Perspective

Furlough

2008-10-26T15:34:00.001+10:00

Site temporarily out of service

Bush Betrayed by Borbidge, Beattie and Bligh?

2008-06-07T12:04:00.001+10:00

More soon...

Support for Alternative Newspaper?

2008-04-25T18:05:00.002+10:00

Several people have expressed interest in the establishment of an alternative newspaper to service the Fraser Coast area... a "good news" paper where the front page headlines are not scandal, crime, violence or Nancy's pet promotion of the month.

Early suggestions for such a newspaper include...

Bringing a genuinely independent viewpoint on major events happening within our community
Providing a special focus on educational issues and employment creation
Allowing all candidates in political contests to freely express their opinion on an equal basis
Encouraging community groups and not-for-profit organisations to submit newsworthy items, meeting notes and date-claimers
Actively pursuing positive, wholesome news items
Being pro-family, pro-good values, rather than constantly promoting "alternative" lifestyles,
And not competing with the existing printed media as a source for turf guides, horoscope and Dear Aunty trash, and adults-only dating and related advertising.

Any further ideas or thoughts?

Reaction to Previous Blog

2008-04-20T15:58:00.006+10:00

Thank you to those who wrote or telephoned supporting the comments I made in my previous blog.

I certainly do not regret anything I wrote leading up to the election, however the bitterness and toxicity of the reactions of a few who felt aggrieved by my views did surprise me a little. I guess accountability and integrity are just irritating words to them. For the information of a few of their friends, I've pulled the knives out of my back and life will go on whether they approve or otherwise.

Turning to the outcome of the election, democracy is a strange invention at times, but democracy Beattie-style is a very curious thing indeed.

It is interesting to note that only one candidate elected to represent us on the Fraser Coast Regional Council achieved more than 50% of the eligible vote.

In fact, on the latest figures posted on the Queensland Electoral Commission website (7/04/2008) for the Mayoral contest, over 56% of eligible voters either said "No" to the successful candidate or were so disinterested that they either forgot to vote, refused to vote or deliberately wasted their vote. Hardly a mandate to get excited about.

For those interested in where all this is headed, the result in some ways mirrors the last State Election held on 9 September 2006, when the ALP managed to secure 59 of the 89 seats (or 66% of the seats), with only 46.92% of the vote.

Some of us are old enough to remember the journalists and Labor hacks who constantly proclaimed the evils of "The Gerrymander" when electoral weightage protected regional, rural and remote areas of the state from the excesses of city-centric government.

Anyone needing a hospital in Maryborough lately, or driving regularly between Hervey Bay and Brisbane, will confirm we simply are not getting our share of funding despite the protestations of Labor sympathisers or our completely ineffective Members of State Parliament. Labor is treating voters outside of the Noosa-Ipswich-Gold Coast triangle with contempt.

On this occasion the outcome was heavily influenced by a natural fear of isolation and disenfranchisement and certainly does not reflect the respective abilities of many of the candidates. Time will tell which ones will be re-elected and which ones will be flushed away when voters have had more time to think things through.

Successful Councillors - Declared Results Summary

Electors at Close of Roll: 61,959
Last Updated Date/Time: 26/03/2008 12:43:38 pm
Percentage of Roll Counted: 87.02%

HOVARD, Barbara 31,705
HAWES, Debbie 29,385
ARTHUR, Julie Ann 27,804
HARRIS, Linda 26,480
McNEVEN, Belinda 25,270
NIOA, Anne 24,431
MUCKAN, Les 24,017
BROOKS, Sue 23,930
O'CONNELL, Gerard Daniel 23,787
DALGLEISH, David 23,159

Think Again

2008-03-13T12:44:00.006+10:00

With all the mud flying from the local newspaper and the constant attacks on anyone prepared to speak up or question the lop-sided journalism of that publication, more and more people are clicking on "the blogs" looking for information and ideas. Long live freedom of speech!

My recommendation remains: "TA", not "JA". Think Again! Don't donkey vote or run with the names you perhaps first think of.

We have candidates out there trumpeting their own virtues, spending a mint on glossy fliers, coreflutes and bus advertising, but my vote is not for sale.

The track record of some of these people suggests, if elected, they will sit on the new council doing exactly the same as they have done for the last "x" number of years. While Beattie's Labor government was busy stripping Maryborough's largest medical facility of most of its equipment and senior staff, where was "JA" and her mate "GO'C"?

"JA" and some very prominent doctors in this town sat silent for years not breathing a word to anyone. Indeed, most of our civic notables, from the Mayor down to the most silent of her colleagues, did virtually nothing to stop Maryborough losing essential infrastructure.

"GO'C" has been running around grabbing Chronicle photoshoots ever since he was elected, and was one of the first to sing the virtures of forced amalgamation. Perhaps this was his way of feeling good about doing nothing of any substance to stop the drift of services to the Bay?

So before you rush out to return "JA", "GO'C" and other sitting councillors to even plusher pastures, Think Again!

Ten Suggestions for a Balanced Council

2008-03-10T23:17:00.007+10:00

Seems everyone is struggling to come up with ten names to mark on Saturday for people to serve as Councillors on the new Fraser Coast Regional Council.

Everyone has different ideas, of course, but for me the first task, on thinking it all over again, was to cross off sitting Councillors whom I felt were either past their "use-by date" or who had not demonstrated a willingness to genuinely represent their constituents or to speak up on important issues.

Next came those whom I felt were too eager to follow a political agenda when the State government decided to force through the Amalgamation issue, or who clearly do not understand their responsibility to be fully accountable to the community. Some pretty big names disappeared here, but that is the nature of politics. Even the Prime Minister had to go in the end.

I then eliminated a couple of candidates whom I did not personally know, along with a few that I felt were insufficiently prepared for the role or about whom too little was known for the average voter to make a properly informed decision. Then another few whom I felt were "in it" for themselves and not for the good of the community.

Trying to find at least five people from the remaining candidates that did not live in or have dominant affiliations with Hervey Bay proved the most difficult criteria of all, so I looked for a balance of experience and fresh ideas, for candidates whom I believed had empathy for a wide cross-section of people, and for people I believed could make a strong contribution to the future of our region.

The following ten candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot paper.

