For the last two weeks I have worked on the pre-poll booth for the Labor Party. It has been very, very hot here in Rockhampton and some days we have had huge storms where we battled with HTV cards, signage and just plain finding some shelter. As someone who never tans, I have tan lines on my feet where my shoes go and my face is a few shades lighter than Ronald McDonald’s hair. Rain, hail, shine, it all has been worth every single second of it.
A few days ago, I stood in the pouring rain holding a sign that warned about the sale of our Electricity Assets. I remember standing there thinking:
“People will either think I am crazy standing in this rain, or think I’m taking this very seriously, it must mean so much to me.”
I then thought, “Well, maybe I am a bit crazy, but this does mean a lot to me”. Sometimes when I think what it means to get rid of Campbell Newman and LNP out of Queensland; I am overwhelmed to tears. This has not been a small difference in ideology or the way we govern. This has been an absolute onslaught on every single sector of Queensland, from massive cuts to public services, gutting of community services, to the non-existence of jobs and training opportunities for young people, to the highest unemployment in eleven years, to turfing old people out of nursing homes for a quick buck, to the destruction of our workplace health and safety protections, to the removal of civil rights for anyone who has tattoos or rides a motorbike, to the absolute arrogance and nepotism and sheer dodgy practices of pushing through legislation and debacles with our committee system and the disrespect to our legal professionals. The LNP are a depression you simply cannot get away from. I have had very serious depression in the past and I do not say this lightly.
One thing I have noticed, when listening to the mantra of the LNP supporter conversations on social media and the voices of the volunteers at the booth; is that the one thing the care about is debt. If they have any debt, it is ‘unconscionable’ to spend any money on the people. This is an absolutely load of ideological neo-liberalist nonsense. What separates LNP from Labor and some of the other social-left parties, is that parties from the left focus on the people first and foremost. They focus on the development of the state and realise that sometimes you need to spend money, to create more revenue, or to simply adhere to the Government’s absolute responsibility of providing adequate essential services to Queenslanders, regardless of any debt.
I mean, if the LNP had a grandmother on life support, they would weigh up the cost between letting her go on, or what they would save by pulling the plug. The plug would win out every time.
This brings me to the main argument on Asset Sales. What everyone needs to be clear about is that a Government who cannot fund any promises without selling assets after three years of austerity and massive reductions in funding and the sacking of 24,000 public service staff and the selling of billions of dollars in assets already “to save money” is a poor Government indeed. If through all this pain they cannot even in good faith provide adequate services without whingeing about very manageable debt; it has all been for nothing, as they have achieved nothing and stand for nothing.
We know both sides of politics have sold assets, but for many reasons. The LNP’s promises all rely on the sale of our electricity and other assets. There are assets that do mean a lot to be sold. They affect workers and the guarantee of security of proper services for the public, but not all assets are an essential service. It is vitally important we keep our electricity assets. Electricity is an essential service. We cannot live a normal life without it. The prices in QLD are already incredibly high and with privatization it will be simply unaffordable for so many. Many elderly people now do not use the air conditioning in sweltering heat and often sit in the dark as they simply cannot afford electricity. My mind turns to people like my Mother who died of COPD and was on oxygen 24 hours per day. With no guarantee of emergency re-connections in blackouts, this could result in disaster and death for some disabled people.
Clive Palmer is stating that they already have a Chinese buyer. Clive was a member of the LNP, and would still be aware of a lot of goings on. I don’t vote for Clive, but I do believe him on this one. We will have no guarantee of service, no guarantee of timely re-connections and no guarantee of the same highly trained professionals doing the very risky work they do. This is all on top of the massive loss of jobs that will occur in areas like Townsville, Rockhampton and Brisbane. Ergon is a major employer for regional QLD. Tony Abbott’s free reign on 457 visa’s will allow a full replacement of local workers with overseas workers. This will affect small business and place a lot of pressure on families. This will only worsen the economy and debt. Not make it better.
