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Tuesday March 16, 2010

What we're talking about

  • Jamie on Crime Mapping Hey Smtihy, On a recent trip to Omaha in December, I saw this is action. The information featured in the news media quite ... more
  • Phil on Springborg's Monster Pumpkin Lawrence and Lady Flo should combine forces and make Pumpkin Pies against Labors Lies. more
  • Richard on Keeping the Greenies on the leash I wonder if this law could be extended to the Australian Antartic Territory. more
  • rick douglas on Crime and Punishment in Queensland AND ORDER IN QUEENSLAND AND AUSTRALIA LAWTHE WAY LAW AND ORDER IS IN QUEENSLAND IT IS NON-EXCISTANT IT NEEDS SOME FIXING I ... more
  • David on Halal certification Is this true? Segregation starts in the Mosque where women are separated and put at the back. The Hijabs make them look ... more
  • Phil of Springwood on Buying Votes Last time the Pensioners and Afflicted, the Carers and Veterans received an increase from this Labour Government, the ... more
  • Lynda on Flying Foxes and little girls Why is it that we import all this "trouble"? Once again the perpetrator has an Islander name....They are all here causing ... more
  • p on Keeping the Greenies on the leash if you can't read marine map ,which do show the green zones, you should'nt be there in the first place. and if a bloke can't ... more
  • Gayle Lambert on Keeping the Greenies on the leash I cannot believe the story of Barry. If the Authorities are prevented from disclosing a spent conviction then Queensland ... more
  • Darryl on Separation of Powers The Bliar Government thinks that the Doctrine of Seperation of powers means they have seperate laws that relate to them and ... more
  • Darryl on Flying Foxes and little girls Not until one of these magistrates or politicians families are personally affected will scum like Fetalaiga ever see a ... more
  • Liberator on Flying Foxes and little girls In the eyes of Sandra Kanck, former leaderor the former Democrats, a spider is not more, or less, important than a human ... more
  • Brian on Smith Blog - Our Right to Feel Safe Change one word in the sentences . Maximum to MINIMUM I will be there on Wednesday more
  • angry on Flying Foxes and little girls This is the SICK and PERVERTED laws you get from FANATICAL greenies. Human being to them are seen as simply PARASITES on the ... more
  • Shez on Halal certification It doesn't say it, but those are the guidelines required for something to be labelled Halal or "permissible". :-) more
  • angry on Halal certification "Shez", for your edification the word "halal" is NOT mentioned in the Bible ANYWHERE! FAIL! more
  • angry on Halal certification "Shez"... Given your rabid and fanatical support for this, please remember that you are free to emmigrate to a muslim ... more
  • angry on Flying Foxes and little girls This SO TYPICAL of the Leftist ideology of anna BLIER'S government! She and her government are on the nose and well and ... more
  • Ray on Halal certification Halal signifies that a product or object etc is permissible as per Islamic law. Therefore bananas,apples etc are edible ... more
  • JohnE on Racists in our midst I amazed to see indians taking over all the 'menial' work (no disrespect to that type of work intended). Every trolley boy ... more

The Bligh Government

Posted by: Michael Smith Blog | 14 October, 2008 - 11:36 AM
Anna

An important feature of a Cabinet is that you save your disagreements for Cabinet meetings and keep your differences of opinion out of the public gaze. You don't have to agree with every decision, but once the Cabinet has made a decision that's it - you have a duty to back your colleagues in public.

The Bligh Government cabinet is showing signs of a tired, creaking group that's been at it too long. Cabinet discipline and solidarity are under pressure and the Premier's ministers are starting to get stuck into each other.

Yesterday I read this report about Desley Boyle, the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry and member for Cairns. She's a Minister and therefore a member of the Bligh Cabinet. She was obviously keen to talk early in the day about the problems of crime in her electorate and we asked her to come on the radio here in Brisbane and repeat what she was saying in Cairns - that police numbers were inadequate to do the job the community requires.

Desley Boyle became hard to get a hold of during the day - we were told she wouldn't be available to speak with me on the radio. I read her press release (download here) and it confirmed what she was saying earlier in the day in Cairns.

