Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Cabinet reshuffle has angered some Labor figures

December 8, 2015 12:07pm

STEVEN WARDILL The Courier-Mail

ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has again defended her move to expand the ministry, telling Brisbane radio she believes she now has the “right combination” to drive the Government’s social and economic agenda.

It comes after senior Labor figures told The Courier-Mail they thought the Cabinet reshuffle was “crap” and that “she blew it”.

“I’ve added some fresh new talent to the front bench,” she told 612 ABC radio this morning.

She said acknowledging when “something needs to change” showed leadership and courage.

“I could have dug my heels in and said no, but I listen,” she said.

“I do take advice and am prepared to admit when something needs to change, and I think that shows leadership and courage.”

Ms Palaszczuk pointed to Kate Jones, describing her as a “hardworking” minister who wanted to concentrate on two areas.

“And I’ve delivered that for her,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The new 17-member Cabinet was officially sworn in at Government House this morning, less than 24 hours after the expansion was announced.

All up eleven ministers took the oath including the Cabinet’s four newest Ministers, Stirling Hinchliffe, Grace Grace, Mick de Brenni and Leanne Donaldson.

Ms Palaszczuk’s two new assistant Ministers Mark Ryan and Jennifer Howard were also officially appointed to their roles this morning.

The new Cabinet will officially meet for the first time on Monday, at the last Cabinet meeting for the year.

Directors-General and family were on hand for today’s swearing in.

OVERNIGHT

ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has angered senior Labor figures by failing to undertake wholesale changes of her Cabinet and demote underperforming ministers.

The Queensland Premier yesterday confirmed she would scrap her election promise of a pint-sized 14-member ministry by adding three new positions to Cabinet, along with an additional assistant minister.

Stirling Hinchliffe, Grace Grace and Mick De Brenni have all earned promotion along with Leanne Donaldson, who will fill the vacancy created by the trouble-prone Jo-Ann Miller, who resigned from Cabinet on Friday.


NEW MINISTERS: (From L to R) Grace Grace, Stirling Hinchliffe, QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Mick de Brenni and Leanne Donaldson.

Mark Ryan and Jennifer Howard become assistant ministers.

However, the long-anticipated reshuffle outraged some within the Government who believe Ms Palaszczuk lost an opportunity to redefine the administration and hand more important duties to better performing ministers.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt has kept his portfolio despite criticism of his performance.

Mr Pitt, who is close to Ms Palaszczuk, lost Industrial Relations but was handed the coveted Sports portfolio.

Rockhampton MP Bill Byrne has been promoted to Police despite condemnation over his performance in his previous portfolio of Agriculture, Sport and Racing.

There is also concern the Government will appear further in lock-step with unions and could alienate business groups after Ms Palaszczuk handed the Industrial Relations portfolio to Grace Grace, who previously headed the Queensland Council of Unions and worked for the Queensland Nurses Union.

While Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Education Minister Kate Jones were both relieved of responsibilities, 10 ministers have largely unchanged duties.

“She blew it,” one senior Labor figure told The Courier-Mail, while another described the reshuffle as “crap”.

However, Ms Palaszczuk insisted the new ministry would give better access to the administration and matched the Government’s priorities, particularly around innovation and domestic violence.
She said she thought “long and hard” about breaking her election promise of a 14-member Cabinet but it was the right decision.

“Having seen my Cabinet operate, and speaking to members of the business community and community organisations as well, I believe that the best interests of Queensland are served with a great capacity for my ministers to be able to meet with stakeholders across the state,” she said, adding that the cost of the new Cabinet members would be offset by savings elsewhere.

“The Treasurer will be outlining the cost implications at the midyear review in the next week or two,” she said.

The new ministers maintain the previous factional balance despite criticism that the Labor Forum faction was under-represented.

Mr De Brenni takes on Housing and Public Works, while Ms Donaldson takes over Agriculture and Fisheries. Mr Hinchliffe, who was a minister in the Bligh government, takes on Transport and the Commonwealth Games.

The expanded Cabinet will also mean Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg can pay three additional shadow ministers the annual $57,578 entitlement.

Mr Springborg described the reshuffle as a “shemozzle”.

“This is a Government that should be taking its training wheels off after 12 months but it’s a Government that’s putting more training wheels on new ministers heading into 2016,” he said.
While the Opposition had maintained 18 shadow Cabinet members, only 14 could be paid under Parliament’s rules.