Gary Jensen - Maryborough businessman and farmer (Fresh blood)
Roger Michael Currie - Well known conservationist (A sharp mind and an independent viewpoint to keep debate open)
Peter Souvlis - Maryborough identity with strong business links in both Maryborough and Hervey Bay (Fresh blood)
John Alan Kingston - Somewhat grumpy, former Maryborough councillor and MP (Keen intellect and a wealth of experience to contribute)
Darren Dickson - Maryborough Meals on Wheels CEO (Hands-on experience and understanding of issues affecting older citizens)
Ernie Paussa - Former journalist (Perhaps a late learner, but someone who understands the media)
Darryl George Stewart - Serving Tiaro councillor (Solid understanding of rural issues, articulate and passionate, and a vocal critic of the Traveston Dam)
Trevor McDonald - Experienced Hervey Bay councillor, intelligent, supportive of community projects
Troy Sullivan - My wildcard entry - Young, and closely involved with youth
Sue Brooks - Experienced Hervey Bay councillor, intelligent, environmentally aware

This team includes three experienced councillors and a former councillor (two from Hervey Bay and two from the other three shires), and six fresh faces to bring new ideas to the table and to break the stale mould of local government that has shackled the growth of Maryborough, distorted the growth of Hervey Bay, and overlooked the needs of the smaller communities within our shires.

Fraser Coast Regional Council Elections 2008

2008-03-09T16:39:00.042+10:00

In less than a week we will vote again, this time for a mayor and ten councillors to form the new Fraser Coast Regional Council. Five candidates for mayor, 29 for councillor, and all without electoral divisions.

Not too daunting, if you know most of them and have been keeping your eyes and ears to the ground over the last few months?

But what if the dominant local newspaper seems "hell-bent" on promoting the editor's favourites and starving other candidates of political oxygen? Remember Peter Huth and Chris Foley in 2003? Everybody else was a "wanna-be" or "unsuitable for the task".

Or what if that local newspaper seems to regularly print only one side of a story, or frequently displays editorial prejudice or lack of impartiality? Think Amalgamation. Think Wide Bay Water. Think Strewth! Try http://strewthreloaded.wordpress.com/

Merging four shires' individualities and unique qualities into one was always going to be an interesting exercise, whether or not we agreed that it was even necessary in the first place, but finding ten suitable people to form the first super council, plus an impartial and honest person to serve as mayor, when the average citizen probably does not know any more than about half the nominees is going to mean a lot of spoiled ballot papers on the day.

But before we go looking for our ten, what are we actually looking for?

Perhaps a selection of candidates with some of the following qualities would give us a good blend of skills and talents with which to forge this new alliance of shires:

Demonstrated business accumen and understanding of financial prudence (and not just a piece of paper with some academic qualification noted),
An understanding of pressing environmental issues,
A blend of Local Government experience and fresh ideas,
Depth of knowledge of local issues,
An understanding of rural issues and challenges,
A genuine empathy for community groups (not just fete attenders and monument builders),
An ability to think independently, rather than simply following the mob or a Party line,
Intellectual capacity (Some of the candidates are having great difficulty in stringing ten words together and have no idea that spelling and punctuation are still important prerequisites to a professional career)... And, most critically,
A willingness to be both transparent and accountable to the public for their actions.

I'm sure you have crossed quite a few candidates off already. "Seventeen years on Council" but without a thing to show for it except plaques all over town, does not make a person fit to be re-elected. Nor does attending every fete in town, but betraying the community groups that have supported you, establish the bonafides of trust necessary to expect continued support from a disappointed public.

Let us start with the candidates for Councillor...

Here is the list advised by the ECQ (Electoral Commission Queensland), in the order they will appear on the ballot paper:

McNEVEN, Belinda
OLUJIC, Richard
HAWES, Debbie
FELTON, Russell
JENSEN, Gary
BANKS, Brendon Arthur
O'CONNELL, Gerard Daniel
CURRIE, Roger Michael
MACKELLAR, Jim
CAMPBELL, Bob
SOUVLIS, Peter
KINGSTON, John Alan
DICKSON, Darren
HARRIS, Linda
MUCKAN, Les
PHILIPPI, Walter
PAUSSA, Ernie
HANSEN, James
ARTHUR, Julie Ann
STEWART, Darryl George
HOVARD, Barbara
DALGLEISH, David
NIOA, Anne
SMITH, Kevin
McDONALD, Trevor
SULLIVAN, Troy
HUNTER, Allen
BROOKS, Sue
KUHN, Shayne

One of the great problems we face in finding the right blend of people is making sure that outlying areas are not forgotten post-15 March. With the population dominance of Hervey Bay it could be very difficult for the present Shires of Woocoo and Tiaro to have any sort of representation at all on the new Council. (It is interesting that four of the five mayoral candidates come from Hervey Bay.)

Ideally, we need at least five councillors from outside Hervey Bay, plus a fair mayor as chairman, to ensure balance in decision making from the new council, or at the very least, people who have demonstrated an empathy for a broader constituency than just the coastal city. Voting proportionately favouring the city of Hervey Bay as some have advocated as "fair" will simply ensure little or no representation for ratepayers from the present Tiaro and Woocoo Shires.

And we need at least five honest people, plus a completely impartial and balanced mayor, to have a workable council that will listen to the needs of the community and act on behalf of ratepayers without selling out to property developers or other sectional interests.

The Labor government had its own agenda in forcibly restructuring local government in Queensland, so perhaps the first candidates for thinking people to eliminate are the two who have supported the government from the outset... Gerard O'Connell and Belinda McNevin. These two are clearly Labor Party idealogues (stooges, if you like) prepared to do whatever the State Labor Party wants them to do, even if is against the wishes of the majority of their constituents. Good looks and youthful charm do not make up for being either gullible or ignoring the wishes of people.

And while you have your pencils out, cross off the two candidates presently serving on the Woocoo Shire Council who have betrayed their ratepayers by rushing out to fill up the pockets of their former mate and CEO before an independent abitrator could look at all the facts and hand down a fair judgement. These people need to understand we want them to work for us not their grubby little mates. (It is interesting that the only two Councillors who reportedly voted against paying out Joe Hill have both decided not to run for the new Council.)

You can also cross off the present councillors boasting about all their years of service when, in reality, they have little to show for all their meeting fees other than an assortment of plaques scattered around their neighbourhood from some official opening of someone else's achievement or of a public monument of dubious value. Sitting on all sorts of committees and never making decisions, or hiding the decisions that were made, does not qualify a person for election or re-election to public office.

On the other hand, there are several candidates whom I would think would be "must haves", because of the depth of wisdom and knowledge that they could contribute to the new council. Here we would immediately think of Dr John Kingston, the former Maryborough City Councillor, turned One Nation MP, turned Independent MP for the State Seat of Maryborough.

Another would be present Hervey Bay Councillor Sue Brooks, frequently on the outer with her present colleagues for her willingness to listen to the public rather than to property developers and others.

Councillors must be able to think through the issues of the day, clearly and decisively, without fear of or favour from political masters or vested interests.

