By Denis Bright
Labor’s Alternative Policy Direction can be packaged as an event in progress as the Queensland election campaign moves into a crucial stage. The Queensland economy has too moved from Potential Dire Straits with the injection of additional revenue from mineral royalties, stable support from the Albanese Government and windfall profits through the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). The QIC’s real estate portfolio alone has built up $14.5 billion in assets under management since it was first established under the Goss Labor Government in the 1990s (from the latest Annual Report):
QIC has delivered a pre-tax profit of $127.1 million for 2022-23 against a target of $110.0 million. Total revenue for 2022-23 increased by $37.9 million to $654.5 million compared to 2021- 22, primarily due to increased investment management fees and property asset level service revenue.
The Murdoch press with the support of commercial eyewitness television news services like Sky News offers voters a litany of bad news stories with an emphasis on violent criminal activity. This focus on criminality is not about tax evasion, illegal drug networks or corporate corruption. There have been unfortunate instances of this type of criminal activity but overall crime rates in Queenslandas measured in official police statistics and are usually on parity with those turbulent days of the Premier Campbell Newman (2012-15).
Police statistics show rates of crime in three areas (robbery, sexual offences and homicide).
Eyewitness news services bring a measure of excitement into suburban and regional households with their coverage of specific criminal events which do not extend to the big overall picture of trends in criminal activity. The coverage always avoids emphasis on growing levels of corporate criminal corruption from tax evasion to support for highly prevalent illegal drug distribution or even anomalies in the management of nursing homes for the elderly which have been well covered in recent 7.30 Report segments. It is about scaring the mamas and papas.
Data transmitted by Metropole Property Strategists should allay these concerns. Many Brisbane suburbs are the safest locations in comparison to interstate metropolitan areas.
David Crisafulli’s Little Blue Booklet initially gave no attention to the extent of mental illness, economic disadvantage and homelessness as underlying causes of criminality. Some of these scourges are related alcohol and drug abuse which has people prematurely aged at thirty years of age. The LNP has broadened its approach this week with a commitment to new mental health initiatives.
Here in Brisbane’s Inner West and Indooroopilly, I have mentioned before that the LNP chooses to leave places like Witton Barracks in darkness by the incompetence of the BCC’s preferred management company. Meanwhile brochures to outline David Crusafulli’s Touch on Crime Priorities are being delivered to local letterboxes in nearby homes and housing units.
Labor should be able to talk up its reformist and progressive agendas even at this stage in the current election campaign. Every percentage point gain in Labor’s primary vote will save sitting members in the most marginal seats in both outer metropolitan and regional districts. Thus far, the worst of Labor’s bad polling results have stabilized. Of course, I cannot guarantee that this will continue into the 30+ percent range. It is a wait and see game for the days ahead.
Here are some pragmatic transport initiatives for both metropolitan and regional areas.
In a game of electoral populism, voters are likely to respond positively to responsible reformist initiatives which consolidate the gains made by the introduction of 50 cent Translink fares on 5 August 2024. These transport initiatives would include:
- Commitment to multifunctional Transport Oriented Development projects (TODs) supported by government but largely funded through public private partnerships which are already operational at places like Montague Markets in West End Brisbane. At this location, the housing units above the commercial precincts are largely for the middle-end of the housing market. Opportunities for government support for social housing and improved public transport connections in outer suburban and regional towns and cities with an emphasis on integrating rail and bus connections (Image: Brisbane Development):
- The Goss Government in the 1990s commenced planning for high-speed tilt train services on coastal routes in Queensland and the luxury Spirit of the Outback sleeper train to Longreach with a bus connection to Winton. These initiatives are still operational although the Campbell Newman Government removed Motorail services for cars on the outback route. Thirty years later it is time to replace the Inlander and Westlander with units similar in style to the Prospector train in WA. Appropriate connecting buses should operate in the tourist season to some of Australia’s most iconic scenic spots along both the Savannah bus routes to Cairns and Darwin. Interstate destinations in NSW are within the reach of the Westlander operating as a higher speed inland service perhaps with an overnight break in Roma during the spring tourist season and a largely daylight service to Charleville at other for most of the year.
- Within outer Brisbane and nearby regional centres in South-East Queensland there are public transport blackspots to locations like Wide Bay and Toowoomba which should be served by the expansion of the Translink bus zones. Some suburbs on the Brisbane-Ipswich corridor have no public transport.
- Investigation of a Mt. Isa to Darwin rail freight route with federal assistance to promote mineral and other exports through Darwin to avoid Reef transits. Locally, the federal LNP’s government owned Inland Rail Project lacks tangible connections to port facilities. The current terminus at Beaudesert is still one hundred kilometres from the Port of Brisbane.
