Confessions of a Misguided Trio

QLD Election Part 1

I apologise to the international readers, I do realise that you would most likely have very little interest in a State election taking place in Australia, however it is where I am at the moment, so um... Yeah...

The opposing coalition had their campaign launch yesterday with big PMJH stepping in to try and show that Liberal Party leaders aren't entirely stupid. The launch essentially became a Premier Pete bashing contest. PMJH tried to rally support picking on Pete for not spending Qld's allocation of GST revenue...

"The state of the nation is strong and healthy and optimistic, and the bounty of those economic good times has been shared across Australia... No state in Australia has done better out of taxation reform, the GST component, than Queensland.
It still astonishes many Queenslanders to be told that 46 per cent of all the revenue that flows into the Queensland budget comes from the Federal Government... The point I make is that Queenslanders are entitled to that money, but they're entitled to see it spent wisely.
They are entitled to a better quality of service and there is no area where that applies more to than the area of health."

PMJH is right, money should be spent wisely... Which may explain why just three... YES 3... Of the Coalitions promises will take QLD into debt by my 30th Birthday...

From News.com.au
Mr Springborg's pledges to abolish stamp duty, increase the First Home Owners Grant and the fuel subsidy for ethanol-blended fuels, would put the state into debt.
She said by 2010, the three promises would cost the state more than $2.4 billion, contrasting with a projected 2009/2010 budget surplus of $102 million.
"With these three promises, the Opposition is lumping Queensland taxpayers with a $2.3 billion deficit," Ms Bligh said.

For the record she and Ms Bligh are the Qld Government's Deputy Premier and Treasurer...

As mentioned previously the Gold Coast Bulletin is proving to be quite the forum for election news, especially their small features on the candidates, where some poor journalist records a candidates answer to 6 incredibly mundane and boring questions, below is the Nationals (Coalition) candidate for Gaven, Alex Douglas...

So why does this misguided one choose to feature Candidate Douglas?

Two reasons made me laugh... Firstly the answer to question 4 where Douglas responds with '... I play taxi and drive around picking up the kids from parties.'

It emerged last week that Mr Douglas's son enjoyed celebrating his post-formal at a questionable motorcycle club, which he staunchly defended, ignoring the fact that the motorcycle club had been raided by police a number of times and a number of illegal weapons being seized. But it's all ok because Daddy Douglas picked him up.

Secondly and perhaps most hysterically was Douglas's response to the 6th question 'If you could be anywhere right now it would be?' ... A town called Ronda, in Spain.

Why?

Anyone should remember how Mr Douglas first came to be a sitting MP. Through a by-election, which was held after the previous representative for Gaven, Ropert Poole, opted to spend more time in Thailand than the state. It appears Mr Douglas may be more like Poole after all, wanting to be somewhere other than his electorate....

From memory the latest poll had Douglas in a tight race with Labor candidate Phil Gray...

That's enough for this AM until later...

posted by Mark @ 7:14 PM