Councillors must be prepared to act in the best interests of their constituents and must be comfortable with being fully accountable for their decisions and actions. Seventeen years of attending meetings and being paid well to do so, does not necessarily make a person a good representative of the organisations to which they belong or of the community they are supposed to be serving.

For a Mayor... I'm looking for fresh blood, an independent thinker, a person able to broker a balance between protecting the environment and developing the potential of this beautiful part of Queensland, someone with integrity and untainted by the decisions of past public life...

...MORE SOON

Full responsibility for the political opinion and assessment above is taken by the author. Authorised and published via the internet by Bevan Collingwood, 659 Teddington Road, Teddington, Queensland (presently a part of the Woocoo Shire).

The Jaws of Defeat

2007-11-27T15:02:00.000+10:00

COMMENT - 27 November 2007

The extent of the Rudd victory on Saturday perhaps surprised some in Coalition ranks, however the prophetic writing had been on the wall for a long time.

Former Nationals leader Mark Vaile has apparently blamed "the desire for a change" for the government's defeat. He was quoted as saying, "There seemed to be a sense of just wanting to change for change's sake in Australia" (Melissa Jenkins, AAP, 26/11/07).

To a certain extent there is truth in that statement, however, it would be too easy to sweep reality under the carpet and walk away from the real causes for the Coalition's defeat.

Over a period of 11 years Australians had become quite cynical of the government's motivations and goals.

Firstly, we were never ever going to have a GST. During the 1996 campaign then-Opposition Leader John Howard issued a four-sentence statement saying, "Suggestions I have left open the possibility of a GST are completely wrong. A GST or anything resembling it is no longer Coalition policy. Nor will it be policy at any time in the future. It is completely off the political agenda in Australia."

The Coalition introduced their "tax reforms" soon after the 1998 Federal election, and the GST, so soundly rejected when proposed by banker-turned-politician Dr John Hewson in 1993, became law.

This clearly was a breach of trust on the part of the government and one which should have brought retribution at the ensuing election. However, the government managed to escape the wrath of Australians by focussing Australia's attention on three quite unexpected events in the weeks leading up to the election: the MV Tampa incident in August, the terrorist attacks on the New York Twin Towers a few weeks later and the arrival in early October of The Olong (referred to as "SIEV-4" in official circles; "SIEV" being short for "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel") .

When the government's lies about the "babies overboard" were exposed, Defence Minister Reith lost his career but the government was safely re-elected on 10 November 2001.

On 17 September 2002, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer addressed the Australian Parliament at length on "Iraq" and "Weapons of Mass Destruction". Seven days later, the British government released a dossier on "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction", and the "threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime". A few weeks later, in November 2002, United States President George W. Bush called for a "coalition of the willing to disarm" Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The rhetoric continued until March 2003 when the Howard government announced that it was committing Australian troops to support the invasion of Iraq. Prime Minister Howard said it was "directed towards the protection of the Australian national interest" (Sydney Morning Herald, 18/03/2003).

Bush and Howard and the British PM Tony Blair, unable to get United Nations support for the invasion, continued to talk about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the great need to restore democracy in Iraq. No such weapons have ever been found and Iraq is still locked in dangerous conflict with no end in sight.

Only this month, former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was reported as saying, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil" (Graham Paterson, The Sunday Times, 16/11/2007).

According to Great Britain's Sunday Herald newspaper, the decision to attack Iraq had already been made by the United States long before September 11, 2001. "President Bush's Cabinet agreed in April 2001 that 'Iraq remains a destabilising influence to the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East' and because this is an unacceptable risk to the US 'military intervention' is necessary" (Official: US oil at the heart of Iraq crisis, Sunday Herald, 6/10/2002).

In hindsight, it seems the entire conflict was simply a ruse to secure (and advance) United States oil interests in the Middle East (Iraq is reportedly the second largest source of oil on planet Earth) and to enhance the considerable business interests of President Bush himself, as well as those of his key supporters.

It is interesting to note that for the first time in United States history, the President, Vice-President and Secretary of State are all former executives from the oil industry. Bush and his Vice-President Dick Cheney still have substantial interests in oil. Cheney's company Halliburton, an oil service company, has been awarded lucrative contracts by the United States government in post-war Iraq.

Condoleeza Rice, "after serving in the first Bush administration from 1989 to 1992, was placed on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation and served as its principal expert on Kazakhstan, where Chevron holds the largest concession of any of the international oil companies" (http://rightweb.irc-online.org/ind/rice/rice.html).

Indeed, there has been a very active pro-war lobby of influential figures who continue to benefit handsomely from the ongoing conflict in Iraq.

Polling clearly showed many Australians did not support becoming involved, but the government pressed on. Australians were taken for granted yet again and treated as gullible fools by the Howard government.

But the final straw for the average Aussie was the arrogance of a government pumped up by its capture of the Senate in the 2004 election. It failed to learn from either Australia's history or its Constitution.

The Senate was intended as a House of Review, not as a rubber-stamp for ill-considered government policy or sectional interests.

Despite very clear warnings from many in the community, the government pressed ahead with its reforms of the industrial relations system and drove a wedge deep into the electorate.

The unions, facing declining membership and good economic times, saw this as their opportunity to reassert themselves as the guardians of Australian working conditions. They started a very intense and expensive public awareness campaign against the government.

The government foolishly thought they could exploit the links between Labor and the unions, but in the end it was only Labor who appeared to be concerned about the loss of workers' rights and conditions and this struck a very raw nerve with the average Aussie.

Along the way, there was an assortment of other distractions for a government that seemed to be losing its discipline and its focus on serving the people. For the last two or three years, the government wandered from issue to issue seemingly unable to project a clear message on any one of them. These included:

The sale of Telstra and the continuing public stouch with its directors over which direction to take telecommunications. This allowed Labor to put forward an alternative plan, which although flawed, kept the government on the back foot.
The government's failure to hold any of its ministers accountable for the AWB fiasco and its irregular wheat dealings with Iraq.
The government's failure to act decisively following the arrest of Australian citizen and alleged terrorist collaborator David Hicks. For more than five years Hicks was held without trial at the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, amidst constant accusations of torture and inhumane treatment of inmates.
The government's erosion of civil liberties as evidenced by its handling of the arrest of Indian-born Dr Mohamed Haneef on rather flimsy grounds and the subsequent revoking of his work visa. This was seen as a cynical exercise to use the threat of terrorism to evoke support for the government in the lead up to an election.
The government's failure to understand and counter the influence of the global warming lobby.
The government's inability to steer the debate with respect to Gunn's environmentally sensitive pulp mill for Tasmania.
The failure of the Health Minister to show up on time for his most important press event of the campaign.
The unfathomable stupidity of Liberal supporters in the seat of Lindsay, printing and distributing misleading and provocative election fliers.
And the corker of them all, the ongoing petulence of Treasurer Peter Costello and his band of supporters within the government itself. The childish cage-rattling of the Member for Higgins, in his craving to be Prime Minister, when he did not even have the support of his Liberal Party colleagues to mount a challenge to John Howard's leadership, proved invaluable to the Opposition in its quest to undermine the government. Costello's decision to abandon his quest for leadership of the Liberals following the government's defeat has not only thrown the Party into confusion and disarray but reinforces the widely held view that he was really not interested in what he could do for Austalia but what The Lodge could do for his ego.