Government report card reflects Labor’s highs and lows

December 5, 2015 1:00am

Steven WardillThe Courier-Mail

IT’S been 10 months in a leaky boat. And, to borrow from Split Enz, the Palaszczuk Government has been lucky just to keep afloat.

The absence of an overarching narrative, a decision-lite approach, Cook MP Billy Gordon’s forced resignation and the melodramas of trouble-prone police minister Jo-Ann Miller has left the Labor armada listing.

Interspersed between wave after wave of internal drama and a void of decisions, Annastacia Palaszczuk and several of her ministers have shown some handy skills at the tiller.

2014: The Newman government report card

Today’s annual Report Card by The Courier-Mail, which comes only days before the Queensland Premier is due to reshuffle her Cabinet, reflects the highs and low of the Labor administration.

Their marks stretch from an “A” to an “E”, with some standout efforts by both experienced and new members of Cabinet along with several lacklustre and truly diabolical performances.

Palaszczuk herself receives a “B” after leading Labor to a dramatic victory over the LNP.

She’s also begun building a solid platform around innovation and taken on the insidious issue of domestic violence.

However, while an “A” was hers for the taking after such a result, the odium of Labor’s ongoing poor poll support, the malaise surrounding the Government’s decision-making and squibbing on personally punting Miller as a minister all eroded Palaszczuk’s mark.

Meanwhile her deputy, Jackie Trad, tops the table with an “A-”.

Despite an overloaded mix of portfolios in Palaszczuk’s pint-sized 14-member ministry, Trad always appears across the detail and proves she’s not a die-wondering type when it comes to decisions.

Cameron Dick and Kate Jones, who both return after three years on the political sidelines, are irreplaceable linchpins of the Palaszczuk Government and receive “B+” marks.

Dick delivers gravitas in Parliament against Labor’s experienced and tactically superior opponent while Jones has deftly handled a plethora of portfolios, which in other states are spread across three ministries.

Then there are talented newcomers, such as Shannon Fentiman and Mark Bailey, first-term MPs who have both shown the ability to perform higher duties.

Yet there are several lowlights and they’re led by Treasurer Curtis Pitt.

The Mulgrave MP is the first treasurer in more than a decade not to get a pass mark in the Report Card.

Labor’s lack of a credible economic agenda has been its most significant weakness.

While Pitt is a genuine and thoughtful individual, he hasn’t shown any sign he’s willing to put ideology aside and pull the necessary fiscal levers or do the work required to instil confidence or sell Labor’s economic message.

And finally former police minister Jo-Ann Miller, who quit Cabinet yesterday, has earned the first “E” in many years.

Miller’s own colleagues found her behaviour “reckless” and she has constantly created distractions that Labor could ill afford. Even in quitting she managed to leave the Premier with egg on her face given Palaszczuk had only committed to move her to a new ministry.

Overall, the Government has limped over the line with a pass mark but only just.

They end the year with barely more than one in three Queenslanders prepared to support them, according to the recent Galaxy Poll, which is extremely poor for a new government that should be surging under a popular and capable premier.

The bottom line of this year’s Report Card is that the Palaszczuk Government has the ability but isn’t applying itself properly.

They’ll need to sail in 2016 or they may sink.

The Palaszczuk Government

Overall

C-

Barely a pass mark for an administration that at times seems hellbent on reaffirming it is an accident. After 10 months in office, Labor has cobbled together only the bare bones of a narrative surrounding jobs and innovation. They’ve thrown their energies into tearing down Newman-era reforms and handing sops to their union bedfellows. Without a plan for infrastructure and jobs generation, and with a hide-and-seek approach to state debt, Labor could soon be exposed.

B

Palaszczuk has rightly earned a place in the annals of Labor history for kicking out Campbell Newman. Her friendly, homespun approach is endearing and it’s pushed up her popularity. But it’s not leading to a revival of the Labor vote given barely more than one in three people support the Government. Palaszczuk’s minders attach her to only positive issues. But she’s been left saying “I know nothing” too many times, making her look less than a leader.

A-

After Anna Bligh’s 2012 annihilation you’d imagined a generation would pass before a Left faction South Brisbane MP would be the next potential Labor leader. But Trad has tossed off that albatross and established herself as the clear heir should Palaszczuk perish. A rare conviction politician and a quality performer in Parliament. Producing and funding an infrastructure plan and ensuring decisions are made on all manner of reviews will be her true test.

