Lawrence Springborg says that Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen should be remembered for the things he did especially the projects like railways. I am still campaigning to have the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway built even though Sir Joh promised to build it at least twice. Praise him for the promises he kept by all means but note well the ones that he didn't. The Beattie Government is no less dodgy on this project despite its eminent sensibility and excellent cost benefit ratio.

Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson may have been a bit dodgy but at least he got things done and stood up to union thuggery.If only we had a Sir Joh to run NSW.At least he had the courage of his convictions and the will do improve his state for the good of the majority.

Just look what the socialist morons have done to NSW.It will take years to fix.They have stuffed everything from infrastructure,industrial relations and spent the GST like the Drunken Sailors of the Whitlam era.They have never had so much yet cry out for more.

Peter Beatty is basking in the sunlight of Sir Joh's achievements and his public show of respect for him, acknowledges his achievements.

Tom Burns and it seems everyone else was sued by Joh and his cabinet for saying that the government was the best that money could buy. Springborg should stop looking through rose coloured glasses- Joh was found by a jury (Thiess v Channel 9)to have taken bribes from Les Thiess. let alone the bags of money that resulted in the perjury trial,the gerrymander and Alan Bond's $400,000.Is this what "the greatest Queenslander" ever that Springborg hopes to equal? The real people whom we should thank are Bill Gunn and Mike Ahern.Tho they were from the same side of politics as Joh, they were honest and wanted to get to the truth. Without their courage in starting the Fitzgerald inquiry,and allowing it to continue, Queensland would not be the free and open society it is now. If Joh had his way, with his attempted sacking of all those who did not toe his line to get rid of Fitzgerald,Fitzgerald would have been a postscript in our history, and we would still have a corrupt government ruoled through rigged electoral boundaries.The person I would say is Queensland's greatest is Tony Fitzgerald- Queensland's social and political life can truly be seen as pre and post his report. A man of vision, clarity and honesty.

Deep down, I don't blame Lawrence Springborg for his myopic and simplistic analysis of the Joh era. He is after all, a product of his blinkered and naive youth. Joh, like Hanson, was able to speak directly to the masses in Queensland. They both were able to simplify complex issues by reducing them to even more simplistic analysis and solution for an audience who secretly cringed about their lack of political sophistication and accumen. Queensland has moved on considerably and its time that Lawrence realised this himself.

dorsai, that railway line you are talking about has been promised by politicians since before federation.

There are those who despise Joh but he really is to be admired. He built Queensland and gave us a lot. Before Joh, Queensland was just a wasteland that nobody cared about at all. Just because he refused to cave into the radical left and the PC Brigade does not make him bad.

Atleast Sir Joh never used the police to intimidate his political opponents unlike the ALP who under Goss, took files from the Nationals head office on a weekly basis then under Beattie, illegally trialled and imprisoned Hanson/Etteridge and, strived to find the supporters of our pro-euthanasia doctor so that he could politically persecute them.

We had good health system, under Labor we have a crumbling health system where everything is falling apart and, Beattie's Ministers are going to prison one after another for child sex crimes and more.

Bring back Joh!

lilstevie1, Sir Joh was never found guilty of anything. His jury has a Unionist who bullied all the jury members into saying guilty. Only one refused to be bullied and he is attacked for it.

Another good thing about Joh was that he never took the Parliamentary pension as he saw it as a public service, not a chance to bleed off people.

The biggest party of criminals is the ALP who have a line of former politicians convicted for serious crimes including child sex crimes. Doesn't much for them. No wonder they are weak on rock spiders.

Australia needs another Sir Joh!