This takes me back to ‘crazy me’ standing in the rain, holding a sign warning against the sale of our electricity assets. The LNP’s only argument is that ‘there is a debt.’ They do not mention that this is a moderate and manageable debt, but hey, this type of scaremongering worked for Abbott for three years. If I am passionate enough, as a volunteer to give up my time, to stand there getting the message out that Queensland is not for sale, then what have the LNP got?
If the LNP is so passionate about the sale of Assets being the very best thing for Queenslanders, why do they not have mobs of volunteers holding up signage begging people to approve the Asset Sales? If this does not show this is in the self – serving interest of the party only and their wealthy friends, and it means nothing to benefit the people, nothing else will. We have hundreds of volunteer Not for Sale people getting up and out every morning on every corner in so many towns fighting to save our assets. This is not political, it is a protest from the heart of people who are passionate about keeping our lifestyle and the security and assurance of a Government owning up to their responsibility of providing a high quality and affordable electricity service to every single Queensland. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide absolute certainty for electricity services.
To save our assets number every square and put LNP last.
Finally, your vote tomorrow is absolutely critical. This vote will not only endorse Newman’s harsh, unforgiving, relentless, abhorrent and shameful approach, but it also will endorse Tony Abbott’s agenda to push more austerity and hardship onto Australians. Abbott is so unpopular, he has been absent completely from the entire Queensland election campaign. It is almost as if Queensland does not exist to Tony Abbott. A vote for Campbell Newman, only endorses every single thing Tony Abbott does and will do. A vote for Campbell Newman will make Tony Abbott even more confident and enthusiastic to implement even more harsh measures, as he will feel ‘popular enough to get away with it.’
Your vote in the Queensland Election on 31 January, 2015, will change our lives. Please make it for the better.
* I also want to use this post to dedicate my heartfelt thanks to the Not4Sale teams and volunteers throughout Queensland who have worked so hard to speak up and protest against the sale of our Assets. You guys are bloody champions!
* Originally published on https://polyfeministix.wordpress.com/
Excellent article; unfortunately the political agenda in Australia is controlled by the puppet masters living elsewhere. But I hope the Queensland voters can display their wisdom and vote for the candidate, not the party in their electorate…
A great blog Trish – yes people need to number every box of their ballot sheet putting LNP last.
Queensland,
Good luck in todays combined IQ test and mental health examination.
Remember to number all the boxes correctly, not just colour in the squares.
Ps. I found this photo of your (hopefully) outgoing premier at a recent press conference. He seems to be gasping for air.
http://s35.photobucket.com/user/inkyspal/media/Danielscatfish015.jpg.html
The last Qld government was voted out, not the LNP voted in it will be he same again I’m sure except this time replaced by Independents, PUP & Greens. The ALP are still on the nose after lying about asset sales last time. Not sure why you guys knock the Queenslanders who visit this site, none of us would here if here if we where conservative. All it does is make it difficult to share of fb as some friends may be undecided and take offence rather than be encouraged.
jezzag,
I empathise with Queenslanders. Newman is no more your fault than Abbott is mine. Good luck today – it is your turn to try to save our country from becoming one big coal pit. And if you think mining is going to solve your unemployment problems I would remind you that mining does not even rate in the top ten employers in your state and that they are the first to dump workers when profits drop. As for the royalties they pay, you gave 60% of them back in concessions and building infrastructure for them. If a company is profitable then the taxpayer should not have to spend billions propping them up. Tourism is a much more important industry for Queensland and employs many more people. Save our reef!
jezzag,
I see no other snide-ness posted apart from mine, and this Mexican cockroach has a tendency to sling barbs around universally.
No offense is meant.
I know that ‘can-do’ reflects intelligent Queenslanders the same way Tony Abbott represents reasonable Australians, ie not at all.
Again, good luck today.
A sorry southener.