Unfortunately, with so many little fires burning, the government was simply unable to regain the momentum it desperately needed to hold onto government.

House of Representative Preferences - Election 2007

2007-11-15T21:26:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 15 November 2007

Dear Editor

There seems to be some confusion regarding the two different ballot papers we will be given on election day. Ken Kerr asks federal election candidates in Wide Bay and Hinkler to say who will get their preferences (FCC 15/11/07).

Unlike voting above the line for Senate candidates, voters are required to consecutively number every square on their House of Representatives ballot paper, beginning with the candidate of their choice.

As voters in a democratic society, it is our responsibility and privilege to number our ballot papers according to our own judgment and beliefs. The How to Vote fliers distributed on election day, which usually reflect how the candidates think we should vote, ought not to persuade us one way or another. Indeed, they are contrary to the very spirit of democracy.

Firstly, they try to rob us of our democratic right to preference candidates in whatever order suits us. Secondly, they encourage laziness by offering an instant solution to the need to make an intelligent judgement based on knowledge. And thirdly, they are an atrocious waste of paper and resources.

The simple answer is, the candidates do not decide the preferences. We do.

Abortion - A Barbaric Ritual

2007-11-11T21:44:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 11 November 2007

Dear Editor

Ric John is quite correct when he states that "abortion is a matter of opinion" (FCC 10/11/07). Indeed it is, for most people will venture an opinion on what is euphemistically called "therapeutic abortion"; one way or the other.

However, it is also a matter of both religion and science. But let us look at the latter.

By definition, abortion is an act whereby the unborn child is destroyed in the womb and then removed or allowed to be stillborn, or removed from the mother's womb and encouraged thereafter to die.

According to readily available statistics, abortions account for 41% of all deaths in Australia, claiming more lives than any other single cause, and far outnumbering cancer, heart disease, road deaths, suicides, and homicides combined.

100,000 abortions take place each year in Australia, compared to 250,000 live births.

More than 98% of all abortions are for convenience and have nothing to do with medical purposes, rape or foetal deformities.

Reportedly, there are several main methods of therapeutic abortion in Australia at present, including suction, in which the foetus with its placenta is quite literally sucked out of the womb, being torn apart limb from limb, and dilatation and curettage, in which the foetus is cut into pieces by a sharp instrument and then reassembled to make sure no limbs or other parts are left in the womb to cause infection or other problems.

Other methods include saline amniocentesis, or salt poisoning, which usually brings about the death of the foetus within an hour and the birth of a dead, salt-damaged child within a day or two, and prostaglandin chemical abortion which brings about premature delivery of a child that is just too young to survive.

More recently, the controversial abortion pill RU486 has been added. This consists of two medications mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone needed to maintain the pregnancy. When progesterone is blocked, the uterine lining begins to shed and bleeding often occurs. Misoprostol causes the uterus to contract and the foetus is usually expelled within 6 to 8 hours.

All of these involve destroying a living foetus by mechanical or chemical means.

This is the science of abortion; the cold, hard, clinical facts of what has become a major industry in Australia and a vast money spinner for drug companies, and some in the medical profession.

No amount of rationalisation can change the facts. Our barbaric rituals are literally killing off future Australians.

Beattie Retires

2007-09-17T22:43:00.000+10:00

COMMENT - 14 September 2007

So Premier Pete is "over it". Just like a egotistical footballer whose lost the drive to play competition rugby any more?

Whilst some commentators describe him as "one of the most significant Labor politicians of the last decade", his tenure as Premier of Queensland will be remembered for what he did not do, rather than for what he achieved, and for the disasters he presided over and was unable to solve.

Remember his 2004 election promise to clean up child abuse? He cut his second term short supposedly to secure a mandate to fix the problem.

Remember his 2006 promise to personally address the problems in Queensland Health? Problems he had presided over as both Health Minister and Premier, and then as Treasurer. Has anything changed? We are still shuttling patients around looking for hospital beds.

Remember his pledge to get water for Brisbane? From a dam that will cause environmental, social, economic damage long after he has been forgotten and which will statistically need 110 year cycles to fill up.

Remember the former Labor Member for Noosa, Cate Molloy, who spoke out against the Traveston Dam project and was promptly expelled from the Labor caucus by Premier Beattie? Seems she didn't like his plans to flood some of Queensland's most productive agricultural land, flooding roads and railways, drowning peaceful rural communities and endangering the health of the downstream river ecology for the sake of city votes.

Remember the other Labor mates he personally welcomed as new MPs or selected as ministers, then expelled when they were found to have rorted the electoral system? The 2001 Shepherdson Inquiry into Electoral Fraud, led to three members of his government being forced to quit parliament: former Labor Party State Secretary Mike Kaiser (then Member for Woodridge), backbencher Grant Musgrove (then Member for Springwood) and senior government Minister and Deputy Premier Jim Elder.

John Budd, Labor Member for Redlands from 1992 to 1995 was also implicated in that enquiry. The present Deputy Premier Paul Lucas was also mentioned in that report but managed to hang onto his career in the Beattie administration.

Remember the Ministers that he stood by time and time again when it was plain they were incompetent or up to mischief? Merri Rose, recently imprisoned for trying to bully the Premier into giving her a job following her fall from ministerial favour and the subsequent loss of her seat in parliament, and Gordon Nuttall, forced to resign as Health Minister, and now facing corruption charges... The list continues to grow.

Remember Peter Beattie presiding over one minute's silence in parliament in pity for convicted drug traffickers condemned to the death penalty in a country well-known for its stance on illicit drugs?

Remember the Premier whose team condoned Parliamentary lying and protected themselves by changing the law?

Remember his promise to get rogue surgeon Jayant Patel back from the United States after his government paid for his first class exit ticket?

Remember the Premier who was going to fine Mayors for seeking the views of their local constituents over forced amalgamations?

