Wellington may not back either party

6th March 2009

By Kerryn Manifold


The Liberal National Party may not receive the support of Peter Wellington if there is a hung parliament after March 21 despite the independent MP’s refusal to back the Bligh government because of the Traveston Dam issue.

Latest opinion polls show punters are swinging towards voting for a conservative government for the first time in 11 years despite those surveyed suggesting Anna Bligh would make the better premier.

While voters say opposition leader Lawrence Springborg is less trustworthy and less in touch with their concerns than Ms Bligh, Labor would receive only 41% of the primary vote compared to the LNP’s 44% if an election were held today.

On a two-party preferred basis, the LNP would lead Labor by two percentage points with 51% of the vote bringing the possibility of a minority government formed with minor parties or independents into play.

Mr Wellington, who handed power to Peter Beattie in the 1998 elections, said he remained opposed to the Bligh government as long as it supported the Traveston Dam but this did not mean he would automatically support the LNP if he held a casting vote.

“The reason I am an independent is because I wanted to make sure I could represent my constituents views,” Mr Wellington said.

“I will not change my opposition to the Traveston Dam but, in saying that, I need to make sure there is no alternative put forward by an alternative government.

“Let’s say the Liberal Nationals win and the dam won’t go ahead but we revisit the site to the south of Traveston and the Mary Valley at Cambroon or the Obi Obi Valley. I will not support that.”

LNP infrastructure spokeswoman and Maroochydore candidate Fiona Simpson said the opposition’s water policy was made public in May, 2008.

“It’s quite clear what the water sources will be and that’s not Cambroon,” Ms Simpson said.

However, she said the LNP would not consider asking Mr Wellington for support to form government.

“We’re not looking at forming a minority government,” she said.

“Queensland needs a change of government and stability.”

Nicklin ALP candidate Peter Baulch last week said the dam still needed to gain federal approval

Dam dollars a Bligh travesty

7th March 2009

By Bill Hoffman

Glenda Pickersgill opposes the Traveston Crossing Dam.

The billions of dollars being thrown at the still unapproved proposal to build a dam at Traveston Crossing would be a key state election issue given the parlous condition of the government’s finances, anti dam campaigners have claimed.

The Greater Mary Association switched its point of attack against the dam from environmental issues to the economy on Thursday, claiming the $570 million of taxpayer money already spent equated to 40% of the state’s current budget deficit.

It claims that amount of money would have funded 50,000 elective surgery operations or paid for thousands of additional teachers, health professionals or police.

The government has admitted it owes $75 billion, a situation that has seen its Triple A credit rating fall to Double A.

The association has already mounted a letter box postcard campaign in key marginal Brisbane seats and on Wednesday member for Wide Bay Warren Truss was presented with 4000 letters from dam opponents addressed to the prime minister and other key federal ministers.

“All this money has been spent on a dam proposal that does not even have the mandatory state and federal approvals,” association chairman Darryl Stewart said.

“This is total economic irresponsibility in this era of state and global financial crisis.

“Each and every Queenslander has been forced to contribute their hard earned taxes, without consultation, for a dam which, according to the state government’s own figures, would not even be needed until around 2030, and even that is believing all of their other questionable predictive assumptions,” he said.

Mr Stewart said there were a range of initiatives in which the government could have invested that would have improved the quality of life of all Queenslanders.

“And what have we got for our $570 million? Many wealthy spin doctors and a huge area of some of the best food producing land in the whole country now owned by the state government and lying in limbo together with all of the people of the Mary River catchment,” he said.

“If the premier was even half serious about our environment, she would put an immediate and permanent stop to the proposed environmentally catastrophic Traveston Crossing Dam and invest the estimated $2.3 billion, still to be wasted on Traveston, in initiatives which enhance Queensland’s ability to adapt to the environmental challenges of the future.”

Mr Stewart said that instead the premier was prepared to impose economic and environmental damage for a dam that he said would not work was totally rainfall dependent, and which was not even needed.

