LABOR'S Anna Bligh is attempting political history by becoming the first woman premier to be popularly elected in Australia. Lawrence Springborg's third tilt at the premiership, meanwhile, is a test of whether the sum of the parts of a Coalition is worthier than the Liberal and National parties merely holding hands. He leads the newly merged Liberal National Party to its first electoral test.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For such an ostensibly interesting election, the campaign has been lacklustre, perhaps reflecting the gloomy economic backdrop.
Bligh has limited herself to negligible funding commitments, such as a couple of tow trucks to ease congestion on Brisbane's Gateway Bridge. Declaring she is happy to run on her record, Bligh has left herself open to accusations that Labor has run out of ideas after 11 years in power.
Springborg is promising plenty of new ideas; he just can't say how he'll pay for them. Taxes won't be raised and services won't be cut. Instead policies will be funded from "general efficiency" improvements and "other ideas" yet to be outlined. Such vagueness does not engender voter confidence in the LNP's economic credentials.
This suits Bligh, who wants to fight the election on questions of economic management. But the LNP is determined to switch the focus back to Queensland's creaking infrastructure, for which Labor must be held responsible. The Opposition wants to tap into voter frustration with clogged roads, burgeoning hospital waiting lists and rundown schools, all consequences of inadequate planning for the state's rapid population growth.
Despite LNP unpreparedness, it was Labor which appeared to lose control of the agenda this week. Bligh bungled costings on a promised tax break for trainees, was heckled by university students, and then had to respond to a damning report into her Health Department's handling of the rape of a nurse in the Torres Strait.
Personally warm and engaging, Bligh is too controlled in public, particularly when compared with her populist predecessor, Peter Beattie. Good Bligh policy such as water fluoridation and freer access to information aren't big vote winners, and she foundered this week when asked to list achievements in 17 months as Premier.
But just as regional Queenslanders see Bligh as a very Brisbane Premier, Springborg struggles to shake the Brisbane perception that he's simply a farmer with a Southern Downs drawl.
Meanwhile, distractions hover on the periphery. Mining magnate and LNP donor Clive Palmer is threatening to hijack the Opposition's campaign, lodging a $1.25 million defamation claim against Bligh, who accused him of buying influence in the LNP.
And Pauline Hanson is standing. The major parties have ruled out giving the former One Nation leader their preferences, and her prospects are generally dismissed, but she lends unpredictability to the campaign.
Given the longevity of the state Labor Government, Queensland's stretched infrastructure, and the dire economic outlook, the election is arguably the LNP's to win. The latest Galaxy Poll has Labor and the LNP level pegging, but achieving the necessary 8 per cent swing seems beyond the merged Opposition.
The best it might hope for is a solid swing in regional areas, and a few gains in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. A poor showing could shatter the fragile union.
Cosima Marriner
