The two newest parties which seemed to be merging have now drawn battle lines. After the dramatic departure of Queensland Party founder Aidan McLindon the fledgling organisation found itself without a leader or sitting member. Bob Katter found himself a new state Parliamentary Leader of Queensland and Aidan announced the much heralded merger but after that events took a new turn. Queensland Party secretary Ruth Bonnett and Party Chairman Jim nicholls immediately disputed the legality of this merger.

It appears that Aidan had simply assumed everyone would follow him over to Katter's as yet unnamed and unregistered... (what do you call a party which isn't a party yet?) organisation. However the party faithfull, ie those who haven't jumped ship in the last few days, have pointed out that the party constitution states that a rank and file vote is necessary. Only a 75% approval by the grassroots members would allow such a merger to be possible.

Ofcourse this may all be academic as Aidan was the only sitting member. Now the party is being investigated by the Queensland Electoral Commission and might be deregistered today. Unless they can prove they have 500 members they won't qualify. Hence a membership drive is underway with the stated goal of obtaining 500 new members within the next 2 weeks.

To add to the injury Aidan has allegedly swiped the party website on his way out the door. Even the party facebook page has been closed down. The website was the main source of new members according to Jim Nicholls.

A temporary new domain is being used to direct members to Ruth Bonnetts Just grounds Community website until the old website and domains can be re-aquired. http://www.queenslandparty.org

what safeguards are there that this new outfit isn't going the same way as the Independents & hand all their votes over to the incompetent Labor Party.

I've just discovered that a temporary website has been set up with the main party web address.
http://www.queenslandparty.org.au
The other domain address I gave merely goes to that main address now.

"what safeguards are there that this new outfit isn't going the same way as the Independents & hand all their votes over to the incompetent Labor Party."

The vast majority of members are ex-lnp who left after feeling disgruntled at the way the party was being run. They want to provide an alternative to the two party system many queenslanders have grown tired of and give members more say in leadership and policy. With members having that sort of right wing background I think it unlikely they would side with the left should they obtain the balance of power. But ofcourse there are no guarantee's about anything in politics.

Matt Snow,
so can one assume that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that it is not Anna Bligh herself who arranged yet another tactic of deceit & instigated a smokescreen outfit which then answers to her. I could easily imagine Peter the bail-out merchant Beatty to be the author of such a scheme.

I don't think any machiavellian scheme could save Anna Bligh come next March. Peter Beattie has quit politics although a few labour mp's have tottered his name about as a possible replacement for Gillard. Premierres have a difficult time trying to break through to the federal arena and ex-premierres even more so. I just hope these separate conservative entities have the good sense to put their differences aside and swap preferences come election time.

I don't think queenslanders would put up with Anna Bligh sneaking in on a technicality. There is already a lot of anger about the preferential voting system which is seen by many as an unfair mechanism for maintaining the two party system. It was flatly rejected in England.

Seriously, I doubt Anna Bligh has the intelligence to pull off such a scam.

'The vast majority of members are ex-lnp who left after feeling disgruntled at the way the party was being run.''

Was not that the case with Oakshott and Windsor who pooped on their electorates out of bitterness.

Good point. Katter was the only one who didn't. Ofcourse nobody could have predicted what a royal mess Gillard would make of things. Why anyone would want a bar of Labor after their recent spate of stuff ups is beyond me. That was a federal election and Bob Brown probably had a role in that decision.

Anna Bligh is quite possibly more hated right now than Julia Gillard. Katter wants to buy back all the assets she has sold off. The Queensland Party wants a moratorium on Coal Seam Gas. This is Anna Bligh's big revenue raiser. How she hopes dig herself out of her financial hole. Why would she create a party dedicated to undoing her only hope of reverting the economic mess she has made?

The Conservatives in NSW are still set on selling off more assets. What looks like going is:

Ports
Ferries
Rail
Power

Water (in dispute but it won't be long)

These people cannot be trusted with protecting public assets. It doesn't matter who you vote for, both ALP and Liberal governments have never taken these issue to a referendum. Good to see new parties forming on this platform but the Australia Party has some worrying policies as well, will it be enough to get them over the line. Maybe in QLD but I doubt in other parts so much.

What is needed is a more Centrist Party with a commitment to keep essential services in public hands.

Labor has become so corrupt & incompetent that they will literally do anything to try save their hide. Bring out the branding iron I say.

by the way, anyone seen this ?

http://www.cobbers.org.au/index.html

very good site indeed

I am trying to decipher Pelican's post. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here's what I get.

Pelican seems to want to keep as many as possible of the essential services in "public" hands. I assume that means keep as many as possible of these services that can cause the most disruption by a strike, in union hands.

Perhaps it is not that at all. Perhaps it simply a desire to keep about 3 times as many [non]workers as needed to run a service, in nice comfy overpaid positions, at the public expense.

Perhaps it means both, or could it be to keep a bunch of no hopers in senior positions.

Have you noticed, every time we have some kind of emergency we find the top management of the relevant departments totally incompetent.

Fire service, damn management, hospitals, health service in general, emergency services, police commissioners, it doesn’t matter, they all fail, when there's an acid test.

Isn’t it dreadful that we have to call in some army general to sort out the public service mess? From my past experience army types were not the top of the tree. Perhaps that has changed, or perhaps they look good, when they only have bureaucrats to be compared to

Pelican,
Australians of today no longer have the logic to sort out the mess by way of referendum.
If they had we wouldn't have the mess we have.

