This Saturday is election time in Queensland. You may or may not know that the Australian electoral system is split into federal, state and local government. The federal and state governments are both established under the Australian constitution. This election is a state election.
The Queensland legislative assembly is constituted by 89 members who serve terms of 3 years. The election is between the LABOR [sic] party and the LNP (Liberal National Party)
Voting is compulsory if you are a citizen, and you get fined if you don't. This may seem a little authoritarian, because it is. However, its worth noting that the 1995 state election in Queensland was initially won by the incumbent Labor party with Wayne Goss as the premier, by 16 votes in the district of Mudingburra. In 1996, the court ordered a re-run of the Mundingburra election and the result went the other way (to the Liberal party).
The new government was a split of 44 seats to 'the coalition', 44 seats to Labor, and one independent. (The coalition was a group of centre right parties that include the Liberal party and the National party. This agreement held - more or less - since 1922. Notably, under the notorious Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the National party broke the agreement and governed under their own banner from 1983 to 1989. JBP was removed from power in 1987 when accusations of corruption were so intense that remaining was untenable. You remember the blog I did last year about the mines in Collingwood park? Houses were built there because he took back-handers to allow it against the recommendations of Ipswich council...allegedly! Wayne thinks he was a saint! Yeah right Wayne.. )
Anyway, in 2008 the coalition agreed to merge and form the LNP. The front man for the LNP is a very self opinionated man called Lawrence Springborg. On the telly, he claims that HE formed the LNP. I knew nothing about them, so I looked it up. Given that they first hung out in bars together in 1922, that seems a little over eager. I looked up their site just now to write this, and the much advertised site is non operative. Ooops!
The Labor party is headed by a woman called Anna Bligh. The Labor party is the dominant party at the moment and the federal government is Labor. The Australian prime minister is Labor, (Kevin Rudd). To date I have NOT seen anyone use the obvious strap line 'Ruddy Hell'... but time will tell. It is a very true fact that it is next to impossible to maintain the euphoria that got you into power. Promises are SO much more real at the beginning for some reason. Even given that its politicians that are making them, people still seem to be surprised when they don't come true. Perhaps that's why people read trash love stories and go to church and do the lottery. They like to 'imagine' outcomes that they 'know' aren't going to happen.... and then they allow themselves to be disappointed when they don't.
Anna Bligh is in that position. There's been a lot of expenditure on infrastructure under her tenure, and much of it is over budget. This is bad news for her. When the PM gave away billions of dollars a little while back in an attempt to restart a flagging economy, it didn't go down all that well. He gave everyone a kickback and as you can imagine, even though it was only a few hundred bucks each, it came to a lotalota money. With bank bailouts on top, the Australian current account has blown out to the tune of 7% of GDP. ($19.3b in December) At that time, the chief economist at Lehman Brothers, Stephen Roberts said that the record deficit contained the potential for more pressure on Australian borrowers as the international crisis in credit markets escalated. (Huh... what does HE know eh? By the way, did you know that Lehman brothers is now trading as Neuberger Berman?. Their website says 'Our unique culture creates a performance-driven environment focused on meeting the investment goals and objectives of our clients. Clients interests [er making money] are aligned with those of portfolio managers [who like to make money too...?] who are majority owners of the firm and whose compensation is tied to the firms success'. Hmmn, so they learned a lot in the process of sending the global financial system into a tailspin eh? They go on to say 'Our commitment to developing customised investment solutions has always been a source of pride to our firm'!!!!!! Hey, just a weeny little thought, but wasn't it precisely that created the complex financial investment instruments that tied everyone in knots and led to the US sub prime crisis? No? OK, must have got the wrong end of the stick. That's the problem with being an oik.
Anna Bligh became premier the day before we arrived in QLD, so we have an illogical affinity to her. She was sworn in after the resignation of Peter Beattie who had been premier for 9 years. His wife, a doctor said he was a 'tired, exhausted man with bags under his eyes'. Apparently she was rather a brusque person. He made reference to her in one of his ending speeches: "I thank Heather (his wife was called June... ha ha just kiddin') in particular for putting up with me and giving me that frank advice from time to time like you're fat and overweight and you've got bags under your eyes, you should keep your speeches shorter and all those wonderful things that my wife gave me advice on". GOD don't politicians put a gloss on things!
Mrs Bligh is one month older than me, and graduated with an arts degree in 1980. (Quick eh!)
It's interesting that the LNP are criticising her 'appalling handling of the economy' because before she was Premier, she had a spell as Minister for Finance, during which time QLD had an economic growth rate more than double the rest of Australia. Actually, like a lot of politicians, she was moved about so much that its surprising she didn't lash it up more than they claim. She was only in that job for 6 months before they made her deputy premier, treasurer and minister for state development. Australia has had a chequered history with debt, usually punctuated by periods of high minerals exportation. We just had one of those, and its just stopped.
Maybe one day, they'll start investing in creativity....
Incidentally, I accidentally threw away Daile's registration papers. She's not on the electoral register, so she doesn't have to vote here either! Yippededodar!
Er...update (next day). She does have one. And she did vote... honest!
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