So we went to Police Minister Judy Spence for confirmation. She came on the radio yesterday afternoon and tipped a huge bucket on her Cabinet colleague Desley Boyle. She said she was wrong, plain wrong and that citizen patrol groups were not government policy listen here. She made it clear she was not happy with her cabinet colleague.

Last week I spoke with Health Minister Stephen Robertson about ambulances "ramped" at public hospitals - ambulances that are tied up with patients because the hospitals don't have the capacity to deal with demand. The Health Minister told us he's not responsible for the ambulance system and passed the buck for its performance onto the Emergency Services Minister. The Emergency Services Minister just has to run an ambulance system with ambulances tied up at Queensland Health hospitals - but no one is accountable for the whole system.

Cabinet solidarity is essential. And it takes strong leadership from the top. Anna Bligh should stamp her leadership credentials on this group and bring their focus back onto a unified approach to fixing the issues that concern Queenslanders - health, crime, education, roads, water, jobs and our future. Buck-passing and pointing the finger at colleagues won't fix a thing.

Blog comments Your Say

  • It seems to me that our pollies (of all persuasions and at all levels) have forgotten who works for whom. In Qld, Bligh and her cohorts are raising taxes (sorry, charges), removing benefits, and selling assets without reference to, or the permission of, the owners and THEIR employers. A sharp lesson is needed! Unfortunately we must wait for the next election, but please, at that time, vote for anyone but the sitting member. Sure, we may end up with a mess but will that be so very different from the current situation?

    mikem Saturday 6 June, 2009 - 6:06 AM

  • i am a small business owner. i pay my employers super, my poloticians super but cant afford to pay mine. so even though i pay my taxes i am not one of those business owners that make great profits. i live modestly. i am not looking for a hand out. i m a single mum who raised my 4 daghters alone. i am now at retirement age but cannot, because of the unrealistic amount of the pension. how much longer must i pay for others benefits and keep working? i might just add, i find now i have a heart problem and am terrified about leaving myself in the care of our health system.

    marita neville Thursday 22 January, 2009 - 10:38 AM

  • I am on the old age pension.
    My wife is still working as she is younger ,and not yet eligible for the pension.
    She grosses $700.00 per week.
    From that she must run a car.
    She drives 12ks per day each way going to work.
    She must maintain appearances at work so must buy reasonable clothes and makeup etc.
    We were paying $200 per week rent BUT that has jumped $150 per week to $350 per week.
    The Gov thought I could live on $60 per week and my wife would make up the shortfall.
    With increased rent the gov gave me an extra $45 per week. So now, with outgoings of $550 per week excepting tax.(food .power.car.rent.upkeep of furniture -white goods etc.medical Gap costs.etc)you can see that ,not only are we living the high life but we are planning our next fact-finding tour of Disneyland.Thats were we should find all our politicians ---as inhabitants--
    Were will my "bonus" go?
    Just in trying to hang on ,or I might have to buy a suitable length of rope.
    Greg

    Greg Henderson Monday 8 December, 2008 - 9:55 AM

  • Springborg, Johnson and company have been in opposition for ten years and have done a terrible job being belted by voters for their for their incompetence time after time.My point is Smith,if they cant even be in opposition successfully how in the world can they be expected to govern

    Ben Slattery Friday 14 November, 2008 - 5:58 AM

  • "John Charles Gilbert Wednesday 15 October, 2008 - 9:35 AM"

    Maybe the Labor Party (no u dopey) needs bashing at this time. I've heard from a senior LNP friend that Smithy is an equal-opportunity basher, as they, the LNP have copped a bashing too.

    Give 'em curry Snithy, which ever party they are from!

    Glynn Thursday 16 October, 2008 - 4:42 PM

  • i am a small business owner. i pay my employers super, my poloticians super but cant afford to pay mine. so even though i pay my taxes i am not one of those business owners that make great profits. i live modestly. i am not looking for a hand out. i m a single mum who raised my 4 daghters alone. i am now at retirement age but cannot, because of the unrealistic amount of the pension. how much longer must i pay for others benefits and keep working? i might just add, i find now i have a heart problem and am terrified about leaving myself in the care of our health system.

    marita neville Thursday 16 October, 2008 - 9:45 AM

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