Queensland election race narrows

The World Today - Friday, 6 March , 2009
Reporter: Annie Guest

TANYA NOLAN: The race for power in Queensland is narrowing with the latest poll showing the election is on a knife edge.

The merged Liberals and Nationals have a small lead on a two party preferred basis, but it wouldn’t be enough for them to govern in their own right.

With rising unemployment one of the biggest issues facing the incumbent Government, the election is being read by some as a possible litmus test for the Federal Labor Party.

Annie Guest reports from Brisbane.

ANNIE GUEST: It’s half way into the four-week Queensland election campaign and there haven’t been too many diversions from the script.

Although there’s this from the Premier Anna Bligh on commercial radio:

(Anna Bligh and radio presenters singing in unison):

ANNA BLIGH: Can she fix it? Bligh the Builder, yes I can!

RADIO PRESENTERS: Can she fix it? Bligh the Builder, yes she can!

(End of singing)

ANNIE GUEST: But the Premier and the Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg are sticking to their scripts on the latest poll.

The survey by Galaxy Research shows the merged Liberals and Nationals leading Labor 51-49 on a two party preferred basis.

ANNA BLIGH: Clearly this will be a very close election and it’s an election that puts a clear choice to Queenslanders; a choice between my plan to protect jobs and services and Mr Springborg’s plan to cut jobs and cut services.

LAWRENCE SPRINGBORG: Well certainly this is very encouraging and it proves that people haven’t bought the excuse as to why Labor have run to the polls six months early after 11 years of continuous office in Queensland. But we know full well that we have to be going further ahead in order to be able to change the 22 seats in Queensland.

ANNIE GUEST: It’s the most support shown for Queensland’s conservatives since a poll taken before the last State election. That election turned out to be another big win for Labor in 2006.

This week’s poll showed voters are very concerned about jobs. It’s their second biggest worry after health.

Today there’s more bad jobs news. The home grown success Bank of Queensland is slashing 150 employees. That’s 10 per cent of the workforce.

Thousands of Queensland miners are already out of work and another big employer, tourism, is struggling badly.

Galaxy Research’s principal is David Briggs.

DAVID BRIGGS: The ALP Government has got two issues really surrounding it. The one is that being in government for 11 years, it’s built up a bit of baggage. And there’s always the sense of it’s time.

The other thing is that the poll clearly showed that health and public hospitals is a significant issue in this election. And our poll in the Courier Mail last week emphasised that in fact the Lib Nats were perceived as being better managers in that area, and that’s a little surprising because normally that’s the domain of Labor administrations to be ahead in social and welfare issues.

ANNIE GUEST: And jobs was the second major issue of concern for voters in this poll.

DAVID BRIGGS: That’s right. Now protecting jobs is typically one of those areas in which Labor area very strong, so the two key issues heading into this election is one favouring the Lib Nats and the other favouring the ALP. So that’s probably why we’re seeing it so closely in the balance.

ANNIE GUEST: What will it take in these next two weeks for one of the parties to gain a definitive result on election day? For instance, how significant will announcements like today’s be, that Bank of Queensland is slashing 10 per cent of its jobs?

DAVID BRIGGS: This is going to be a fascinating way that this plays out because traditionally Labor is seen as being the best at protecting jobs. However following this announcement some people might think, well hang on, these guys can’t do it better than anyone else and therefore it’s worth taking a risk and giving the Springborg team an opportunity.

So although the news is bad, this you know 10 per cent reduction in the workforce, there’s no guarantee that it will favour either the ALP or the Lib Nats. It depends on the spin that’s put on it and the way that the political parties respond to it.

ANNIE GUEST: The Greens Party could be very influential in this election. The poll shows it has eight per cent support but there is talk of the party not allocating preferences.

Voters don’t have to number every box in Queensland so if Greens voters didn’t allocate preferences it would be harder for Labor to gain power in its own right, based on the results in this survey.

But even if the Greens Party advised its voters not to allocate preferences, it’s uncertain whether it would be followed by voters who traditionally preference Labor.

TANYA NOLAN: Annie Guest reporting.