Des Houghton on Qld politicians opening up about family, cost of life in spotlight
Schoolchildren in the public gallery at state parliament this week may have thought they were watching a soap opera, writes Des Houghton.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Welcome to my brain tumour.
Pity poor Palestine.
“Clowns on the left, jokers on the right.”
Excuse me while I weep for my beloved wife and child.
Schoolchildren in the public gallery at state parliament this week may have thought they were watching a soap opera.
The usual rancorous attacks were softened with stories of sadness and joy.
Members from both sides offered rare insights into their family lives. That is unusual in the bubbling cauldron of the Legislative Assembly.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and Labor’s Member for Macalister Melissa McMahon revealed details of their children’s lives.
McMahon talked about “those bouts of vertigo” she had last year in parliament.
“In June last year I was diagnosed with a brain tumour,” she told the House.
McMahon, who has served in the Australian Army and the Queensland Police before politics, stepped into the chamber like a fashion week model, resplendent in a black suit, white shirt and thin black tie tucked inside a dark waistcoat. She wore a dramatic hairdo with shaved sides.
She was making a statement that she was alive and that she was back. McMahon spoke about a marathon surgery to remove a largemeningioma behind her right ear near her cerebellum.
“My family has been a source of strength for me; my three young kids. To my eldest, Luka, who at 15 years old is an absolute force of nature. Nothing has ever been or will ever be outside her grasp,” she said.
“To my boy, Ronan … I was absolutely proud to accompany him during the last sitting week when his school came in here. He has just come on in leaps and bounds.
“To my youngest daughter, Mackenzie, who has only ever known this (political) life, and that comes with a lot of parental guilt in this House because of the things that you miss.”
“It has turned her into a bit of a force of nature as well. She makes me aware that I am alive.
“I am now at a point in the process where I have to have annual scans to make sure the tumour does not come back.”
The health scare led McMahon to ponder uncomfortable truths.
“In my third term I have come to the startling realisation that no one is actually listening too much to what we are sayingin here,” she said.
“The reality is it is all about what we do outside rather than inside this place.”
Like McMahon, the Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg, confessed to similar feelings of guilt.
He listed some of his departments’ achievements and added: “I have kept this until the end because it is the worst bit.
“All of us who come to this place know that it is their families who pay the price …”
Then the tears fell.
“I swore I was not going to cry … my wife Anna … she is a rock,” he said.
“We have four young kids, two of which have been born since I came to this place. My oldest is 10 and my youngest is four. That takes considerable weight. I want to thank Anna; I want to thank my kids.”
His ministerial duties disturbed family life.
He told a story about an event he attended on the Sunshine Coast.
“The lady at the tent said to my young fella Alex, ‘What is it like having dad as a Minister?’ and he said, ‘Oh, I see him on Fridays, and he sometimes visits on Mondays’, and it hurt. That is the truth. They pay the price.”
Mickelberg teared up again. After a pause he said: “They pay the price but hopefully it is worth it, because we will deliver a better Queensland for them and for every Queenslander.”
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington lamented the endless meetings and missed dinners that took her away from her “amazing andwonderful husband, Jason, and our three incredible and amazing daughters Isabella, Lucy and Elke”.
“Your father and I love you very much,” Frecklington told them. “We are so incredibly proud of the incredible humans you have turned out to be, even after my 12 years in this place.”
David Crisafulli rarely speaks about his wife Tegan or his daughters, but he did this week.
“Members in this House know that we do all we can to keep the girls out of the limelight,” the Premier said.
“They are incrediblyengaged, articulate and intelligent young women. They are both nearly adults now and we are incredibly proud of them. I want to thank them for their support.”
Bleijie’s children have cut loose. One daughter has just bought a house; another one drives a truck in a goldmine and the youngest child, a boy, has gone bush.
“Taylor has just moved out of home with her fiance. They saved up and they are living the Australian dream with their terrace house in Caloundra,” he said.
“My second daughter Madison, who loves getting on the campaign trail on election day, is a fly-in fly-out gold miner in Cracow. She lives there half the time – week on, week off.
“She is driving trucks. It is still a male-dominated industry, but there are many women coming through now. She says, ‘Dad, they could not be nicer to me and the team and particularly the women who work in the mine site.’
“My boy Jasper is 15 years old. He is the biggest campaigner out of all of them. He is in year 10 at Meridan State College. As we speak, he is in the electorate of Gregory riding around on a motorbike with his oma and opa who are on a caravanning holiday. He has gone up there to be with them (to) ride the motorbike. He shot a kangaroo yesterday … let me rephrase. He took aim and missed, and it jumped away.’’
Bleijie also attacked Labor’s election campaign he said was based on “mistruths and misinformation”.
“They should hang their heads in shame for the campaign they ran. It was dirty, it was nasty, it was grubby, it was deceitful. It was gutter politics at its worst. There are no better politicians in this place to do gutter politics than the Labor Party.’’
He predicted Labor leader Steven Miles would be replaced by Christmas by the Opposition’s “clowns on the left, jokers on the right”.
But the week belonged to Treasurer David Janetzki who presented the most important budget in a generation. He offered hope.
It was a bravura performance by Janetzki, who promised a fresh start while warning of “uncertainties” and “global geopolitical tensions” ahead.
IRRITANT OF THE WEEK
The ALP MPs who failed to do their duty by skipping parliament.
Originally published as Des Houghton on Qld politicians opening up about family, cost of life in spotlight
This is the disgusting side of the human race – I know who to blame
The greed of profit-ravenous tech giants has decimated human decency, and anti-social behaviour of the chronic kind we’ve been seeing recently is a direct result of these unregulated online platforms, writes Kylie Lang.
Bruce Hwy upgrade up and running at last
After years of political bickering and a sustained campaign from The Courier Mail there’s finally a plan for the Bruce, writes the editor.
‘If you voted Labor at the federal election, this is what you get’
It’s the $100 a year boost that comes with multiple strings attached, it seems. HAVE YOUR SAY
Analysis: Miles’ crocodile tears can’t mask his hypocrisy
Labor MPs are outraged over the questionable waste of time and effort in changing Queensland’s logo from maroon to blue, but he said nothing when Annastacia Palaszczuk’s branding was slapped on almost all health advice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Editor’s view: New treasurer missed the party, but gets the hangover
That is the key takeout of Treasurer David Janetzki’s first State Budget, delivered yesterday, is that we are paying the price of the past two failed state governments, writes the editor.
Forget Stacia. It’s Campbell Newman who still looms large over this Budget
David Janetzki has been left a shocking headache, largely through no fault of his own. You might even say he is suffering from a hangover, despite having missed the party, writes The Editor.