I thank Graham for having written this timely and helpful article.

That said, I consider some of it wide of the mark.

I don't think we should "[assume that] Anna Bligh's government [will run] its full term." (see below)

What has happened in Queensland since February is the moral equivalent of someone having been sold a total lemon by a shonky used car salesman using misleading advertising and having no recourse whatsoever through consumer protection legislation.

Let's just remind ourselves of some of the facts of how we got to where we are today. I have been told that since September last year there were rumours that an early election would be called. From at least early December 2008 Rupert Murdoch's Courier-Mail newspaper joined in the clamour to demand that Anna Bligh break her promise to serve her full term by calling an early election (see http://candobetter.org/node/972 for my article "Courier Mail misreports water recycling to demand early election" of 5 January 09).

At any time between September 2008 and 23 February 2009 Anna Bligh could have ended the early election speculation by reaffirming her promise to serve her full term. But she did not. On 23 February she announced the snap election to be held on Saturday 22 March, less than four weeks from that date.

Her stated reason was that uncertainty due to early election speculation was harming the economy! So, by her own admission, she had effectively allowed our economy to be harmed by that uncertainty for five months.

Clearly Bligh's motives had little to do with concern for the economy or the welfare of the Queensland people and everything to do with her own calculations about how she could best hold onto power for another 3 years and then be able to enact a whole range of nasty pieces of legislation that she well knew would be opposed by the Queensland public, the foremost amongst them being privatisation.

My own attempts, as an intending candidate, to contact both Anna Bligh and Andrew Fraser ask them to state their intentions about privatisation, beginning on ...(tobecontinued)

(continuedfromabove)... Tuesday 17 March (see http://candobetter.org/node/1073), were almost completely ignored.

My attempts to get Brisbane's local ABC radio station and other newsmedia to raise this issue were similarly unsuccessful. In spite of repeated e-mails I sent to the ABC stating in detail why I feared that more privatisations would be enacted by the Queensland Government, Madonna King, in particular, and the rest of the ABC presenters refused to seriously question Fraser or Bligh.

If they had, then privatisation would have been brought out into the open and both the Labor Party and the LNP would have been forced to either give firm commitments against privatisation or, else, justify privatisation to the electors.

If Labor had said then what they have said since they would not be in office today.

However, the ABC refused to seriously raise privatisation, judging it not to be 'newsworthy'. For more information, please see http://candobetter.org/node/1159 http://candobetter.org/node/1288 http://candobetter.org/node/1316 http://candobetter.org/QldElections

I need to cut to the chase and appeal to people to sign the e-petition I set up at http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1360&lIndex=-1

"Queensland citizens draws to the attention of the House the Queensland public, the rightful owners of $15 billion worth of assets which are to be sold, were denied any say over this because of the failure of the Queensland government to reveal those plans during the course of the elections. We consider the stated intention of the government to proceed with the sale in the face of opinion polls, which show at least 80% public opposition, to be amongst the most serious breaches of public trust imaginable.

"Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to call upon the Queensland government to resign immediately to give the Queensland public a chance to elect a new Government which can gain its trust. Your petitioners also warn any private investors considering buying the assets, not to do so and call upon a future State government which does enjoy the trust and confidence of the Queensland people not to honour any such contracts for the sale of assets."

I will explain at greater length, the reasons why people should sign this petition, later.

GY,
No surprises from me.
Your 'analysis' is in my opinion more designed to aid the LNP than objectivity.

You could argue that because of my stated disgust for all things political that I too am biased.

I am no more a fan of the Labor government than The potential LNP.
Note the phrasing. Specifically, that I refer to the party ,not the PR massaged focus on the leaders(?). I find it difficult to accept the Australian political party version of the "Nuremberg Defense".

The idea that a local member actually represents their electorate is more the exception than the rule.

Tragically, the major parties have set a culture that suits them rather than real representation. I could give specific examples but that would be to digress.