- Finally, the Campbell Newman Government stopped the commercialization of the Queensland Rail’s Travel Service which should be collecting commissions for online and counter bookings for accommodation, tours and even interstate rail, bus and air travel.
- Replacing empty seats on long-distance rail services with concession fare rates for all classes of travel and booking links to connecting buses offered by existing and new commercial providers so that a state-ride public transport network re-emerges for the benefit of Queenslanders and local regional economies.
Labor’s agendas have never been very radical. However, communication about sustainable and just future policy directions must be reinvigorated. In juxtaposition, KAP and One Nation now operate on a unity ticket with a collective commitment to the priorities offered in That Little Blue Booklet which is being carried around by all LNP candidates at staged news presentations.
These policies are relics from a bygone and now discredited eras when Queensland conservatives were given too much of a mandate in landslide results over a century of infamy from the days of the Brisbane Tramway Strike of 1912 to the more recent temporary phase of Can-Do Politics (2012-15).
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David Crisafulli has said that no way will Queensland sign on to Peter Dutton’s plan to build two nuclear power stations in regional Queensland (Tarong and Biloela) as part of federal Liberal policy to roll out nuclear installations across the nation, should they assume office at next year’s federal election.
At Friday’s joint press conference Crisafulli doubled down on his anti-nuclear stance opening up a major rift between the two aspiring leaders.
Dutton has pointed to Section 109 of the Constitution which provides that: ‘When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid that was after Peter Dutton revealed plans to build two nuclear power plants in regional Queensland.’
So, it seems that already, before either one has attained his desired position of power as state premier and prime minister respectively, we have a fundamental difference of opinion on policy and the constitution which, ultimately, Crisafulli will have to cave on.
I hope the voters of Queensland are alert to what’s going on here.
Yes,transport initiatives can have a real impact on Labor’s primary vote which at 30 percent is still almost ten percentage points down on last time,
Crisafulli’s Tough on Crime Strategies are straight out of the redneck policies of US Conservatives.
In the US even the use of the death penalty in the redneck states has not contained violent crime which is embedded in the tensions of non-unionized workplaces, family households, schools and communities.
The Criminal Justice Department in Texas publishes the last statements of inmates on death row before they endure death by lethal execution to prove that Texas is really Tough on Crime: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executions_by_year.html & https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html : Perhaps the macabre of all: https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_executed_offenders.html
Execution dates are set well in advance into 2025 so that offenders can experience those last months of anxiety.
The US gun lobby also fosters household arsenals of weapons as a Tough on Crime Strategy.
Parts of Texas also have quite low rates of crime which is always embedded in cities with horrific tensions and extreme forms of social injustice.
Crisafulli will take Queensland back to the Joh era.
The campaign is not over. Even Crisafulli is modifying his approach as his war on crime is a hollow appeal: Thanks for the crime statistics, Denis. That helps readers to understand the opportunism of the LNP. Trump would be proud of the LNP’s efforts to mimic his style.
The campaign is not over. Even Crisafulli is modifying his approach as his war on crime is a hollow appeal: Thanks for the crime statistics, Denis. That helps readers to understand the opportunism of the LNP. Trump would be proud of the LNP’s efforts to mimic his style.
I live in one of those outer suburbs which has no public transport. This makes Denis’ article quite relevant.
Regional travel needs to be within the affordable transport orbit.
Public transport must cross state borders. Part of Northern NSW is part of the Gold Coast catchment and interstate buses are expensive for short distances.
The Queensland Labor Party introduced the fifty cent public transport fare which was initially ridiculed by the LNP as being wasteful and excessive until the LNP realized that this program, whilst not necessarily benefitting everyone in the state, does go straight to those in the commuter belts of major Qld cities and puts cash back into the pockets of those who are really hurting at a time of cost of living stress – ultimately the advisers to the LNP told Crisafulli that he had better pull his head in and jump on board as this was good social policy and was likely to be adopted by other states around Australia : so it became LNP policy.
Now, the Labor government have foreshadowed introducing free school lunches in all state public schools for children from prep through to Year 6.
Premier Steven Miles in announcing the policy said that the program would be “universal to avoid stigmatising the kids that need the food the most, but also to ensure that it supports every Queensland family too.” The proposed free lunch program would kick off from next year, and only be available to students in the state school system and benefit the more than 326,000 students who attend state primary schools in Queensland.
The LNP are out there calling it social engineering and extravagant spending but so far they have not cottoned on to the prime objective of the policy : to ensure, on an opt-in basis, that all state school kids get at least one decent meal every day with a particular focus on regional schools and Aboriginal children (it also acts as an incentive for these same kids to turn up at school).
I wonder how long it will take the LNP to adopt this as their policy !