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Description
Overview
Labor began the period with renewed confidence despite looming headaches such as potentially falling short of completing major infrastructure projects (especially water), ministerial scandals resulting in criminal charges, and alleged political interference in the judiciary stemming from an Aboriginal death in custody. Perhaps Labor's daunting public opinion lead, discussed below, and the Coalition's continued in-fighting also bolstered the government's resolve to press ahead with forced local government amalgamations, despite being perhaps the most unpopular public policy decision of Premier Peter Beattie's nine-year government.
The Parties' Electoral Standing
Incredibly, the government managed only to improve on its public opinion standing from last September's election. Newspoll revealed Labor, during the April-June period, enjoyed a primary vote of 51 per cent (up from 46.9 per cent), with the Coalition on just 31 per cent (Liberals 20 per cent; Nationals 11 per cent--down nearly seven points). This equated to a staggering two-party preferred (2PP) split of 61 to 39 per cent (up from 54.9 / 45.1 per cent 2PP from last election). Beattie's satisfaction rating remained at 46 per cent, while new Nationals leader Jeff Seeney could only muster 26 per cent (compared to previous leader Lawrence Springborg's 24 per cent). Beattie's 58 per cent as preferred premier continued to dwarf Seeney's 19 per cent (http://www'newspoll.com.au/cgi-bin/polling/display_poll_data.pl). A Galaxy poll in June confirmed this trend, positioning Labor on 57 per cent of the 2PP vote compared to the Coalition's 43 per cent (Courier Mail, 9-10 June 2007).
January
Peter Beattie may have been on his usual summer vacation but his government -under Acting Premier Anna Bligh--was afforded no time off as the "Mulrunji" affair spilled over into the New Year. Attorney-General Kerry Shine was given the task of finding an eminent jurist to review the decision of Director of Public Prosecutions Leanne Clare not to charge Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley with Cameron "Mulrunji" Doomadgee's death in a Palm Island watch-house in late 2004 (see previous Chronicle). Former New South Wales Chief Justice Laurence Street was thereafter appointed to the task, one he duly completed by the end of January. When Street recommended Hurley face charges, the Police Union vociferously claimed "blatant political interference" (Courier Mail, 27-28 January 2007). Meanwhile, Anna Bligh was fighting another war on water. The year began with mounting concerns that $18 billion in infrastructure projects--particularly the Southeast Queensland Water Grid--would not be completed on time. Bligh then confirmed that recycled water--an option supposedly to be tested at referendum--would be compulsory should "drenching rain" not come by 2009 (Courier Mail, 6 January 2007). Should dam levels fall below 10 per cent, it was speculated that water bills would double, and some power stations "mothballed". After conceding she had no "doomsday plan", Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy later made a graverfaux pas when she answered --in response to the question why Southeast Queensland was not already on Level Five restrictions--there was no water crisis (Courier Mail,... |
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