Mt Beatty, what on earth do you think you are doing?

Paying Robbie Williams’ fine for the flagrant abuse of the law by smoking on stage at his concert at the Suncorp Stadium was just disgusting, for a number of reasons;

The perpetrator deliberately flouted the law and should most definitely have been hit with the full penalty…twice, as he did it on consecutive nights.

The premier of Qld surely has the duty to uphold the principle of law and the principle that we shall all be treated equally, as does every politician.

Is Mr Beatty essentially saying that economic issues are more important than health issues? Or that big personalities are above the law? It seems so.

Beatty said; “We are not going to change the rules for anybody….”

Well, he JUST DID EXACTLY THAT !

Ludwig, it's that messiah complex cutting in. Beatty thinks he is Jesus.

As is typical of his approach the aid goes to the one who least need the financial help.

If it was some middle income earner with a mortgage who had made an honest mistake then he or she would be seen as a "mark" to help the government coffers along but a multimillionare deliberately breaking the law, thats someone who needs financial help.

R0bert

I think Beatty paying the fine sends the wrong message.

If Williams got a warning being a visitor to Queensland that is one thing that probably occurs with people with less ability to pay fines.

To step in and pay Robbies fine does seem a little like Joh's old days. It is not so much that it seems like corruption as it is Beatty's money and he can do what he likes with it. It has more to do with the integrity of what the law is trying to achieve. Beatty is probably doing Queensland service by not alienating Williams but because Beatty is the Premier of QLD it appears as if Beatty is making a political statement about smoking laws.

Robert, I'm shocked, Are you saying Beattie is NOT Jesus??

No Beattie is not Jesus, but at least some of us are beginning to tweak to the idea of substitionary sacrifice for unworthy sinners.

In fact its a good illustration of Christs death on our behalf.

-Was Robbie Williams 'worthy' ? "But God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8

-Did Robbie Williams deserve to pay ? "All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God" Rom 3:23 yep.

-What is the difference between God in Christ and Beattie ?

While Mr Beattie payed for ONE sinners punishment, Christ died for ALL.

2 COR 5:18
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Sounds like good news to me.

Is Beattie Jesus? No Beattie is not Jesus because Beattie exists and Jesus is only a fictional occult character in a book.

Now look what I've done :(

BD, West it was a joke, settle down.

Rainer, I don't want to spoil Christmas for you (and don't want to tell a lie). Isn't it a lovely day.

R0bert

This situation needs to be compared to Beattie's recent statements about due legal process without political interference regarding the killing of Aborigines by the police

Why is it Beattie is so concerned for our international reputation - that we should be perceived as fuddy duddies for stopping a rock star from smoking?

Why is he not equally concerned about our reputation as corrupt racist murderers? - or at least a community and law that tolerates corrupt racist murderers?

but on another issue

Who are Robbie Williams fans?
I suspect many young people are

Who do tobacco companies target in their advertising - making smoking look like the cool thing to do?
Young people

Who are the anti-smoking campaigns mainly targeted at?
young people to stop them taking up the habit

What is Beatties message to young people?

Smoking is a cool thing to do - even if there is social (and legal) pressure not to do it

Yeah, rock stars obeying all the rules...we're partying now!

My guess is it would have been too much trouble than it was worth to make Robbie pay the fine, so making the problem go away was probably the most practical thing to do. If he refused to pay, even just for a little while, he's a hero rebel (and therefore imitated more) and Australia looks even stupider and stuffier than normal (which is saying a lot).

Does this send a message? Not really. It just says that there are more important things to devote energy and resources to. Which is absolutely true.

A rock (and I use the term 'rock' loosely) star smoking? Is this really what qualifies as an important issue? It's not like he had a needle in his eyeball. Thats a real rock star.

King Canute writes;

“This situation needs to be compared to Beattie's recent statements about due legal process without political interference regarding the killing of Aborigines by the police.”

