Coronavirus: Political headwinds forced gamble on Virgin

Virgin pilot Ian Morrison performs a pre-flight inspection at Brisbane Airport on Thursday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Can this bid for a stake in Virgin provide the miracle political rebirth the Palaszczuk government needs to win back regional Queensland at the election in ­October?

Does the bid even need to be formally made for the government to enjoy political kudos?

There is no doubt Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has found the spring in her step that has eluded her for much of the year, one of the more remarkable outcomes from the rapid descent of deputy Jackie Trad into near political oblivion thanks to another Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into her behaviour.

Such a big cloud hanging over the head of a senior Labor figure would have crippled most other governments, but the unique dynami­cs of this often motley crew have managed to produce an entire change in its re-election pitch in the space of a week.

Palaszczuk now heads a government in which the Right faction has regained control of the Treasury benches at a time when business confidence, thanks to COVID-19, is at a low ebb.

The demise of its major liability in the regions, Trad, has coincided with a chance, through the Virgin bid, to wind the clock back to an almost Beattie-esque theme of state development defining the business of Queensland.

The ever-awkward pairing of Palaszczuk and Trad has been replaced by the Three Amigos of the Premier, Treasurer Cameron Dick and State Development Minister Kate Jones, striding forth in hard hats and hi-vis vests declaring that all they’re about is supporting regional Queensland.

The political pitch for the Virgin bid has zeroed in on regional Queensland’s sensitivity about the future of the tourism industry, the threat of a Qantas monopoly and the cost of air travel.

“Today it is absolutely vital that we keep jobs in tourism, that we can back an airline that’s based here in Queensland and we back the workers right across regional­ Queensland as well,” Palaszczuk said.

 

The government appears to have decided to wear the criticism about its plans from business circles and others based in the state’s metropolitan southeast if it means some favourable headlines further north. The financial attractions of this tilt at Virgin might be questionable but the political attractions are irresistible for a government with a swag of seats on razor-thin margins, from Rockhampton to the Cape.

It has also done the new Treasurer no harm to throw down a marker showing how he will tackle the job in the run-up to the poll.

To have a Treasurer from the Right make a big statement about regional jobs at a time when the faction his predecessor belongs to was making headlines for doing secret deals to bolster its numbers in caucus sends a message that the grown-ups are back in charge.

All of this is risky business but the government had to do something. The only downside would be if it ended up owning a part of Virgin, because then it would cop demands for scheduled services to every dusty airstrip in the state.