And as for Campbell’s claim that his draconian laws have led to a decrease in crime, it’s a load of crap. And the WORST part of it is, that to exaggerate the decrease (which started long before the VLAD laws), they dropped the category (other crimes) which included domestic violence which has in fact INCREASED by 15%.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-state-election-2015/queensland-state-election-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-20150120-12u1aj.html
Trish I am going up to Coolloongatta to man a booth today. Outside my state but I realise just how important this is for Australia. Newman or Noman whatever needs a big kick in the arse. His arrogance as the Mayor was apparent. It is now so much more now. He believes his own shit. A bit like fiddling whilst watching the state burn.
My hope is that the relatives, friends of the people who were sacked remember to vote LNP lasr and number every square. Good luck Queenslanders and vote well. Give the party what they deserve.
And let’s not forget what anti-corruption campaigners are saying. This from Tony Fitzgerald….
” Now, even in the heyday of Bjelke-Petersen and his cronies, there was very little interference with the judiciary. Although it’s quite right to say that governments often prefer for officers like that someone who’s sympathetic to them, there’s always a group of people from whom you can take one of, say – let’s say 20 or 30 or 40 people, and any of them could be the Chief Justice and the fact that the Government picks the one that they think is most amenable to their ideology, no-one can complain about. It’s still an appointment on merit. What they did this time was take someone who wouldn’t have been anybody’s first division, second division, but possibly in their third division. So it was a great departure. And it upset the whole legal system to an extraordinary extent, to the point where the judges, the most conservative group of people I’ve ever known, cut him and wouldn’t go to his swearing-in. That tells you a lot about what was happening.”
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4170096.htm
FYI Kaye:
Fact check: Campbell Newman exaggerating crime statistics
…and in contrast Palaszczuk being honest: Fact check: Labor claims unemployment in Qld highest in 11 years
Interesting footnote is that though the latest polls show Newman will easily lose his seat those same respondents say that Newman will be a better Premier than Palaszczuk. Go figure.
I moved to Far North Queensland 30 years ago, and Bjelke-Petersen turned me into a political activist. I despair of what is happening here. I despair of the attitudes I hear. I too have been on Labor Pre-poll booth in Mossman handing out ‘how to vote’ leaflets and will be there today. I see the LNP being well supported here. The cane-cockies, the rural people, the short-sighted, me-me-me attitudes are very strong here. We live where people come to visit our wonderful Daintree rainforest and our Great Barrier Reef, but with the increase of population to our area, we now have people who want power across the Daintree River up to Cape Tribulation. We fought this. They want unfettered development. It seems the majority of people here don’t care about their environment, even though they crow about the beautiful place they live.
So, The LNP will retain office here, and Queensland, and Australia, will be the poorer for this decision. There are so many attacks on our democracy, Fitzgerald has highlighted this, not something he would do easily I imagine. Yet, people will still vote for this destructive party. Yes, I despair.
Good Luck today Trish and to all of Queensland.
As a Victorian, I experience what privatised public assets are really about. Like rail, a grid system of supply cannot ever be competitive – simple fact. no matter how it is dressed up – it is still shite (what is it with the LNP and turds?). We do not receive the cheaper prices, improved service that was the claim of the then Kennett government who trashed the place – once sold it is near impossible to return these essential services to their owners – the tax-payers.
Damn listening to the right wing commentators defending Newman and the LNP on ABC News 24 is painful. You just want to shout at the screen as loud as possible, “bullshit, absolute bullshit”.
To a tee they are espousing what a great job Newman has done with Queensland in “very hard” circumstances. Of course there’s the usual he had to make the hard unpopular decisions and he’s paying the price for that, but that shows what a great man he is. VOMIT.
It goes down hill from there.
Steve Ciobo and Kerry Chikarovski were just two of culprits, with Ciobo getting an unusually long stint on air.
Has anyone ever heard Chikarovski criticise the Liberal Party for anything at all? As for Steve “slit her throat” Ciobo, rather than being ejected from the party for that comment, he has been promoted to Robb’s spy in the Bishop camp.
