Commentary
The resignation of Annastacia Palaszczuk as the premier of Queensland has generated an increased focus on the policies of the Liberal National Party (LNP) opposition.
There is an expectation that the old and tired Labor administration will be defeated by the LNP in October of next year and that David Crisafulli will emerge as the victorious new premier of Queensland.
Of course, it is always speculative to assume that Labor will lose the election. But surely, the Palaszczuk Labor government will face the consequences of its mismanagement of Queensland, especially by its inhumane COVID-19 measures.
Ms. Palaszczuk will long be remembered for her appalling comment that Queensland hospitals are “for our people only.”
This comment was made in the context of a pregnant woman from Ballina, in northern New South Wales (NSW), who was refused admission to a hospital in Queensland—a mere two-hour car ride—and had to fly to Sydney to undergo emergency surgery.
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The government’s inflexible and autocratic instincts also prevailed when bollards were placed on the border between Queensland and NSW to ensure that people in the border towns of Coolangatta (Queensland) and Tweed Heads (NSW) could not mingle during the pandemic.
Additionally, surrendering legislative authority to health professionals was an abdication of the Parliament’s legislative prerogatives.
Under the Labor government, youth crime has also skyrocketed with relevant legislation describing custodial sentences as a last resort.
It can be assumed that the deteriorating education standards are also partly responsible for the increase in juvenile delinquency.
Queensland Police stop vehicles at a police checkpoint set up at the Queensland and New South Wales border near the Gold Coast on March 26, 2020. Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Economically, Queensland has a projected debt in 2026 of $150 billion (US$98 billion), which is truly scary.
While Queensland has benefited from increased royalties on gas and coal exports, Labor continues to demonise coal and gas resources, claiming its exploitation frustrates efforts to achieve their fanciful net zero emissions targets.
Little Distinction Between the 2 Major Parties
Does this mean that the opposition is a shoo-in at the next state election, scheduled for October 2024? Not really.It is fair to say that the Queensland electorate does not view the parliamentary LNP team as particularly exciting or inspiring.
In this century, Queensland has only ever had one term of LNP government under Campbell Newman, who was catapulted into leadership when he was mayor of Brisbane.
But he was ousted in 2015, largely based on his efforts to retrench 12,000 public servants.
When hearing of Ms. Palaszczuk’s resignation, Opposition Leader Crisafulli wrote on X: “Regardless of politics, nine years as premier deserves acknowledgement and respect. I want to thank @AnnastaciaMP for her service and wish her well in her retirement.”
One may well think that this “acknowledgement” is nothing more than the behaviour of a true gentleman.
Nevertheless, the real reason for comments could be that the LNP’s current policies are compatible with, and sometimes identical to, those of the outgoing premier.
Proof is the LNP’s initial unqualified support—since withdrawn after the failure of the federal Voice referendum—of the Path to Treaty Act, which provided for the preparation of a treaty with Aboriginal people.
Further, some LNP members have even stated that transgender women pose no threat to biological women when accessing women-only facilities.
A sign denoting a toilet for females only is seen in a park in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 30, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times
But the greatest and potentially fatal mistake was Mr. Crisafulli’s foolish promise to not reduce the size of the public service if he were to become premier.
A few weeks ago, he reassured public servants at a major event that the LNP had “learned the lessons of the past” and would not seek to reduce the size of the taxpayer-funded government departments.
While it may be true that the demise of Mr. Newman’s one-term administration was facilitated by his decision to trim the public service; it is not politically astute to scapegoat the only LNP premier of this century.
Opposition Falls Into Labor’s Public Servant Trap
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, since Labor returned to power in 2015, it has added more than 45,000 public service jobs, to a total of 393,000 positions.That is the equivalent of 250,000 full-time jobs, with women making up 70 percent of that workforce.
Why would an alternative premier handicap himself by making a statement that undoubtedly will haunt him and his party when in office? Moreover, small government is a core liberal centre-right value, now discredited by the opposition leader’s statement.
Instead, the LNP should have strongly defended Mr. Newman’s decision to cut the public service because a bloated public service is certainly not an efficient vehicle to administer Queensland.
A photo taken on Aug. 27, 2022 from a Qantas 737 passenger aircraft shows Brisbane's central business district and its surrounding suburbs. William West/AFP via Getty Images
In making his promise, Mr. Crisafulli has fallen into a Labor trap, and he has painted himself into a corner, effectively making the public service into a tool that will try to destroy the LNP administration from within.
The demonisation of the Newman experiment may not be a wise election strategy because a party can hardly win government, and keep it, by criticising their own side of politics and trashing its core principles.
Indeed, small government is an important Liberal principle, which recognises that an uncontrolled increase in the public service will result in more people becoming dependent on government.
Just look to the socialist enclave of Canberra—the only Australian jurisdiction to return a “Yes” vote during the Voice referendum—to see the veracity of this view.
Surely there is a tipping point at which more public servants cannot contribute more to the efficient running of Queensland.
It is the task of the LNP, when in power, to find that tipping point.
But in declaring that the size of the bureaucracy will not be in dispute, Mr. Crisafulli has effectively denied himself the possibility of searching for this point.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