Hasbeen,
I don't know what Pelicans reasons are for wanting to stop the selling off of our assetts, but she is right. Look at the electricity in NSW, CBA, Qantas and Telstra. Privatising or making the utilities bigger has simply resulted in price hikes for consumers and massive pay rises for top management.

I do not know of one assett that has been sold off where the public and consumers have benefitted.

I would like to see a party formed that really opposed the sale of assetts, they would get my vote.

public assetts should never be sold off, no matter what.

They should also be run on a cost recovery basis only, which will ensure more jobs than if they were privately owned, furthermore, these jbs would be there as long as the assett remained.

To think we are th luckiest country on the planet, yet still have to sell assetts just to repay debt is discrasefull, to say th least.

To think labor sell these assetts, from under our noses, knowing full well it will cost jobs is beyong beliefe..

rehctub,
Labor is not interested in people only in the control of them.

Indy, that's rubbish. If we have it all the rights side, this planet would be long gone.

cactus

The problem isn't privatising the assets. It's government created monopolies of the assets. I don't know how you can overcome this issue, but under government management didn't work and government created monopolies just screws us over big time. The "true" free market should be able to run supreme for once, then we could see if it really does work? Trouble is, too many people are afraid to look after them selves and go running to government to wipe their noses for them. Not to mention the amount of parasites in this world today that rely on government to fund their BS lifestyles.

"""
Indy, that's rubbish. If we have it all the rights side, this planet would be long gone.
"""

How would you know? The battle between left and right has be ongoing for millenia. Most sane democracies tend more to the right. Any that tend more to the left end up in revolution and death; history doesn't lie!

Hasbeen
As tempting as it is to ignore your misinformed post I will attempt a response.

If you ever read my posts I have often been critical of unions and lack of accountability and I have written enough about keeping assets in public hands for the very reason Banjo states.

Some services should remain for the collective good and not become just another profit generating machine. This also means managing the services well so that the people who are paying for it get value for money.

How my call for a referendum on these issues has anything to do with unionism beats me. Not all unions are corrupt by the way and not all corporations take ethical considerations into account.

Trouble with you Hasbeen is it is all one thing or the other, life is not always that black and white. It is the blind faith often in one or the other that is the problem and creates much of the 'groupthink' mentalities prevailing and not much in the way of bipartisan thinking.

The battle between left and right has be ongoing for millenia......and that's just the problem. This war between the two, is why nothing happens, and you know it! Like bellies, don't bullsh!t me or anyone else.

Look at the title...The battle of Queensland...really Raw-mustard, your no better than the fools that run this country, and you know that as well.

Dont prejudge me as if you know me.

The caveman politics will be as they are, cause no-one has the guts to point the incompetence that's happening in this land.

Here a thought....Vote 1 The raw dude.

Battle! you sound like your quoting the bible....

Run along, the world is not ready for you:)

cactus

The one referendum people want is on the carbon tax. This will send jobs offshore and line the pockets of corrupt UN officials. How about it Pelican? Why don't we have a referendum on the competency of the current Canberra rabel.

"""
Dont prejudge me as if you know me.
"""

You mean like you prejudging anyone from the right?
"""
If we have it all the rights side, this planet would be long gone.
"""

I asked you, "how would you know"?
Considering more people have died at the hand of the left, this is a pretty big claim don't you think?

"""
The caveman politics will be as they are, cause no-one has the guts to point the incompetence that's happening in this land
"""

I think plenty have the guts, problem is too many haven't the guts to listen!

As for the rest of your post, well what can I say, it makes no sense!

"""
How about it Pelican? Why don't we have a referendum on the competency of the current Canberra rabel.
"""

Because that's not how the left work, do as they say not as they do.

But it's not fare to demonize Pelican as being from the left, I think she's quite central to be honest. Maybe a teensy bit to the left :)

Rabel runner hopes that someone from the real world would hear the cries that no-one will listen to.

Used to express extreme: like, dislike, hatred, bemused indignation, sorrow, happiness, pain, or basically any other emotion known to man. Rabel is a math teacher at a highschool, that does nothing and is definetely a crackhead.....

LOL:) did you think of that by yourselves, or did some night-fairy suddenly bless all that cant see the BS:)

Human you say, don't use words you don't know the meaning of:)

A referendum your asking for:) great! can I go first?...lol...

Look Raw Fungus, the balance is with in you grasshopper:)

Lets hope your right, and Iam wrong.

cactus

cactus,
you truly are.

Hello Banjo,

From the Queensland Party website.

"Saving Queenslands Assets

Our policy is to protect public assets and end the sell-offs of government services to big business and foreign owned corporations. Public assets generate revenue and keep living costs down."

Public assets generate revenue and keep living costs down."
Matt Snow,
Add to this non-military National or State Service & make teachers to spend time in the real world before letting them lose on our kids & this joint will be on the upper in no time.

http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock
I recommend the link to any one wanting to see world debt by country, including ours.
A worth while step for some who truly are unaware that comparing us with others we are doing well.
My thread was not to infer our country is going to fail.
I wanted to highlight both the GFC is not gone.
And that our private debt is , well out of control.
I under stand, we all should, while some will suffer others will prosper, because of that suffering.
Homes once costing a million will change hands for a tenth of that.
An impact, depending on the worlds handling of the GFC could be, a whole new tighter more controlled world banking/credit everything.