Going by Joh's past record, there must have been a quid in it for him or his Party somewhere in the deal.

This was the man who (among many more examples) resisted World Heritage Listing for the Great Barrier Reef so it could be opened up to oil and gas expoloration, evicted Fred Hollows trachoma treatment team out of an aboriginal community because they were being ecouraged to enrol to vote, was exposed as both politically and personally corrupt on many ocassions and prone to be suckered by bogus cancer treatment and water-powered car conmen.

He was even worse than Bob Askin and would probably have got on well with Robert Mugabe.

by wobbles:>> He was even worse than Bob Askin and would probably have got on well with Robert Mugabe.<<

In all seriousness wobbles, that is an astute observation, it sums Joh up, it is factually correct.

Questions, are we happy with the state of politics in general?
Do we think all our Polly's should do better.
Is accountability for their actions both good and bad, Worth while?
I truly can think of only one,ALP politician WHO as near as bent as the flying peanut.
EXCLUDING ANY right wing power broker in NSW Parliament.
We as a result of Americas tragic event looking At what is said in politics.
I believe rightly.
Russ Heinz that ex Knight, and Joe, bought this country down, yes it is bad in Victoria, NSW once WA but have you noticed here a blindness?
I have, Conservatives should note,research or remember this rather silly old man did far more harm than good.
He alone stopped John Howard winning office at his first attempt.
IF we except dreadful things from our party, because it is our party, we are dishonest.
Now take a breath you know who, THINK before charging me with being one eyed, only a fool could claim that.

That's what I'm saying, TBC. Without the benefit of first-hand experience, us young'uns often only see the good side of what Sir Joh did. Much of the bad has been undone, and that which has been retained has been readily blamed on Joh's successors. I was only old enough to vote at the end of 2000, and only really had a political awakening a couple of years earlier than that. The first political controversy I can really remember was when Keating deposed Hawke, so Sir Joh is safely deposited in the 'relics box' for me. I'm learning, slowly but surely, that I need to listen to my elders. I maintain that much of my generation (or, rather, much of the minority of my generation with any political awareness) seems to favour Joh - but that's because we didn't have to live with him. Hopefully that's clearer than my first shambolic post in this thread.

Otokonoko, understood.

I know you've said you are a teacher, what of I am not aware, but do try to read Ross Fitzgerald's 'Red Ted': The life of EG Theodore, and another about TJ Ryan. They will give you a much needed background to the political history of Qld prior to Joh and the Nats.

Murphy was an ALP senior person, but an academic also, and his book is most interesting, as is Fitzgerald's.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9466999?q=joseph+ryan&c=book

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kOoXdE16jA8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=%27red+ted%27+the+life+of+eg+theodore&source=bl&ots=70-AeEMncx&sig=QtpFhCI2KsGs4WljHgX5zOY2Wpk&hl=en&ei=D3UtTc_6MsaXcYDa1L8I&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

They set the scene for the politics that came later. No doubt after years of ALP there was corruption as rampant as ever, but it seems not to have been aired too much.

Theodore suffered from claims of corruption before he moved to federal politics, as I recall.

The best history to start with on the years after the ALP, is the Fitzgerald Enquiry. Avoid any hagiography of Joh until after you've tackled Fitzgerald.

Hugh Lunn has one, and I think the PR chap who went to jail might have written one too, can't think of his name, one of Joh's minders.

I too Otonoko learn things on this site, and sometimes also, feel the need to recant.

TBC has it down pat for mine on this one. In fact crossing the Qld border successfully into Johland from Australia at that time was achieved by understanding," that a different set of rules existed".

If you met a stereotype that they (the Qld Police) were interesting in repressing, e.g. young, long haired, wearing a caftan, you were considered prone to assemble in groups larger than three. Of course you would be pulled up.

This was not so in the southern states at that time. In fact police were very helpful public servants. You could ask one for directions. And the youth were mostly politically aware. Not a minority. Joh's plan was show the rest of us weak kneed Australians, how too deal with dissent. Joh was not a well man.

To govern as he always had, with a complete lack of accountability was always his goal.
A complete megalomaniac, strangely not to bright, whom in the end
got off scot free, leaving behind him, a bevy certifiably corrupt, convicted scapegoats and scoundrels, boofheads and buffoons.