A division of the Liberal Party of Australia
NORTHERN OPINION ONLINE
In this second edition of Northern Opinion Online, I welcome readers to 2008 from the North of Queensland, where we have had a series of climatic conditions bringing heavy rain, cutting short the sugar season in many areas and playing havoc with roads and transportation.
The money the previous Government had budgeted for the Bruce Highway will, in the next couple of years, alleviate some of the flooding problems on the Highways - but you can be assured that the new Government will claim all the credit!
Some would say these climatic occurrences are evidence of climate change. However, for those of us who have lived in the north for many years, the heavy rain, accompanied by a cyclone and lows, is a return to what the climate used to be 15 or so years ago.
BRENDAN NELSON IN THE NORTH
It was good to see the Federal Opposition Leader, Dr Brendan Nelson visiting Queensland early in the New Year.
I accompanied Dr Nelson on an inspection of the flood ravaged towns of Charleville and Emerald. Dr Nelson’s presence was clearly appreciated by those who were suffering stress at this time.
The Mayor of Charleville, Counsellor Mark O’Brien, has done a marvellous job in his community and was able to show us the temporary levy bank installed to fill the few hundred metre gap that had not been able to be fully levied prior to the floods.
On the day we were in Charleville and Emerald, the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh was there coincidentally, as well and we spent some time with her discussing relief measures.
In Emerald Dr Nelson took the opportunity to meet with householders living in their front yards as their back yards were a few metres deep under raging flood waters. Dr Nelson helped the sandbagging effort on one occasion and our presence was most welcomed by those facing this natural calamity.
The Fairbairn Dam at Emerald had been about 17%. When we were there it was approximately 156% full! After almost 2 decades of dropping water levels, the calamity of flood waters brings the prospect of future prosperity and security.
It was a delight that the Federal Liberal candidate for Flynn, Jason Rose, was able to meet us in Emerald and show us around. Fortuitously, he lives on the airport side of the town - the town proper was cut off by the Nogoa River.
Dr Nelson continued on to Cairns and Arrukun to meet with Indigenous Leaders regarding solutions to the issues faced by Aboriginal children in the communities.
Pictures of the Emerald floods are available on my website at www.senatormacdonald.org/display/emeraldfloods.html
ELECTION POSTSCRIPT
The small town of Georgetown in the Gulf country provides an interesting lesson in campaigning.
Over the years I have visited Georgetown on many occasions and have made some wonderful friends in the area. Back in the 1993 election, we door knocked the whole town in support of the then Liberal candidate.
This campaign I did a couple of mail outs to that community. It was interesting to note that the Coalition Senate vote in Georgetown at 52% was in percentage terms, the third highest of all votes for the Coalition in the electorate of Kennedy – held of course by maverick independent Bob Katter.
Although the ‘experts’ deny it, there is clearly benefit in Senators establishing a profile and a constituency in an area.
Other figures in Kennedy are also interesting.
In the Lower House, Katter received 39.53% of the vote, the National Party candidate 24.65% of the vote and the Labor candidate 28.09% of the vote.
In the Senate in Kennedy, the Liberal Coalition vote was 39.18% and the Labor vote was 35.77%.
Accepting that all of those who voted National Party in the Lower House would have voted for the Coalition in the Senate, it would seem that an additional 14.53% of Katter voters voted for the Coalition Senate Team.
Bearing in mind that the Labor Senate vote was 35.77%, clearly only 7.68% of Katter voters voted Labor in the Senate.
Another 17.32% of voters who voted neither Coalition nor Labor in the Senate voted for Katter. In Kennedy in the Senate, Pauline Hanson received 8.42%, and other right wing parties received 5.93% of the vote and one would assume they mainly voted for Katter.
Katter’s 39.53% of the vote therefore came from;
• Coalition 14.53%
• Labor 7.68%
• Other 17.32%
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
Over the holiday season, I was on the Gold Coast and took the opportunity to talk with locals about the Local Government campaign. I am an ardent supporter of the Liberal Party entering into Local Government campaigns in the larger centres.
