Pt 1 – Australian election blog 2016: @Qldaah #ausvotes #auspol #qldpol

Blog along as we cover the long Australian election campaign for 2016. Table of contents Jump to comments section. Mal’s Panama Papers. Saving Albo. Pies and Toast. Battleground Queensland. To the Governor General. . (May 12, 2016) Day 5 – Mal’s Panama Papers Siberian gold mines and Mossack Fonseca Elise Worthington reported, “Prime Minister Malcolm […]

Qld LNP makes strong choice in Tim Nicholls as new leader – Qldaah #qldpol

Tim Nicholls benefits from preferential voting to take leadership from Lawrence Springborg Liberal National Party Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg has been defeated in a challenge by MP for Clayfield, Tim Nicholls.  Mr Springborg mustered 17 votes in the first round over Mr Nicholls on 14 and a third challenger, Tim Mander, on 10. However, it was the […]

Redclaw politics in the unicameral state – Analysis: @Qldaah #qldpol

How Queensland’s electoral voting system was reformed within the space of a month. Table of contents Jump to comments section. Redclaw politics. Post-Fitzgerald Inquiry era. The Representation Bill. Eighteen minutes in Hell. Blood, teeth and claws. . Redclaw politics Call it a Coup d’état, a reform, an upheaval or the trashing of the legacy of […]

Tears, Queensland Nickel and the ‘moral hazard’: Analysis – @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol

Parliamentary records show how in 2014 the Abbott Government attempted to erode the remuneration component of the Fair Entitlements Guarantee. Queensland Coalition MP Ewan Jones teared up on Friday as he spoke of the hardship facing workers in his electorate of Herbert after the collapse of Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery near Townsville. “This is a tough day,” he […]

Abbott handshake not enough to bring optical fibre to the bush: @Qldaah #qldpol #auspol

Out in Western Queensland a handshake is a done deal. In May 2015, the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott toured the shires of Barcoo and Diamantina in Western Queensland and inadvertently committed the Federal Government to a $16 million fibre optic project. It was sealed through a handshake with Diamantina Mayor Geoff Morton and Barcoo Mayor Julie Groves. Also present […]

Julie Bishop promotes jewellery for Liberal Party donor: @Qldaah #auspol #qldpol

The jeweller, the retailer and the foreign minister. How a blue opal necklace linked Julie Bishop to Liberal Party donors and sparked the war over the abolition of Sunday penalty rates. Foreign minister Julie Bishop has modelled an opal collier for one of the Liberal Party’s donors at the launch of the taxpayer funded program, “G’Day USA”. The […]

An outsider’s tax idea, by @margokingston1

  The Turnbull government is reportedly considering Treasury options for a GST rise. https://t.co/KRs2BhQalt pic.twitter.com/RMgM9cjpkA — The Australian (@australian) October 31, 2015 I write this as a progressive who, like so  many other Australians, fought hard on social media to rid us of of a man who, we believed, did not represent Australian values. I write […]

Jeff un-Seeney and the @CallideVotes question – #qldvotes #qldpol @Qldaah

A social media campaign to unite voters in the central Queensland seat of Callide, held by Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney, is calling for locals to vote for anyone but the Liberal National Party (LNP). The Facebook page ‘Jeff Seeney – Callide Votes’ and its matching Twitter account @CallideVotes have been attracting grassroots support across the […]

Volatile Queensland question time – Newman defies Madam Speaker: @Qldaah, #qldpol

On Tuesday, Premier Campbell Newman used Queensland question time to make accusations of criminality at the independent MP for Nicklin, Peter Wellington. What started as a straightforward question on overseas visitors committing offences, turned into a furore as the firebrand politician reacted vehemently to Newman’s allegation of supporting criminal motorcycle gangs. Wellington has long been […]

Time to be Alert … And a little bit Alarmed? – the @sarah_capper column

Yes, that’s right, last week Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the Government was raising Australia’s ‘terror alert’ status to ‘high’.  While technically this means a terrorist attack on Australian soil is now regarded as “likely”, the PM was quick to clarify that “this does not mean that a terror attack is imminent. We have no […]