This is Peter Beattie's legacy. All talk and little action. All spin and little substance. One of wasted mandates to work for the good of all Queenslanders. One of failure to look ahead and see the problems caused by unbalanced development in south east Queensland. One of appalling lack of accountability or managerial commonsense on the part of his governments.

Seems like Mr Beattie has taken the easy way out yet again, and left Deputy Bligh to sort out the mess.

Well may we ask what is his legacy. Serial crises and serial apologies for failing to provide the essential services Queenslanders deserve, like reliable water and power supplies, a high-quality public health system for all Queenslanders, forward planning for improved roads and port infrastructure throughout the state, a fully-resourced Ambulance Service and Police Service, to name a few.

Premier Beattie has been more interested in football stadiums and conning the public to win elections than in delivering services for all Queenslanders.

Democracy Under Attack in Queensland - 2007

2007-09-04T15:51:00.000+10:00

COMMENT - First posted Monday, 6 August 2007

Never before have we seen such a blatant disregard for the wishes of the Queensland people, or such an obvious grab for power on the part of a State government.

During the premiership of the late Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Labor figures often complained about the so-called "gerrymander" of the State electoral system allegedly to favour Sir Joh's long-standing government. They argued that city folk were being denied a voice because the National Party had rigged the voting system to give unfair weightage to rural votes.

The fall of Sir Joh at the hands of his own ministers and the subsequent slide into oblivion for the conservatives in Queensland has brought an end to the visionary development of infrastructure that was the hallmark of Sir Joh's leadership of the Sunshine State. For example, not one new dam has been constructed since Labor was first elected in September 1992 to support the massive population growth which has flowed on from the Bjelke-Petersen years.

Indeed, Labor has consistently refused to build new dams until recently when they were forced by the extended drought affecting much of Australia to acknowledge the impending disaster. Beattie's cynical move to announce a dam on the Mary River in the Gympie electorate despite it failing all essential design and suitability criteria will do nothing to enhance water supplies in Brisbane and the south-eastern corner in general. It simply reflects the arrogance and incompetence of a government which to date has been happy to simply surf on the waves generated by former conservative governments in Queensland.

Not only have new public capital works projects ground to a halt, but commencing under the previous Labor Premier Wayne Goss (1992-1996) and his then side-kick and now would-be Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, schools, court houses, railways, government offices and services have been closed or scaled back in a savage attack on the electorates outside the south-eastern corner of the State.

Of equal concern is the massive decline in the standards of public health facilities throughout regional and rural Queensland since 1992 as Labor MPs have switched focus from serving "all Queenslanders" to bolstering their grip on the metropolitan seats which have given them the Treasury benches in Queensland.

Since the Goss and Beattie governments were elected, almost half of the birthing centres throughout Queensland have been shut down and assets stripped from major regional hospitals that once were the pride of their respective communities. Hospitals that previously offered a broad range of specialist services as well as comprehensive maternity, accident and emergency care facilities have been mothballed and gutted by Labor as funds have been siphoned off to Labor electorates and key Brisbane hospitals and to meet the growing demands of a huge public service monster shuffling paper and "administering" the health system.

With 45 of the 58 seats south of Noosa and east of Toowoomba in their grip, in an 89 Member House, little wonder the rest of Queensland is being neglected and ignored. The reality is that any other seat is a bonus for Labor and provided they throw their traditional regional seats of Cairns, Townsville, Mount Isa, Mackay and Rockhampton a few morsels from the rich man's table, they are under little threat from the combined Opposition of conservative Members who represent the vast majory of the rest of Queensland.

Over the last few elections in Queensland, we have seen the "One Vote, One Value" card played heavily to entrench the Labor government of Peter Beattie. Re-introduced by the Goss Labor government in 1992, it has effectively disenfranchised conservative voters and allowed a city-centric government to win successive landslide victories.

With less than 47% of the primary vote at the 2006 State election, Labor presently holds 66% of the seats in our Parliament. Hardly a reflection of the will of the people.

The Beattie government's fourth election victory in 2006 has been the catalyst, not for improved governance, but for a reinvigorated attack on the rights and quality of life of Queenslanders living outside Labor's precious south-eastern corner.

Under the present regime in Queensland, millions of dollars have been diverted into fattening the George Street cows and building up massive bureacracies of non-productive, paper-circulating administrators and managers, at the expense of the majority of Queenslanders.

The present exercise in people-crunching will destroy Local Government in Queensland. It will centralise power in the hands of regional bureaucrats rather than elected representatives of the people.

Following similar moves in other Australian States over the past decade or so, amalgamating Local Government areas in Queensland is intended to pave the way for a Federal Republic to be introduced should Queensland Labor's former hatchet man Kevid Rudd be successful later this year and Labor finally have the unfettered numbers to abolish our Constitutional Monarchy.

Is it worth the risk?

Independent Commissioners?

2007-08-27T18:40:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 27 August 2007

Dear Editor

The Premier keeps referring to the "independent commissioners" as if he had no active part in the radical restructuring of local government boundaries.

There is an age-old adage, Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

Peter Beattie and Labor’s Federal Leader Kevin Rudd see regional councils as their tool to concentrate power in fewer hands and to deny the citizens of Queensland the local representation that is essential to democracy.

Keys to the Lodge?

2007-08-22T13:55:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 22 August 2007

Dear Editor

Can leopards change their spots?

Under the guise of implementing much needed Fitzgerald reforms, Kevin Rudd when he worked as Director-General under former Premier Wayne Goss, succeeded in concentrating government decision‑making in the State capital, nobbling the workings of the proposed Freedom of Information legislation, and ensuring accountability was mentioned often but implemented rarely.

Now he is asking for the keys to the Lodge?

Rudd's Foundation

2007-08-14T21:27:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 14 August 2007

Dear Editor

Over the past few months, Premier Beattie has unabashedly ripped the "local" out of Local Government while his Federal leader, Kevin Rudd, has stood limply to one side promising to "look very carefully" at the forced amalgamations.

It is not so long ago that Kevin Rudd, as Director-General for then‑Premier Goss, was ripping the heart out of rural and regional Queensland himself. Nicknamed "Dr Death" and "Toecutter" by his work colleagues, he set about slashing services that the city politicians thought we did not need: shutting schools, court houses, rail lines, and government offices all over the State.

Heads rolled in virtually every department as he systematically set about politicising the public service to suit Labor's agenda of transferring power from communities to bureaucrats like himself.

Under the guise of implementing much needed Fitzgerald reforms, Rudd succeeded in concentrating government decision‑making in the capital, nobbling the fledgling Freedom of Information ideal and ensuring accountability was mentioned often but implemented rarely.