D+

The most important portfolio in which governments need their minister to perform. Yet his colleagues are convinced Pitt is under performing. A genuine, decent bloke in an indecent profession, Pitt’s Budget debt switch and superannuation payment delay were clever politics but stopgap measures. He risks losing control of expenses through wage agreements. He’s simply not doing the hard work to hammer home the Government’s economic message, whatever that is.

B+

Palaszczuk pinched from Newman’s playbook and handed a leadership rival the poison chalice portfolio. However, Dick took over a hospital system in good health and it has not infected his ambition. A more nuanced narrative about his health priorities would have earned him an even higher mark. The Government’s best performer in Parliament who can cut through with a message. He would be a more valuable asset in an economic portfolio.

B+

Three years out of the political arena in Ashgrove may have been the best thing for Jones. She’s returned with a much more confident and mature approach that has made her integral to the administration. Handed a mega ministry, Jones has needed every ounce of her energy to keep across her portfolios amid some trouble events. With a penchant for policy, relieving her of some responsibilities would help the Government deliver a much broader agenda.

C+

Mixing doctors and politics has proven a prescription for misfortune in the past. Yet Lynham’s non-politician persona has been a breath of fresh air, particularly with the Government’s booze crackdown. But Lynham hasn’t developed a pointy end to his politics, leaving him vulnerable to opponents. While he appears across his portfolio, losing control of vegetation management laws was a sign his colleagues aren’t convinced he can prosecute an issue.

C+

D’Ath’s management of former chief justice Tim Carmody and his replacement were handled with aplomb. Her decisions are considered and consultative. The stark contrast with the Newman-era handling of justice is a stand out for this administration. However, after snaring a second political life and spending only a brief time in opposition, D’Ath comes across as angry all the time which is hard to understand and could prove problematic when a difficult issue arises as it inevitably will.

E

Calamity Jo became like comic relief in a bad spaghetti western. Just when the heroes of this story looked like winning the day, Miller repeatedly managed to ignite another stick of dynamite on her own side. With a talent for turning molehill issues into mountains and an inability to admit error, Miller was clearly unfit for Cabinet. She boasts of being Labor to her bootstraps but the best thing for the party would have been that she be uninvited from the ministry months ago.

D+

Like the daggy uncle you only catch up with for Christmas, Byrne seems always on the verge of saying something inappropriate. Not out of his depth in the ministry but seems to be treading water without floaties. The lack of any Labor agenda for agriculture and its distaste for the racing industry hasn’t helped Byrne establish himself as a worthwhile contributor. Sub par parliamentary performances have made him an opposition target.

C+

Bailey has turned himself from a liability into an asset. His early decision to delay electricity deregulation and talk of people switching to blankets and BBQs because of power prices was a poor start. But opposition attacks on him have dried up as Bailey has gained a solid grip on his portfolio and sharpened his rhetoric around a clear narrative. After his mid-career sojourn, Bailey’s training as a councillor has aided his transition from first-term MP to capable minister.

C

Passion and enthusiasm aplenty made Miles the perfect fit for this portfolio. He has a broad depth of knowledge and significant respect in a sector tired of having the environment ministry used as a stepping stone. However, Miles is yet convince Cabinet that the Government should take major steps in the environmental arena. With key decisions and improved Parliament performances, Miles has the potential for an improved mark next year.

C-

Given innovation is a key priority for the Palaszczuk Government, it’s a wonder Queenslanders haven’t heard more from their Innovation Minister. Some might even be surprised to learn we have one. Not without ability, Enoch is showing the tell tale signs of being prisoner to her department’s mandarins and put this on display when she praised an employee for their diligence when they double paid a contractor millions of dollars.

B-

Watching Fentiman’s Parliament performances can be like being at a high school debating contest and not being able to sneak out the back door. But she has talent to burn and given she holds what should be a safe seat, will be a key player for her party for many years to come. As a first-term MP, Fentiman has done an invaluable job leading domestic violence reform. A prime candidate for promotion in the future.

D

If Cabinet’s 14th minister set out to prove the ministry doesn’t even need 14 ministers, O’Rourke has done an outstanding job. Geography was one of the main reasons O’Rourke earned a ministry. And in 10 months O’Rourke has not managed to put herself or the issues in her portfolio on the map. Being a minister is more than talking about holding talks. However, there have been times in Parliament when Labor has wished she’d stopped talking altogether.