The overall effect of this manipulative self interested culture (non elector based ) is that political battles are over power and not policy. therefore, we finish up with a 'hobs' choice between the lesser of two nuanced, PR stacked , lessor of two evils rather than a constructive one.

Further to that ,and now the point, analysis tends to be manipulative, push (biased in that it's selective), incomplete, and overly simplistic to both pander to easily led rumps and distract attention from meaningful government.

I don't with to single out this analysis particularly other than to point out, the old axiom "if you aren't part of the solution, your active participation in this system, is part of the problem"

Apologies Graham, if I offended, that wasn't my intention.

OK I'll go to the naughty corner.

<< No matter how Bligh may turn, the lady is for burning. >>

I don’t know about that Graham. The thing is that for all her faults, broken promises, and mad pandering to rapid population growth in SEQ, the opposition is not seen as being one iota better!

So if Anna can just do something that really resonates with Queenslanders, she’ll be back in like Flynn!

And I’ve got just the thing:

She’s already instigated the Queensland population growth summit to be held next March. So now she just needs to get wise about the imperative to wind the population influx into southeast Queensland right down, and she’ll be on an electoral winner!

The way to do it is to slap disincentives on would-be new residents, as per my general thread; Disincentive to come to Queensland: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3279

If Bligh can just demonstrate that she can implement policies of genuine sustainability, and to actually do something meaningful about stopping the rot with ever-increasing pressure on water supplies, roads, health and education services, the environment, CO2 emissions and just about everything else, then she must surely be on a winner.

She can do all of these things in one move, by implementing strong disincentives for people to move into Queensland.

This wouldn’t cost the existing taxpayer one cent. And it would mean that our tax dollars would actually translate into meaningful improvements in all these areas instead of into struggling to keep up the same level of infrastructure and services for ever-more people.

The policy direction that Queensland desperately needs and the policy that would most appeal to the Queensland voters are one in the same.

So the questions are; will Bligh realise this? And if she does, will her party and the all-important big-business lobby, let her develop policies in line with it?

She herself has said that poor management of population growth will cause a crisis in livability. So can she implement a good management regime and do it before the next election to the extent that the voters can accept her efforts as significant and genuine?

Nothing the mildly incompetent and uninspiring Anna Bligh has done could ever compare with the corruption, civil rights abuses and fraud of the tyrant Joh Bjelke Peterson and his self-serving government. The public is continually made aware that not only are many of the Nationals are impenitent for the Joh years, but they see that era as the glory days of the National Party.

There is a strong suspicion that if the Nats ever get back in, they will immediately build monuments to Joh and the same old scallywags will be once again feel welcome in Queensland.

The Liberals, as per usual, went along with the corruption for decades to remain in power. Maybe that is what Liberals do, as shown by the number of senior Liberals at the federal level who, when Howard fell, immediately sought to distance themselves from him, yet did not have the principles nor guts to challenge his excesses when in government.

The LNP opposition in Queensland still has no policies, so there is no change from the previous election. The co-operation between the Libs and the Nats is superficial and for convenience only - they hate and mistrust one another and the world knows it.

On the Traverston dam, Bligh was bowled an underarm delivery by Peter Garrett and the feds. Again, she is not responsible for federal immigration excesses that threaten the sustainability not only of Queensland but of all of Australia. Similarly, Bligh is not responsible for the additional tax burden on present day taxpayers to provide additional infrastructure for the unnecessary and excessive population growth attributable to record immigration intakes decided by federal government.

What we have been seeing is a continuation of the scare campaign that was waged by some sections of the media prior to the previous election to persuade the public into blaming the government, in particular Bligh, for all ills, including the weather. While it is true that Bligh has her limitations, her government has much more talent and experience (and dare I say ethics) than the alternative government and especially the rag-tag, opportunist Greens.

....persuade the public into blaming the government, in particular Bligh, for all ills, including the weather...
Cornflower,
You've got it back to front, that's what Labor did with Joh all the time.