The engrained culture of bullying, cover‑ups and managerial madness which has typified the Beattie administration since is the direct fruit of Kevin Rudd's three years of remodelling Queensland under Goss.

Beattie's forced amalgamation of democratically elected councils just builds on the foundation laid by Kevin Rudd. Local Government is seen as their tool to further concentrate power in fewer hands and to deny the citizens of Queensland the local representation that is essential to democracy.

Local Government - Forced Amalgamations - 2007

2007-08-06T15:48:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 28 July 2007

The Editor

Understandably reactions to Friday's local government announcement were mixed. "Jubilation" in some quarters (FCC 28/07/07), tears in others.

There will be winners and losers as the forced amalgamation is implemented both here and across much of the State.

Voters may think the West was spared the slasher's knife. Not so. A quick read of the Reform Commission's Report shows that whilst Beattie's action team left their boundaries intact most western councils will be reduced to just four councillors plus a mayor. Even these people have been robbed of representation.

The reality in Maryborough, Woocoo and Tiaro is just as stark. According to the Report, Hervey Bay will have the potential to outvote the rest of the new council area by 5 to 3 every time.

Clearly the sewing circles will need to be disbanded and a lot of thought given to who has the skills and drive to represent the three smaller teams on the new playing field.

Councillors who thought they could sit in their corner and amalgamations would go away, those who have sat on their hands and been silent while our local hospital has been progressively dismantled, or who have been squabbling over the showgrounds, or building monuments to their own foolishness on the Town Green, should consider their imminent retirement, otherwise there will be 66 million more reasons why ratepayers will rue the day they were dumped into the new Fraser Coast Regional Council.

Editorial Perspective

2007-08-06T15:46:00.001+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 19 May 2007

Dear Editor

What is worse? A CEO getting political or an editor who thinks her own perspective is so important it needs to dominate the front page and flow over onto page 6?

Is this the pot calling the kettle black?

In a shake-up pre-determined by a State government not listening to its own citizens, neither Mr Greensill’s nor Ms Bates’ views will make one “iota of difference” (FCC 18/05/07).

Both need to take a cold shower and get back to some real work.

Local Government Boundaries - 2007

2007-08-06T15:46:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 14 May 2007

Dear Editor

Probably most people concede that a review of Queensland's Local Government boundaries is long overdue and that sensible changes could bring about significant savings and benefits for ratepayers. However, when the same protagonists are constantly interviewed or reported promoting one course or another, the public can be forgiven for being sceptical.

It seems to me that most of the alleged reasons for change or otherwise are based on self-interest and little consideration is being given to presenting factual information on which people can base their judgements or form an opinion.

The anecdotal evidence from interstate suggests that forced amalgamation of cities and shires rarely achieves the financial savings trumpeted before the event. Instead we see a new level of empire building as shire mayors and CEO's are replaced by city-based mayors and CEO's on substantially inflated packages, surrounded by an even larger assortment of consultants and other advisors.

Perhaps this explains why individuals who think they have the most to gain from the present review are doing most of the talking?

Hopefully, councillors and other commentators can begin to focus more on what is actually going to work best for ratepayers and the community and think less of their own personal agendas.

Peter Beattie - 2006

2007-08-06T15:44:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 1 August 2006

Dear Editor

Peter Beattie is a master at self-delusion and make-believe, a premier with more press officers and policy advisors than most hospitals have nurses and doctors combined. He leads a government big on spin but bereft of substance.

For years he has filled the halls of George Street with bureaucrats and statisticians, re-inventing procedures, recycling old ideas and thinking up new themes and logos, while birthing units have closed across the state and communities have tried to save what's left.

While millions have been poured into city football stadiums and foot bridges, regional centres have struggled to maintain even the most essential services.

Peter Beattie’s Smart State continues to poach doctors from Third World communities, our ambulances are constantly being diverted to juggle the remaining beds in our hospitals, and fire officers have been sent to administer first-aid because no ambulance could be found.

But as cities move to tighter water restrictions, Premier Beattie is desperate for distractions to stop city folk focussing on his lack of achievement after years of surfing on the accomplishments of previous administrations.

At last a dam is announced, but for all the wrong reasons and on a site which will not hold water.

And now a footballer, who lacks self-discipline and talks out of turn, is being held up as an ideal candidate for a future Beattie government (AussieWatch, FCC 31/07006).

Is this all he can offer?

Sense of Morality - 2006

2007-08-06T15:42:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 16 February 2006

Dear Editor

Where are our priorities?

Our State politicians observe a minute’s silence for a convicted drug-runner in Singapore, our Foreign Minister begs for the lives of two remorseless drug dealers in Bali, and our Federal politicians endorse the availability of a toxic pill which takes away the problem of unborn children.

May the Lord be the Judge, because we have lost our sense of morality.

Parochial Myopia - Candidates - 2006

2007-08-06T15:40:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 31 January 2006

Dear Editor

It seems Steven Dixon suffers the same parochial myopia that afflicts Dr Shaun Rudd and Hervey Bay MP Andrew McNamara (FCC 31/01/06), and the same unfortunate willingness to listen to and take advice from petty bureaucrats.

Clearly Mr Dixon’s legal mind thinks along identical lines to that of his Labor foe. A political clone, and out of touch with everyday realities.

They both seem to think only Hervey Bay people need hospitals and yet Hervey Bay has no major highway, no significant industrial activity, and serves a much smaller geographic area than the regional centre of Maryborough.

Mr Dixon offers the same band-aid logic as his Labor rival: poach personnel and facilities from Maryborough to provide for the growing needs of Hervey Bay and sacrifice a long-standing hospital to prop up an under-resourced new one.

However, neither petty tinkering nor adding “people-sensitive managers” will solve the problems brought about by years of Labor neglect and entrenched mismanagement.

Why not restructure Queensland Health completely to ensure all regional areas get their fair share of the Health purse?Apportion the total Health Budget evenly between the 89 State electorates and allow local communities to decide whether they want to retain their own regional hospital facilities or share one or more larger facilities as in Brisbane.

This way Hervey Bay could have the resources to service its growing population without robbing the greater Wide Bay and its hinterland of essential medical services.

Every community deserves ready access to quality hospital facilities, including fully-functional 24-hour birthing facilities and emergency care.

Queensland Health - The Remedy - 2006

2007-08-06T15:30:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 17 January 2006

Dear Editor

Saturday's editorial (FCC 14/01/06) was very close to the mark.