Steven Wardill is The Courier-Mail’sstate political editor

Clive Palmer, Bruce McIver brought us down: Campbell Newman

• THE AUSTRALIAN
• DECEMBER 5, 2015 12:00AM

• Hedley Thomas

Campbell Newman. Picture: Jamie Hanson

There have been public bouts of deep recrimination and self-analysis. A tough book co-authored by beaten premier Campbell Newman. Even a political post-mortem report, overseen by the Liberal National Party’s then Queensland president, Bruce McIver.

All have purported to provide insights into why Newman’s hard-charging Queensland government went from the greatest electoral majority in the state’s history — with 78 out of 89 seats on taking power in 2012 — to humiliation and a massive loss to Labor three years later.

In most analysis until now, one problem has been overlooked or airbrushed: the extraordinary internal conflicts and corrosive impacts arising from McIver’s commercial relationship with Clive Palmer, one of the great backers, then wreckers, of the parliamentary wing.

Now, in extraordinarily frank comments, Newman has named that relationship as one of the drivers of his downfall: “Our issues were clearly (made worse) by the relationship between the president and Clive at the time.”

As Palmer’s commercial and political interests edged closer to implosion this week, with his lawyers warning of a financial “drop-dead date” due to his businesses being out of cash, Newman, along with former deputy premier Jeff Seeney, current deputy leader John-Paul Langbroek and other party figures, have revealed some answers to questions at the heart of the government’s failure.

Could McIver properly serve the LNP while simultaneously serving the party’s backer-cum-relentless attacker, Palmer, as a generously remunerated director of five of the tycoon’s Singapore-registered companies, as part of Asia Pacific Shipping Enterprises PTE Ltd? Did their personal and commercial ties fuel Palmer’s unrealistic expectations and, in turn, ratchet up demands he made of Newman and Seeney, both of whom were powerfully lobbied to favour the major donor’s proposed coal project in central Queensland?

Newman said: “I say with great regret, not anger, that Clive caused us so much damage, but Bruce didn’t get that. I have always been privately very disappointed that Bruce didn’t see it was a major conflict of interest for him from the beginning to be the leader of the LNP — the president of the party — as well as a director of some of Clive’s companies, all at the same time Clive was a big donor who then became one of our most outspoken critics.

“The president was on Clive’s payroll at a time when Clive was fighting the party. People were concerned and angry about it. We had meetings in the partyroom where we were asking ‘what the hell are we going to do about this?’, because Clive was throwing rocks at us publicly. Here was a guy trying to take down the new government in 2012.

“I have always been totally nonplussed that Bruce McIver could have wanted to have such a situation continue. I have never understood why he remained on Clive’s payroll. I just don’t know why you would do that.

“There were many contributing factors to the fall of the government, including plenty of our own actions, but our issues were clearly (made worse) by the relationship between the president and Clive at the time.”

Party elders, including a former president and major donors, worked hard to counsel McIver and persuade him to sever his ties to Palmer, according to a senior source, “but Bruce wouldn’t hear of it — he kept going as a director”. In the meantime, according to Supreme Court legal documents, Palmer in April 2012 was demanding preferential treatment for a massive coalmining venture in the Galilee Basin.

He allegedly said, “I have paid a lot of money to get you guys elected and I have a lot more money to continue to do that in the future.”

Seeney, who rebuffed Palmer, is being sued along with Newman for defamation by the tycoon, who denies any wrongdoing. The Australian began investigating Palmer after reports of his expectations of the government began to leak.

By the time the McIver cord with Palmer was cut in 2013, huge damage had been done to the party, according to senior sources, and there was a palpable lack of trust between Newman and the party president and others.

“I know that (the then treasurer) Tim Nicholls, Jeff Seeney and (current Opposition Leader) Lawrence Springborg also saw it as highly inappropriate, but nobody could get the president to see otherwise,’’ Newman says.

“Clive believed that because he had been such a big supporter of the party, and because he had these relationships with the president, that would mean that when the LNP formed a government, Clive would have great influence over it. When he was rebuffed, he got very angry.”

The public record shows that after Seeney and Newman refused to give Palmer’s projects preferential treatment, he publicly sledged the premier and his deputy. It was a precursor to the formation of his Palmer United Party and his pledge to demolish Newman.

