsjN
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 5, 2021
The more superstitious among them took particular note of the phone number (+61 444 444 444) which carried a lot of fours — an unlucky number in China.
Chooks have been told the number is considered so unlucky that many buildings do not list a fourth floor.
Apparently it has something to do with the word for ‘four’ sounding similar to the word for ‘death’.
One Chinese Australian told the Chooks the number would have certainly spooked some of the more vaccine hesitant people the government was trying to bring round.
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