Time for Labor to change their ways and show true leadership | Opinion

In pre-COVID Queensland, the state was in trouble. Treasury debt was heading towards $100bn, the public service wage bill was soaring and nobody in government had any idea of how to breathe life into a moribund economy. That’s not going to cut it anymore, writes Mike O’Connor.

Suddenly it’s that time and within days the saccharine sounds of I’m Dreaming Of a White Christmas will begin to float through the air as retailers ready for the Yuletide spending splurge.

I am presuming here that White Christmas is still acceptable and has not been denounced as a celebration of white supremacy and entitlement and supplanted by I’m Dreaming of a Socially Inclusive Christmas.

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Coles and Woolies should, perhaps, play it safe and stick with Jingle Bells but then again, this could easily be construed as a celebration of the oppression of reindeers.

Forget the soundtrack. It’s all about presents anyway so what do you want for Christmas? Queenslanders have already made a list of their Christmas wishes and it’s sitting on the desk of our newly re-elected Santa in the form of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and Treasurer Cameron Dick, return to work at 1 William Street, Brisbane, on Monday following Labor’s election win. Picture: Liam Kidston

The promises have been made and hand-on-heart assurances given that the Labor team will burn the candle late into the night as it toils to improve the lot of the electorate.

In pre-COVID Queensland, and it is worth bearing in mind that a mere 10 months ago no one had heard of the virus that has come to dominate our lives, the state was in trouble.

Treasury debt was heading towards $100bn, the public service wage bill was soaring and nobody in government had any idea of how to breathe life into a moribund economy or any particular inclination to change this. The mantra was “if you do nothing you can’t get into too much trouble”. That’s not going to cut it anymore. The boys and girls admiring the view of the river from their government suites at 1 William Street are going to have to start earning their money and all the lovely perks that come with being a minister.

Palaszczuk’s victory, which had everything to do with the pandemic and little to do with policies, means she and her team have an unprecedented four years to improve the lot of Queenslanders. Don’t expect miracles. The shroud of secrecy that surrounds it will be pulled even tighter.

A government that has been obsessed with denying the electorate knowledge of the way it operates is not going to change but those of us in the media will maintain our efforts to provide some transparency.

The thing is that this state should be a powerhouse. It’s resource rich, is a tourism haven, is home to some of the smartest business brains in the country and enjoys an ideal climate.

A lazy government with its eye ever focused on the next election rather than the task at hand can, however, negate these advantages. It would be fair to say that the cabinet has not in the past been composed of the brightest and the best, a harsh but reasonable judgment and an inevitable result of the influence of trade unions on the appointment process.

It falls then to the public service to provide the innovative policies that we need to lead us out of the economic doldrums in which we now languish. They have a civic and moral duty to provide frank and fearless advice rather than succumb to the temptation to exclaim “Yes Minister. Wonderful idea Minister!” when confronted with the latest display of ministerial ineptitude.

They carry on their shoulders a burden of trust placed there by the people and should bear in mind the motto on the Queensland government coat of arms which reads Audax at Fidelis – Bold but Faithful.

We will now wait and see for the promised upgrading of our road network, essential in a sprawling state like ours, to commence. The M1 duplication and the Bruce Highway should be priorities. We must hope that as has happened so often in the past, the federal government will not be blamed for not paying for what the state government has promised, an excuse to kick the infrastructure can down the road where it will lie until the next election.

Should the Premier check the Christmas wish list on her desk, she will find that the people also want an end to politically driven responses to COVID-19. The election is over and sanity can now prevail. We are part of the Australian nation so an abandonment of the Fortress Queensland posturing would be as welcomed by the population at large as it would by the business community.

It is not a time for business as usual for the next four years can make or break the state of Queensland.

Originally published as Time for Labor to change their ways and show true leadership | Opinion