Singapore company documents show McIver continued as a director of Palmer’s commercial interests into 2013. Five companies were set up in 2012 to raise finance to buy and build ships to transport ore to and from Palmer’s loss-making Queensland Nickel refinery at Townsville. It is now on the brink of collapse.

The LNP’s code of ethics says office-bearers “should be mindful that their positions derive from the party and carry a responsibility to support the party’s welfare and structure by word and action” and “a member should not engage in any practice that corrupts the integrity of the party, its membership or the political process”.

McIver, who has served on the LNP executive since stepping down as president and remains in touch with Palmer, said people were “trying to rewrite history” about his role. Asked whether he put his business interests with Palmer ahead of the LNP, he said: “I would reject that totally — it makes me laugh. Clive could not get anything from me as party president because I was not in the government. I don’t think he even thought he could exert influence on the government through me.

“It was part of my job to try to manage Clive and it wasn’t easy. He was going to take us on in the courts. It would have been much worse if I had not had the relationship with him … I would stand up anywhere and say that I had the highest integrity in these matters.”

McIver said he did not believe Palmer “was even a contributing factor” to the government’s failure at the ballot box on January 31 this year, adding: “I saw the polling.”

Asked about his role as a director of Palmer-owned shipping entities, he said: “Those companies were offshore. They had nothing to do with Queensland. My role started in 2011, then we registered the companies in early 2012. I was chairman of the (company) board. I ran the show.”

Seeney, who continues in parliament as an opposition member, said yesterday: “The party hierarchy had a commercial benefit in me keeping Clive happy but it became increasingly impossible. Clive’s expectations were based on his relationship with Bruce as an individual and with the party as a major supporter.

“It was a major part of the demise of the government — much more so than has been publicly recognised — because it took a lot of energy out of us in the early days. It soured the relationships between the parliamentary wing and the organisation and it created a snowballing effect.”

According to Langbroek, who was deposed as leader to make way for Newman’s takeover from City Hall in 2011, McIver’s style and strength transformed the party and delivered it into government, “but I think he was compromised by his relationship with a wealthy man in Clive who wanted to buy the party”.

“Those in the parliamentary wing tried to do our jobs but there was an estrangement with the party,’’ Langbroek said.

Disability Support Pension burden hits $17bn a year

THE AUSTRALIAN

NOVEMBER 2, 2015 12:00AM 

David Crowe

Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the nation needed ‘pathways’ to get people back into study or work rather than welfare. Picture: Kym Smith

The Disability Support Pension has reached an “unsustainable” point as the $17 billion welfare program outstrips inflation and puts a growing burden on taxpayers, triggering a new vigilance in the federal government to curb the growth.

The spending is growing faster than the Australian population and forcing a greater contribution from those who stay in the workforce, according to government figures that counter claims that the trend presents no threat.

Worried that past reforms will not do enough to fix the problem, the government is warning that payments to more than 800,000 disability support pensioners have grown by 7.6 per cent on average every year for the past decade, far ahead of inflation.

The total annual bill has swollen from $10bn to $17bn over the decade in real terms and continues to rise as a proportion of the working-age population — a sign of the load that workers have to carry to fund the safety net.

The findings inflame a debate over whether the nation has made it too easy for people to “opt out” of the workforce and retire early on the DSP, where they can collect more than they would on unemployment benefits and then eventually move to the Age Pension.

Academic studies have rubbished the “alarm” over the growth of the disability pension, arguing that social shifts and policy changes have driven the increase.

But Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the nation needed “pathways” to get people back into study or work rather than encouraging them to get “stuck on welfare”.

“The Disability Support Pension is an important safety net but there is no doubt that we inherited a situation where the growth in people claiming the DSP stretched the system to an unsustainable point,” he told The Australian.

“DSP spending over the last decade has been growing at a rate considerably faster than inflation and at a considerably greater rate than our population. Suggestions DSP spending is merely increasing in line with population growth are simply wrong.”

Unlike the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which is ramping up to fund health and other services for people with disabilities, the DSP is a form of income support for those with physical, intellectual or psychiatric conditions that prevent them working.

It has grown from 168,784 recipients in 1975 to 814,391 recipients four decades later, outpacing population growth for much of that time.

Mr Porter said the government had already changed the rules to target the help at those with a “permanent and significant” disability, but he made it clear the tougher approach would continue.

“This kind of stringency and targeting is the only way to guarantee the sustainability of the DSP system so it is available into the future for the Australians who need it,” he said. “The DSP shouldn’t be a ‘set and forget’ payment — that’s not in the recipients’ interest and it’s not in taxpayers’ interest.”

