END OF SPIN

THE END OF SPIN

Defeated Anna Bligh

Anyone who knows me, knows that I take a close interest in politics at both the State and Federal levels, and that accordingly my interest in Elections  is intense, in fact our Election Night parties - in the times when we could afford them - were regular events for our close friends of a conservative hue!

So it would not be me, if I did not comment on last night's Election results in my beloved Queensland. In a remarkable result the 14 years old Labor Government was wiped out in the most comprehensive way by a Liberal National Party revitalised and united behind its new Leader Campbell Newman the former Lord Mayor of the huge Brisbane City Council which itself has a larger Revenue than some States and Territories.

It is hard to disagree with the Federal Coalition Leader Tony Abbott's summary, that the former Labor Government had been characterised by incompetence,lack of integrity, deceit and spin in place of substance. As he says the "Labor brand is toxic around Australia".Former Premier Anna Bligh who was one of the 7 Labor members returned to the Parliament - won her seat very narrowly, and in her absence it may be lost at the coming by-election. She was admired universally for her handling of the Flood Emergency one year ago. But the voters were not sentimental enough to forget the extraordinary blunders by her Government - e.g. where the massive Health Department changed its payroll system resulting in some nurses and others not being paid at all for weeks, others being mightily overpaid and yet others unable to tell where they stood. Then blundering from error to error, they began to threaten to sue those overpaid , until Union action was threatened. then they refused to take ANY repayments until some administrative procedures were developed - it was like a massive comic opera. On and on the scandals went. Labor supporters were particularly  offended by the sale of State assets ( specifically foresworn before the last Election) and this was made crystal clear in the loss of Labor strongholds like Ipswich and Ipswich North - both former Railway Towns.Under immediately previous Labor Premiers the Labor Government became known as masters of "spin ". Indeed Peter Beattie who preceded Anna Bligh had been described as a "Media Tart"a reputation he continued to enhance out of office to Bligh's discomfort. Anna Bligh never quite achieved his "spin"virtuosity!

Now they are gone and are become the butt of jokes about Labor Caucus meetings to be held in a Shoe Box!

TONY ABBOTT AUSTRALIA'S NEXT ELECTED PRIME MINISTER
AN HONEST AUSTRALIAN

But in Canberra, anxious Labor backbenchers will now , even more than before be looking to their own fate in the next Federal Election perhaps not so much more than a year away. They are already as much "on the nose"with the National electorate  as Bligh and her colleagues were with the Queensland electorate.They know that the baseball bat is still ready to be swung at them. 

Meanwhile Juliarr Gillard as she is often referred to, is on a Commonwealth VIP Aircraft heading to an international conference in Seoul.Just because Parliament is not sitting , she would be foolish to think her colleagues minds and tongues and ears are not at work. To whom could they turn? Labor's former NSW master of spin Secondhand Carr whom she brought aboard as Foreign Minister perhaps? - He has already been busy prancing and dancing before the TV cameras far beyond the call of his new role. Or perhaps Steven Smith, but then his recent shameful run- in with Defence institutions, has left him permanently tarnished. Then the plotting, faction manipulating, Bill Shorten is always waiting in the background - the very embodiment of all that is wrong in the Labor Party.One way or another, Federal Labor is heading for the same slaughter Queenslanders handed out to Queensland Labor!

"CAN DO "CAMPBELL NEWMAN - WHY WOULDN'T HE LAUGH!!

Welcome to centre stage "Can Do "Campbell, Premier of Queensland. And Mr Abbott we await your accession to the Prime Ministership!