We've been fed lies for years about the need to rationalise medical services locally. Those with access to critical information have shirked their responsibility to discern truth from propaganda and plain deceit. Most of our civic leaders have been more interested in squabbling over a few acres of land on the outskirts of our city than in saving and enhancing the essential facilities of a well-equipped district hospital.

Queensland Health is an absolute disgrace. Ask residents in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Emerald, Bundaberg and now Caboolture and Redcliffe. You'll hear the same lies have been told to them as well.

What is the answer?

Firstly, we need to hold the State government fully accountable. Hospitals are a State responsibility and this government is rolling in cash, not only from Federal GST receipts but also from double-dipping on a range of State taxes which the GST was supposed to replace.

As both Premier and Treasurer, Beattie is ultimately responsible for both the direction of the government and for the allocation of funding. His dishonest, bumbling ministers, too lazy or impotent to exact accountability out of their departments, ought to be treated with the same contempt as they have been treating Health.

For years this government has been stripping funding from essential services (hospitals, ambulance and fire services, electricity) to prop up its burgeoning bureaucracy. It is time for a razor gang. Slash the bureaucracy and transfer the funds to where they are needed.

Secondly, the government needs to immediately lift the Budget priority of Health. The minimum benchmark ought to be to match the level of funding provided by other State governments, but much more spending will be needed to keep up with population growth, to satisfy community expectations and to restore public confidence.

Thirdly, take Health out of the clutches of career bureaucrats. Replace the ineffective District Health Councils, which have had no power to curb the foolish whims of QH puppets, with effective, efficient local Hospital Boards chosen directly by the local communities they will serve. These Boards should consist of a blend of appropriately qualified professionals and sensible, practical, common-sense community representatives, all of whom must be passionately committed to keeping our hospitals open and viable, not intent on closing them.

Fourthly, immediately reallocate all State health funding equitably between the 89 electorates across the State so that all Queenslanders have access to high quality medical services not just the inner suburbs of Brisbane. Queensland is the most decentralised State of all and funding needs to be spread more evenly across the State instead of being concentrated in the South Eastern corner.

Fifthly, freeze all new administrative appointments state-wide and implement an aggressive attrition programme to cull the hundreds of superfluous positions created by Queensland Health over the last ten or so years. The Davies Enquiry identified more than 600 unnecessary positions in Brisbane alone.

Sixthly, immediately dismiss Kerry Windsor and any other "managers" who demonstrate that they are devoid of the planning skills to keep our hospitals open or who evidently have no empathy with the concept of a universal hospital service for all Queenslanders.

Seventhly, cancel all leave and freeze all pay rises for QH administration staff until the remaining bureaucrats get our hospitals working properly.

Eighthly, slash the Premier's Department to one-tenth of its present size. Ten percent of the staff would be more than enough to keep us informed of Beattie's activities. We have a government built around one man's ego and clearly devoid of realistic priorities in managing our health system.

While we are on his floor, cancel all further leave and overseas trips for Beattie and his cronies until they get our hospitals back up to the standard we expect.

Ninthly, urgently review all working conditions and remuneration packages for doctors and allied professionals to ensure Queensland is the market leader in Australia - the "smart" State - one that has a world-class hospital system that is the envy of other States and nations. The success of Western Australia in rescuing its troubled hospital system is well documented.

Tenthly, slash university costs and urgently review entrance requirements to encourage more people to pursue careers in medicine and related professions. Perhaps our Federal representatives, in both Houses of Parliament, could exert more influence on their Coalition colleagues to show some leadership in this area also. Clearly, poaching from other nations is not the way to find doctors for our hospitals.

Unless we begin now, nothing will change. In the interim it may be necessary to look seriously at upskilling and other measures to bridge the gap until more graduates become available.

And perhaps a snap election would let every Labor MP know that our hospitals are not negotiable?

Maryborough Hospital - 2006

2007-08-06T15:27:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 5 January 2006

Dear Editor

Quite clearly nothing has changed. Our Premier and his colleagues have gone on holidays, but their appointees continue the sabotage of our health services undeterred by public opinion.

Prior to the 2004 State Election, Premier Beattie and his then Health Minister Wendy Edmonds wrote to electors in Maryborough and told the boldest of lies. His government would stand by its commitment to the people of Maryborough that "the ICU would remain open, that 24-hour emergency service and operating theatres would remain available at the hospital, that maternity and obstetrics service would remain, and that Maryborough Hospital would have its own manager".

He went on to say these commitments were "not negotiable". Meanwhile Messrs Keating, Leck, Alsopp and others fed the public lies and callous disregard until they were finally challenged by Commissioner Tony Morris and then Justice Geoff Davies and forced to step aside.

After months of inaction, a new manager has been appointed to the Fraser Coast Health Service and her first announcement was that she may "be forced to suspend services" even further. Clearly Beattie and his ministers think Maryborough people are both deaf and blind.

What is left to close down? Why has a major regional facility been stripped of its usefulness and its staff forced to leave town to find work?

Why are Queensland Health bureaucrats still finding excuses to rob regional communities of functioning hospital services? And why has Beattie dried up funding for Maryborough Hospital in particular?

Queensland Health Enquiry - 2005

2007-08-06T15:25:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 8 September 2005

The Editor

The Premier is claiming the health enquiry is back on track. Rubbish!

What we have now is just a poor shadow of what Tony Morris QC was doing. The terms of reference have been cut from four pages to only one.

Justice Davies cannot report on a whole range of things - including why Queensland Health has been presenting misleading waiting list figures to the government, why successive Ministers have done nothing to reverse the cannibalisation of our hospital system by over-zealous bureaucrats and why the degradation of our hospital services has accelerated during Beattie's premiership despite the windfall GST revenue flowing into the state.

Nor can he report on why a rogue doctor already exposed in the USA could be recruited to work in a Queensland hospital, or how a bogus psychologist could infiltrate the system and then avoid possible sexual charges by slipping out of the country under the very noses of department boffins.

Beattie's public image bandaid simply cannot address the real problem here. Unless Queensland Health and the government itself are forced to put patients ahead of ideology, and public service ahead of career enhancement, nothing will change. The systemic problems of dishonesty, bullying, intimidation and denial of responsibility will continue to plague our health system and the cover-ups (and deaths) will continue.

Queensland Justice System - 2005

2007-08-06T15:16:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 3 September 2005

Dear Editor

Whilst magistrates and judges squabble over staff transfers and wrangle over legal definitions, it seems our justice system has failed to deliver a fair outcome yet again.

Why should the maligned egos of two managers outweigh the need to root out chronic problems within our taxpayer funded health system? And why should the cold indifference of hired bureaucrats override the welfare of those who pay their wages? It is quite clear that the empire builders of Queensland Health are completely unwilling to take responsibility for the mess that they have put our hospitals into.