Figures from the Department of Social Services show that outlays on the DSP rose by 5.7 per cent on average in real terms every year over the past decade.

The outlays grew by 3 per cent in real terms on average every year when expressed as a share of the working-age population.

The spending also grew by 3 per cent in real terms on average every year in per capita terms, showing the cost was outstripping population growth.

A detailed study last year showed that much of the growth in the DSP had come from the ageing of the population, an increase in the retirement age for women and a major shift in other income support programs.

“From this perspective, alarm over growth in DSP is probably overstated,” wrote Roger Wilkins from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and Duncan McVicar from Queen’s University in Belfast in the Australian Economic Review.

This has not convinced the federal government, however, and Mr Porter is promising further scrutiny of the system.

Labor helped to scale back the growth by announcing tougher rules in 2011 to require people younger than 35 to meet new work requirements and encouraging new applicants to try to get back to work before they could receive the income support.

But Labor’s families spokeswoman Jenny Macklin has savaged the Coalition government for making further changes, saying it was “attacking” some of the most vulnerable people in the community.

“The Disability Support Pension is not unsustainable,” Ms Macklin said during the height of the clash over last year’s budget cuts.

The Parliamentary Budget Office predicts that annual real growth in the DSP will sink to 2.1 per cent over the decade to 2023 compared with 5.3 per cent in the previous decade, but this assumes that last year’s stricter new rules have an impact and are not eased in the future.

The Greens have called for $791 million to be spent over four years to reverse Labor’s changes and stop forcing DSP applicants on to Newstart. Greens senator Rachel Siewert has strongly criticised the measures in last year’s budget, including a halt to applicants choosing their own doctors to assess their disability, forcing them to use doctors appointed by the commonwealth instead.

“Forcing people to visit doctors they’ve never met before and who have no idea about their personal circumstances is not an effective way of carrying out assessments,” Senator Siewert said, adding that it was a “witch-hunt” to save money.

An analysis by The Australian shows that both major parties presided over big increases in the DSP in the past but have cracked down on the pension in recent years.

The number of DSP recipients represented 1.43 per cent of the population when Malcolm Fraser left office in 1983.

It was 2.17 per cent when Bob Hawke left office in 1991 and 2.74 per cent when Paul Keating left office in 1996.

It was 3.43 per cent when John Howard left office in 2007 and it was 3.6 per cent when Kevin Rudd left office in 2010.

In the first fall in this metric under any prime minister, the percentage slipped to 3.55 per cent when Julia Gillard left office in 2013. It fell again to 3.43 per cent in June this year, before Tony Abbott lost power.

These falls have not been enough to stop the steady rise in outlays, however, and the government appears to be worried that it remains too easy for people to move on to the DSP permanently when they could eventually return to the workforce.

Bikies will back state Labor at next state election

• DAMON GUPPY
• THE COURIER-MAIL
• JANUARY 05, 2015 12:00AM 

Arrests made in a bikie investigation, including eight Rebels

OPPOSITION Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk will have the backing of exiled bikies across Queensland when she goes to the polls this year.

Labor’s pledge to repeal and replace the controversial anti-bikie laws is likely to score her thousands of votes from not only disgruntled motorcycle gang members but also their families, associates and even charities that benefited from their fundraising, bikie chiefs say.

BIKIE LAWS: Police say hands off

United Motorcycle Council Queensland spokesman and Rebels leader Mick Kosenko said in a contest between Campbell Newman and Ms Palaszczuk, the bikies would back Labor.

“We just want a government that will sit down with us and talk about the issues they have with motorcycle clubs,” he said.

“We just want to be treated like a sporting club. We are a sporting club. We’ll go along with anyone – Labor, Katter, whoever will listen rather than treat us like criminals.”

Rebels leader Mick Kosenko.

The Opposition plans to review the Vicious Lawlessness Disestablishment Act (VLAD) and replace the laws with new legislation that targets organised crime. The LNP intends to ramp up its laws by banning bikies from holding a licence to work in construction.

Ms Palaszczuk said the current laws were unworkable and “in some cases are impacting on innocent Queenslanders” but Premier Campbell Newman said they were fair and had made the state safer.