The Liberal Team seems to be off to a good start on the Gold Coast. We have an excellent Mayoral candidate in Tom Tate and a strong team.
Although I have long supported a Liberal Team in the Townsville City Council, circumstances this year are such that there will not be a Liberal Team.
The incumbent Labor Team, led by Labor Mayor Tony Mooney will be challenged by a group of independent, all party candidates, led by Thuringowa Mayor, Les Tyrell.
The Deputy Leader of Team Tyrell is David Crisafulli, who worked for many years as my Media Adviser, and for 3 years has been one of the 2 Liberal opposition Councillors on the Townsville City Council.
Team Tyrell seems to be campaigning very well, but on an interesting note, Tony Mooney, fearing the outcome of his political team against an independent team, has curiously waved the magic political wand.
His 8 Labor Party Team members are now being joined by 4 what he calls ‘Community members’, although the campaign is clearly being run by Labor HQ. One of the ‘Community members’ is an ex-Labor Party member, recently resigned.
Should some of his ‘Community members’ be elected, it will be curious to see how their actions fit in with the rigidly controlled caucus system of the Labor Party.
And of further interest, another one of Tony Mooney’s ‘Community members’ is a person who was once a Liberal candidate in Townsville, then a National Party candidate in Townsville, and is now part of a Labor Team!
MERGER IN QUEENSLAND
To anyone who has observed Queensland politics over the years, it is clear that, unless the non-Labor forces run as one team, we will continue to be afflicted by what is arguably the worst Government the State has ever seen.
Crises being experienced by Queensland are too numerous to mention – health, infrastructure and education are just three. In any normal electorate, the Government would have been tossed out on its ear, but in Queensland the Labor Party continues to win with record majorities - the reason clearly being there is no effective opposition.
Optional preferential voting makes it difficult to run separate candidates in Queensland State elections, and, as a result, electorates like Hervey Bay, Whitsunday and Mulgrave, which are clearly Liberal inclined seats, continue to be won by the Labor Party because their opponents are always National Party candidates.
I have long supported the National Party merging into the Liberal Party in Queensland and have publicly called for this.
As one who has been a member of the Liberal Party since 1965, I recognise the attraction of the name Liberal and believe that any amalgamated party must include that name. However, the sensitivities of those in the National Party need to be accommodated.
But to maintain the pretence of two separate Parties is ludicrous in my view.
At all elections, Federal and State, we run to the elections under one Leader, with one set of policies and it defies logic to maintain the fiction of 2 separate parties.
Suggestions that only the National Party can win in the country areas is absurd when one looks at the Senate vote in Queensland over the years and accepts that the Liberal Party Federally has more rural and regional seats than the National Party.
And the argument that a United Liberal Party in Queensland will spawn various right wing parties in the West is also flawed- they already exist in One Nation, Katter and Family First.
The amalgamations need sensitive, skilled leadership to achieve a result, and in turn provide Queenslanders the opportunity of getting rid of what is arguably the worst Government this State has known.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
It didn’t take long.
Since the election of the Labor Government interest rates have gone up, petrol prices have gone up, food prices are increasing, the health system continues to be dysfunctional and all the newspaper promotions about the Bali Climate change conference, hunting whales and maintaining a strong economy, lack substance.
None of us get any joy from seeing the economy start to turn around, but it is what we have grown to expect under Labor mismanagement.
As always, I welcome feedback to any of the matters mentioned in this newsletter, and welcome constructive criticism as well as support.
With best wishes for the New Year,
Ian Macdonald
North Queensland based Liberal Senator
As this is an early edition of Northern Opinion Online, my emailing list is in its formative stage and is taken from several lists I have compiled over the years. If you would prefer not to receive this newsletter , or are receiving more than one copy, please let me know by emailing senator.ian.macdonald@aph.gov.au.