We all owe Tony Morris QC a big thank you for his conduct of the now torpedoed Health Enquiry.

Thank you, Tony, for having the humanity to see the tears in nurse Toni Hoffman’s eyes and for stepping down from the bench to shake her hand. Thank you for asking the searching questions our Premier and his ministers could not (or would not) ask. Thank you for seeking answers to why so many people have had adverse outcomes in the hospitals of a prosperous and modern society like Australia. Thank you for listening to everyday Queenslanders, for understanding their struggles, their suffering, their frustration, and for expressing your genuine concerns for their welfare.

We take our hats off and say thank you for showing empathy when our political leaders are ducking for cover, for seeing through the layers of administrative rubbish which are nobbling our health administration and for continuing to do your job when a few vested interests were working to bring your efforts to nothing.

Shame on a legal system numb to the needs of the citizens it is meant to serve and insensitive to the rights of victims; a system so anxious to protect the reputations of a few and so concerned about the rights of the minority that it fails to bring fairness and justice to the majority.

How can we respect the wig that covers the ears of a judge and prevents him from hearing the suffering of thousands of citizens?

Queensland By-elections 2005

2007-08-06T15:13:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 11 August 2005

Dear Editor

Like the smiling clowns at our annual shows, whose incessantly oscillating faces rarely deliver anything of value, Premier Pete's Show goes on. Except it is all happening in the main pavilion.

Peter Beattie is now trying to convince the voters of Redcliffe and Chatsworth that next week's State by-elections will somehow be a litmus test for the proposed Federal government changes to Industrial Relations legislation.

Think again. The two ill-timed by-elections, brought about because two of his State colleagues have had enough and want to walk away, have nothing to do with Federal issues, but are directly about the Premier’s failure to deliver in Queensland.

Firstly, despite all the hype from the former Treasurer, Terry Mackenroth, about the recent State budget and its record surplus, Beattie has failed miserably to deliver even the basic services we expect as Queenslanders in the key areas of health, emergency services, roads and other essential infrastructure.

Spending another $20million tinkering at the edges of Queensland Health, and wasting more money on full-page ads to tell us about it (FCC 6/8/05), is not going to cut waiting lists at hospitals or restore public confidence.

With urgently needed beds closed all over Queensland and petty bureaucrats manipulating statistics or trying to stop enquiries, nothing will solve the problem other than a complete overhaul of the health system.

Secondly, the whitewashed Hollis expenses enquiry clearly demonstrated Beattie's unwillingness to demand transparency and accountability from his team. His constant excuses for the poor performance of his parliamentary colleagues, and his unwillingness to elevate junior colleagues to challenging ministries in his recent reshuffle, are all indicative of a bloated and lacklustre government urgently in need of the surgeon’s knife.

Perhaps the voters of Brisbane will agree that Beattie is just a sideshow clown after all and will help to pare back his unhealthy majority?

Queensland Health - Doctors 2005

2007-08-06T15:11:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 28 April 2005

Dear Editor

Why do Labor Party stalwards keep burying their heads in the sand? E & A Taylor in their Letter to the Editor (FCC 28/04/05) completely missed the point of my earlier comments (FCC 22/04/05).

The simple facts are that the vast majority of doctors serving in the Queensland Health system are indeed foreign-trained and many of these do come from Third-World countries which can ill afford to have their staff poached by an affluent Western country like Australia.

Secondly, whilst we acknowledge and welcome the services of capable practitioners from whatever part of the world, the overwhelming evidence is that State-operated health services in Queensland are being run down by the present Beattie administration and, despite the most sincere intentions of local staff, our hospitals are simply failing to deliver the health care expected by our community.

The piffle from Labor Party faithful about people criticising nursing staff is simply a red herring to divert attention from the crisis facing our hospital system and the inability of this Government to properly address the issues.

Queensland Health - Hospital Crisis 2005

2007-08-06T15:08:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR - 19 April 2005

Dear Editor

I commend Ernie Paussa for his editorial (19/04/05) regarding the crisis in our local Health Service.

Perhaps it is time to say "enough" to the professional administrators running hospitals as if they were their own private enterprises? It seems like Queensland Health operates a cloning machine, churning out boffins who think no one should have an opinion about health care other than themselves; who seem more concerned about their little pile of statistics and keeping the lid on information than about the needs and concerns of the sick, the pregnant or the injured.

If anyone needs a "reality check" it is Mr Allsop and his colleagues in Queensland Health. Why do these people continue to defend the indefensible? Our health services have deteriorated to such an extent that we poach doctors from Third World countries to provide basic hospital services.

The public dismay is not about the nationality of medical practitioners. It is about why Queensland hospitals apparently have become the refuge for bogus doctors who have already faced disciplinary action for malpractice and negligence overseas. It is about why more and more space in our hospitals is being devoted to housing administrators and record-keepers like Mr Allsop while beds are being closed and facilities removed. It is about why a growing economy like Queensland cannot afford to provide medical services at least as good as anywhere else in the world.

These people condemn anyone who dares speak out, be they experienced nurses or the families of patients. Perhaps some of their generous salaries should be diverted to more needier causes until they learn to be accountable to the community they serve?

Conservative Politics in Queensland 2005

2007-08-05T22:15:00.000+10:00

LETTER TO EDITOR - 4 March 2005

Dear Editor

Being the Editor of a daily newspaper must be a challenging occupation, and at times it must be hard to come up with something to write about. However, Thursday's editorial (FCC 3/3/05) was a disaster. Instead of the usual lucid, well-informed comment it was more like a cut and paste from local Liberal Party minutes.

The reality is, we have a handful of serial under-achievers representing a Party which could only win five out of the 47 seats it contested at the 2004 poll trying to tell The Nationals to stay away from seats they think belong to them.

Instead of bickering about regional seats like Maryborough, which they have no foreseeable hope of winning, perhaps they should come up with a plan to win more seats in their own urban heartland. One seat out of forty, Moggill, plus three on the Gold Coast and one on the Sunshine Coast, is a pretty shabby result from a Party anxious to return to the Treasury benches in Queensland.

Full credit to Laurence Springborg for his attempts to unify conservative political forces in Queensland. Blind Freddy knows that the majority of conservative voters want a united voice, and yet the Liberal Party executive refuses to give their members a vote on the proposal.

Until the disunity ceases, nothing will change. We will continue to watch Labor abandoning regional Queensland, dismantling local hospitals and under-funding essential community services. We will hear more of Beattie's excuses for dishonest and unaccountable administration and watch as his government continues to squander the legacy of growth and prosperity left by previous conservative governments.