“Labor has it in their policy (to repeal the VLAD laws). They’re looking at laws that fight real organised crime – using police resources for real crimes – and not just terrorise people on motorcycles,’’ Mr Kosenko said. “(The LNP) sort of made up an extra crime targeting us. If they had put all that money into fighting real crime, it would definitely have dropped.”

He said the laws had created extra work for police.

“When we’d ride together, they used to keep an eye on us for things like DUI or outstanding warrants but that was all,” Mr Kosenko said.

“They knew how to manage us and there was very little trouble. Now, because of these laws, the poor cops are thrown in the deep end.”

He said the Rebels’ 13 chapters across Queensland alone would raise more than $50,000 a year for charities such as the Leukaemia Foundation, Redcliffe Hospital, schools and sporting clubs.

Former Rebels sergeant-at-arms Mike Smith, whose two sons were placed in solitary confinement after being among the infamous Yandina 5 arrests on the Sunshine Coast in 2013, said the bikie laws were a “crime against humanity”.

“Myself and my two sons can’t even have a beer together,” he said. “We can’t even drive in the same car together.

“You want to know something sad? I voted for Campbell Newman.”.

Labor draws level with LNP

Newspoll: Labor draws level with LNP

• ANDREW FRASER
• THE AUSTRALIAN
• JANUARY 03, 2015 12:00AM
• 85 COMMENTS

Campbell Newman’s government has suffered a four-point drop in support since the previous quarterly poll in September. Picture: Jono Searle.

QUEENSLAND’S main political parties are in lock-step as the election approaches, with the latest Newspoll showing support for the Liberal National Party and Labor at 50 per cent each on a two-party-preferred basis.

Campbell Newman’s government has suffered a four-point drop in support since the previous quarterly poll in September when it held a 54-46 lead over Labor.

Mr Newman has slightly improved his standing as preferred premier from 41 per cent to 44 per cent.

Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has been steady on 35 per cent all year.

GRAPHIC: Queensland Newspoll

The potential swing against the LNP would cost the Premier his seat of Ashgrove, which he holds by a margin of only 5.7 per cent, were the poll results to be uniformly translated across the state. He will face Labor’s Kate Jones, the former holder of the seat and a seasoned campaigner.

The LNP came to power in a landslide three years ago in March 2012, winning 78 of the 89 seats in the Queensland parliament and gaining nearly 63 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote. The government insists it does not have to go to the polls until June, though Queensland voters have a history of punishing governments that go beyond a three-year term.

The National Party in 1989 and Labor in 2012 were thrown out of office after seeking to hold on to power as long as possible.

Mr Newman has also seen a small turnaround in his satisfaction rating in the current Newspoll. It has gone up three percentage points to 38 per cent while his dissatisfaction rating has dropped three points to 51 per cent.

His net satisfaction rating — the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction — remains deep in negative territory, at 13 percentage points. By contrast, NSW Liberal Premier, Mike Baird, has a net satisfaction rating of plus 40.

Queensland Labor has improved its primary vote from 32 per cent to 36 per cent in this Newspoll, while the Greens are stable on 10 per cent. Half of Labor’s four-point gain in its primary vote has come at the expense of the LNP, the rest coming from minor parties, most likely the Palmer United Party.

The PUP seems to have peaked after at one stage threatening to win seats on the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

The LNP has been beset by a public bout of infighting over preselections, most notably in Moggill, where former AMA president Christian Rowan only defeated the incumbent, former minister Bruce Flegg, with the support of the party’s administrative wing.

The government has brought the budget under control and will return the state to surplus in 2015-16. But there remains widespread concerns about high unemployment, especially in regional cities, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, where it is between 8 and 10 per cent.

Storm lashes the House in final hours of the 54th Qld Parliament

Intrepid Brisbane Times state political reporter Amy Remeikis has recorded the final few hours of the 54th Queensland parliament as a storm of biblical proportions rolled in over the river city.

Whilst the sunshine state remains under flexible three year terms, it is expected Premier Campbell Newman will call an election early in the new year for March.

Valedictory speeches dominated the final sitting day for 2014 before the wild weather assaulted the city. 

Portentous of the Queensland Gods' displeasure with the Newman Government, hail hammered the 150 year old House of Parliament. Complete with sirens sounding in the city, here are Amy's recordings:

1. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537859383070588928

2. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537859865633636352

3. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537860897445015552

4. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537862725250994177

5. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537868713387896832

6. https://twitter.com/amyremeikis/status/537881185209548800