You will never hear any truth from those two whose opinions are bought and paid for.
Great article. If I were religious I would be praying for Queensland today. I wish I had a vote, but I did my part last November 29. It’s over to you now Queensland. Let’s rid the whole country of this right-wing scourge. NSW next.
Queensland needs legislative reform bringing back the upper house.
I can tell how passionately you wrote this Trish Corry. The grammatical errors are quite unlike you!
Yes Queensland it is up to you.
If you think Austerity measures will solve debt? Look at Greece. All those imposed austerity measures and no real change to debt but unemployment is at 30%!! That is 1 in 3 Greeks can’t get a job!!! Imagine what it is like on the ground trying to eke out a living support a family and this is precisely what is wrong with Newman Abbott Hockey and all those other idealogues. They don’t understand economies and so like rednecks they pour fuel on the fire to make it birn quicker!
DON’T FORGET TONIGHT, TO THROW OUT THE GARBAGE!!!!
A reminder to Queenslanders of the duplicity of the ex-mayor of Brisbane who, in 2011, said….
“Rather than digging huge piles of black stuff out of the ground a few hundred kilometres north of here to keep those lights on, perhaps it’d be better in the long term for our children, our grandchildren and generations to come that we actually set things up differently,” Newman said.
“We have a really strong vision that we want this to be the most sustainable city in Australia and there are many aspects to delivery in terms of that,” Mr Newman said.
The then Lord Mayor goes on to heap praise on Brisbane City Council’s status as “the largest purchaser of green energy on the Australian national electricity market”.
“Campbell Newman has changed his mind dramatically on coal in the same time period when millions of dollars have been donated by coal companies to the Liberal and National parties,” Mr Pennings said.
“The Newman government has repaid this by spending billions of taxpayer dollars in Central Queensland on coal mining infrastructure we may never use.
“Taxpayers are even going to pay to dredge the Reef and dump the spoil on precious wetlands.”
During a special Queensland election broadcast last week, Alan Jones drew links between $650,000 received in donations from a coal company, and an approval that Newman had earlier promised not to grant.
Lol thanks. It was a quick pitch at the 11th hour. I think I proofread it. Just not very good by the sounds lol. As long as people get the message, all good.
Good luck Qlders. Remember to put Liars last. They are hell bent on ruining the GBR as well as Queensland. Don’t let them get away with it. And take it from someone who has to live with privatised energy, it is the worst decision any government can make in all respects.
Newman’s bevy of taxpayer-funded lawyers are seeking an injunction RIGHT NOW to stop GetUp! handing out ‘How-to-Vote’ cards.
These cards encourage voters to place the LNP last. (The injunction might turn on whether anyone not a contesting candidate to an election can simulate a How-to-Vote card, as a campaign tactic.)
If Newman and his cronies think this crucial enough to act on it so suddenly, it indicates the urgent importance of this issue. GetUp! need support to fund their defence against this application. THEY NEED IT TODAY.
GetUp! will refund any donation not needed.
I have no relationship with GetUp!. I have just received their email on this – as I guess many of you have as well.
I can’t wait until the counting of votes. This is one election I’m quite interested in, as are most of us.
Bring the sunshine back to QLD put newman and his mates last,Qld have got a taste today of what the Newman government is really like, he bought in the heavies to stop members from get up hanging out how to vote cards, THIS GRUM IS REALLY FEELING THE HEAT and like Abbott will stop at nothing to govern
May all Australians find reason today to learn and remember how to spell the name Annastacia Palaszczuk(add to dictionary).
(This one had to ask the help of google to get it right)
Going to Ashgrove for GetUp !
Newman has tried to have an injunction against distribution of Getup! how to vote cards putting Newman last.
Desperate little bastard.
Go to the belly of the beast.
How do LNP govern when all the debts have gone. When the revenue disappears because they have not invested in human capital and infrastructure.