Absolutely. The contradiction is extraordinary. Beatty upholds the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions not to charge a police officer over a death in custody on Palm Island, even though this decision has received just about universal condemnation and is extremely damaging for black-white relations and for confidence in and respect for legal process. He upholds the principle of law (which in this case has got to be seen as highly flawed), and asks everyone to respect the umpire’s decision… and then he goes right ahead and pays someone else’s fine following deliberate and brazen flouting of the law, which ensued immediately after a warning, thus making a very clear statement that the law is secondary or irrelevant and doesn't have to be respected in some situations or by some people.

I am absolutely appalled. My formerly high level of respect for Peter Beatty has been seriously eroded.

Beattie is not flouting the law, the punishment is the fine, Beattie is paying the fine. I personally dont find it appropriate but there is no good reason why Beattie must not pay the fine.

The issue seems to be that of punishment and goes beyod the Robbie Williams smoking affair. What is the worth of punishment if parents, friends, spouses and lovers are paying fines?

I have a young relative who has had numerous parking and speeding fines and each time her parents simply pay it as if they aresimply just another bill, no skin off her nose. Her parents could possibly be more responsible as speeding is dangerous and racking up parking fines is poor financial management. This sort of issue is obviously more common than has been regarded by fine managers and policy makers.

Peter Bettie is making Joh style reactionary mistakes.

Even the Barnaby Joyce wing of the Queensland National party are moving in from left field making it appear that Beattie's ALP has lost touch with common people. Will Greens voters put preferences to the Nationals at the next federal election? I mean, Rudd and Beattie do appear to be in bed with each other. The sheets really stink.

Was it not Peter Beatie who defended the sexual abuse incident in the Big Brother household because he was more interested in Gold Coast tourist money? That one was a real Casino Royale.

After the rock concert, a politically sensible idea would have been to make a public invitation for Robbie Williams to pay a visit to willing cancer or oncology patients, and say hello to those in hospital in the process of painful death due to cigarettes. Dare him to refuse the offer.

They could be his fans too. The ball would then turn back into the Rock Star's court. The little smart ass! I wonder which tobacco company sponsored his tour.

Millionaires can afford fines. Whether it is Williams, Big Brother, both foreign companies, are actually forced to pay the fines is up to the Queensland Government. The principle of right and wrong should have remained. What was the name of that tobacco company? That could have surfaced in a court case. Oops!

Oh, that's right, they sponsor the ALP too. The "Smart State"? Indeed.

You better pray Rudd, you better pray read good: bible boy! Your sponsors: your tobacco company: is your god and it is watching you as well as this ruthless Premier.

'I wonder which cigarette company sponsored his tour' Heh, yeah I'm sure that's what it was. All part of a secret scheme to make kids think that smoking is ok! Or maybe he just wanted to smoke, and didn't want to pay attention to ludicrous laws.

You suggested to 'dare him to refuse' an invitation to a cancer ward. I think it's pretty obvious he would refuse. Perhaps he's a tad busy, touring and all? Seriously, you think this would work? You have a fascinating mind.

How about this, just throwing it out there: Forget about it, it's a tiny, silly, dull DULL issue. A 'rock' star broke a rule, and got away with it. Its not the first time, and I hope to hell its not the last, because it would be a very depressing, boring world if all rock stars were all law abiding.

'duh but cancer and influence and smoking baaaaad' Yawn.

Robbie Williams, a guy who [in my opinion] has a good singing style, a good presentation, money, fame and adulation. What more could he possibly want?

But he's almost certainly addicted, isn't he, to a drug which has a very good chance of giving him severe health problems, including losing his singing voice, and eventually killing him. What a way to go.

Like most tobacco addicts, he probably got addicted before he was old enough to make a considered judgement on what he was doing to himself. In other words, he fell for Big Tobacco's con job. And maybe he still believes that he has the invincibility of youth. One thing's for sure, if he's a regular smoker, then he certainly has a most unpleasant smell on his breath.

I agree with some of the comments that it could have been very difficult for the Queensland authorities to have forced the issue. But why did Beattie need to go public on paying his fine? Surely he could have just done it and kept his mouth shut, far better for all concerned.

After reading a few posts from the wowsers, I felt a compulsion to purchase a packet of Dunhill and sure enough finished the entire packet. I know its wrong, I should stick to the anti-depressants, but the fags go well with coffee.