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The Forum > Article Comments > Anna flicks the switch > Comments

Anna flicks the switch : Comments

By Nicholas Gruen, published 5/3/2009

Queensland has done better than most states, with a strong capital program where other states have been winding theirs back.

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Thanks Nicholas for pointing out the few silver linings on the very dark cloud of the Bligh Labor Government.

Just as it was hard in 1988, prior to the election of Nick Greiner, to conceive of anything worse than the Unsworth Labor Government this article serves to remind us that we could end up even worse if Bligh were booted out on 21 March (as she surely deserves to be).

Springborg plans to use Public Private Private Partnership (i.e. privatisation) to fund the expansion of the Children's Hospital due to be closed to fund the construction of the "world class" chidren's hospital in the south of Brisbane hastily promised by Beattie in a desperate bid to be re-elected in 2006.

Whilst Springborg's plan might appear to better balance the books in the Short term, it could only make the problem even worse in teh longer term.

And Springborg's plans to make the public service more 'efficient' could, in fact, destroy jobs and services.

The need for the enormously costly infrastructure program has only been brought about by the reckless encouragement of population growth by Bligh and, before her, Beattie and all previous governments of either of the two major parties.

It makes barely more sense to create employment opportunities in this way than it does to create employment opportunities by starting a war.

James Sinnamon
Pro-democracy independent
candidate for Mount Coot-tha
http://canodobetter.org/QldElections/MountCoot-tha
Posted by daggett, Thursday, 5 March 2009 12:57:00 PM
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Apologies for the wrong URL in my last post.

It should have been http://candobetter.org/QldElections/MountCoot-tha

Someone phoned me to find out on what precise date the Unsworth Labor Government was booted out leaving the NSW public to face the tender mercies of Premier Nick Greiner's shock treatment.

In case anyone else wants to know, the precise date of that election was 19 March 1988.

It's a shame that Naomi Klein did not include a chapter on the odious Liberal Government of Nick Greiner in "The Shock Docrtine" (2007)

Whatever happens up here in Queensland after 21 March, we must not allow either Bligh or Springborg to do to us, what Greiner did to NSW back then (or what Kennett did to Victoria in the 1990's).
Posted by daggett, Thursday, 5 March 2009 3:46:14 PM
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An interesting take on things. It can't be denied that QLD has moved ahead in leaps and bounds over the last decade, however the current government seems at times to be a bit too arrogant for its own good. Enormous margins and apparently unlosable (is that actually a word? If so, is there an e after the s?) elections have helped this. Perhaps a Bligh government with a slim margin is a favourable outcome. That could lead to a new term in which the government has to perform and make itself accountable, while the opposition gets itself together and pieces together some decent policies. I don't know. To be honest, I have actually seriously considered voting informally in this election because I don't see much potential in any of my local candidates.
Posted by Otokonoko, Monday, 9 March 2009 12:19:48 AM
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Otokonoko, could you explain what you mean when you write "It can't be denied that QLD has moved ahead in leaps and bounds over the last decade"?

It looks to me that in terms of the quality of life, our care for the environment, housing affordability, our overall economic self-reliance and our long term sustainability, we have moved backwards in leaps and bounds over the last decade.
Posted by daggett, Monday, 9 March 2009 12:32:56 AM
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