I hope the many understand what any protest vote is about today. Not the Coalition, not Abbott, but against the dogma, ideology of neoliberalism. Most extreme form.
Florence,
The additional aspect to the facets of my protests is that even the most obviously twisted and flawed stated ideologies are not implemented with any real honesty.
Lassez-fair, economic rationalist, ‘privatise and deregulate’ capitalist fundamentalism is even worse in practice than theory due to the additional factors of crony corruption, both in the policy and it’s implementation.
Hypocrisy plus – yet again….
LNP lodged an injunction today against Getup handing out their ‘how-to-vote’ cards, but have swamped a voting station at Mudgeeraba with their own wall-to-wall propaganda.
That is all “OK” in neocon politics.
https://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/1684/2270/original.jpg?w=600&h
Put the LNP last – because that is where they always put us.
JohnB,
From the Queensland Electoral Commission after the 2014 Redcliffe by-election….
Recommendation 6:
Consideration be given to restricting the size of signs and banners at polling booths
Responding to community concern in relation to the swathes of posters, signs, wrap and banners that now
adorn polling booths during election events, the Commission suggest that Parliament give consideration to
limiting the maximum size of signs that may be displayed within a prescribed distance from a polling booth.
The LNP ‘lost’ their court action against Get Up and also against the ALP in Redlands.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-state-election-2015/queensland-election-fight-against-getup-howtovote-cards-thrown-out-of-court-20150131-132qum.html
Campbell who…………..??
Terry2 LOL……Cambell has been kicked to the curb, another LNP premier bites the dust…:)
Richard Denniss.
“Breaking – Tony Abbott pulls a sickie for his Press Club Address on Monday #nofederalimplications #qldvotes #auspol”
Congratulations Trish. Great job Queensland!
Thx Kaye. After party is awesome
Good on you Trish you have worked tirelessly here on AIMN for Labor
and sometimes taken some flack for doing so,
but you have believed in yourself and pushed on with articles,
Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it 🙂
ABC 24 Money on Labor win. Jane Prentice not giving Abbott support. Says things cannot continue as they are. Abbott is promising to deliver NPC,
Was impressed with Swan’s effort all night,. Got many good points across, Defended Labor with grace.
Florence…I miss Wayne, instead we now have a cigar chomping mathematically challenged out of touch goose
Who thinks poor people don’t drive cars at all or don’t drive far, or that a co payment is nothing more than a couple of beers and a pkt of fags, Bye Bye Joe….
well done Trish ….you can now cry tears of relief..thanks you for all the work you have done and wear that suntan of yours with pride
You should read The Australian. Talk about cognitive dissonance
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/queensland-election-2015-poll-result-is-a-disaster-for-tony-abbott/story-e6frg75f-1227203642053
Queenslanders,
Bless you and thank you for the joy (and relief) you have brought to this day.
Congratulations to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and all of her team.
To those who helped with campaigning, especially the good people from Get-up, huge gratitudes directed your way.
Newman has been flushed. 🙂
May I add my thanks to all – with a special mention to Trish – aloe vera gel is wonderfully cooling for sunburn 😉
Still a ways to go, BUT Newman has been judged and duly voted out, Queensland has spoken clearly against fossil fuel mining, fracking, privatisation and all of the LNP’s far right policies, should they be returned they need to acknowledge they do not have a mandate for anything other than fair governance for all.
How did you go in Rockhampton Trish?
Newman has been flushed.
Another turd disappears around the S-Bend.
Well done Queensland, now we all need to start on NSW. If you are unhappy about the NSW government’s decision to ……………….. do not vote Liberal or National Party this time.
Bill Byrne was a massive 64.2 to 34.8 2pp and Keppel (Nth Rocky & Yeppoon) the campaign I worked on is 54.4 to 45.6. Also did HTV’s for Jim Pearce Mirani and he returned with 55.4 to 44.6! We did awesome!