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Saturday March 13, 2010

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  • 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
  • JohnE on Flying Foxes and little girls Absolutely disgusting. Simply not good enough. If the law is NOT acceptable, we the people, have the power to change it. I ... more
  • Shez on Flying Foxes and little girls I wouldn't wish bad on anyone, but maybe if one of these judges that give out these so called punishments are victims of a ... more
  • Shez on Halal certification Halal in the Bible... FROM THE BIBLE: Deuteronomy 14:3-10. Do not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may ... more
  • David T on Tony Abbott does a Turnbull Tony, we need a strong opposition not a fickle oppostion. Please don't give the government any more ammunition as this will ... more
  • Albert on Flying Foxes and little girls These laws prove once again that the environmental movement is not about taking action to protect human life and future ... more
  • angry on ETS Police SUBJECT: 'Execute' Skeptics! Shock Call To Action: 'At what point do we jail or execute global warming deniers' -- ... more
  • unimpressed on Flying Foxes and little girls Fetalaiga's 18 month ban from driving just shows the level of stupidity of both the law makers and the magistrates that ... more
  • Lynne on Flying Foxes and little girls The only thing in Queensland that is better protected than these disease riddled flying vermin are bureaucrats. When are ... more
  • LEONARD on Separation of Powers The Doctrine of the Separation of Powers has become simply a joke. It purpose is to separate the Legislature, the Executive ... more

The Ministers' Secret Luxury Dinner?

Posted by: Michael Smith | 27 January, 2010 - 1:40 PM
bligh

Queensland should be riding high on demand for our minerals from China and other countries.

We should be raking it in.

Western Australia is.  

Queensland, however, seems to be stuck in a rut of bureaucracy that is slowing us down.   And to me, it’s a problem with the culture of our government.

It’s come to a bit of a head with the front page of today’s The Courier Mail newspaper.  Link

I think it’s great news that senior ministers in the Bligh government have met with Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart.   I’m surprised that The Courier Mail’s focus is the “secret luxury dinner” between ministers and Ms Rinehart, but no doubt the culture of secrecy, former ministers convicted for corruption, success-fees, lobbyists and consultants making money from mates has driven The Courier Mail’s suspicions.

The Premier is right to expect more, not less of these sorts of meetings.

Ms Rinehart wants to invest $16.5 billion in the state.   She’s faced so many bureaucratic roadblocks in approvals for the project that she demanded a meeting with the Premier.

To the Premier’s credit, senior ministers were dispatched to meet with Ms Rinehart to find out what was holding up the project.    No doubt the Premier has been motivated at least in part by the reality that her government’s finances are now mired in debt.   The Premier knows she needs every cent in extra income she can raise.

 

Ms Rinehart’s project will create real wealth, real jobs, a real rail line and substantial royalty payments to the Queensland Government.

The bureaucracy in Queensland seems incapable of approving this sort of project.   This is the same bureaucracy led by Mike Kaiser as chief of staff for the Premier’s Department.   They are hopelessly politicised and driven to please their political masters.

It’s a bureaucracy trained to produce statements that focus on trendy issues.   Green jobs, climate-friendly projects and social infrastructure.   Nasty incursions like rail lines, mines, ports and “dirty” brown jobs are an anathema to it.

After more than 20 years, the senior ranks of the bureaucracy in Queensland are well adjusted to the political views of their elected masters.   Green – tick.   Greenhouse-gas-emission-reduction – tick.   Mines, rail lines, ports and “dirty” jobs seem to almost automatically rate a furrowed brow and delay after delay after delay.

The Queensland Government has gotten away with it for the past few years.   But year after year it’s been spending more than it’s earned, and now we have an $85 billion debt to show for it.   That debt is driving up the price that Queenslanders pay for everything – rego, fuel, electricity, water, rates and the flow-on through the entire economy

Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer have money to spend.   They’ve had enough of the bureaucracy.   Their investors capital could go anywhere in the world.   Gina Rinehart has given the Bligh Government a second chance, the government should act quickly to take it.

But at a deeper level its time for cultural change in Queensland.   It’s time for Queensland to start to recognise where its wealth and standard of living come from.   We need a government and a bureaucracy whose culture is focussed on making investments happen – not on stopping them.

Blog comments Your Say

  • There are some thin if the legitimate work as a line there. Most are sites and marketing study for the site owner rich, not you. The only thing is true legitimacy Ebay, selling things you already own
    www.onlineuniversalwork.com

    ridwanzero Friday 5 February, 2010 - 7:45 PM

  • hahahahaha
    BLIAR has been caught out again. FOI has now divulged to a journo who is actually doing his job that she was planning the sale of our bloody assets in 2008. Long before her last lot of lies to get elected.
    Now. Just how deeply involved were her union mates. They have justification for a huge shitfight over this. But will they have the balls to take it on? I doubt it.
    In my naivety I have always suffered from the delusion that this State had the resources to provide every citizen in it with wealth and the staples of living, at little or no cost. Simply because we are part of it.
    How can it be that these bastards have sent us all to the cleaners?
    I just can't get my mind around it all. And this is a Labour Party. The workers party.
    Shitodear.
    And what have we got coming on in opposition?
    How depressing.
    Wobbly.

    Wobblyone Monday 1 February, 2010 - 8:44 PM

  • Malcolm Turnbull is a Socialist and Rhodes Scholar. The sad fact is that these traitors are on both sides of politicis. Who to trust? Tony Abbott needs to get rid of him and Senators Boyce and Troeth at the earliest opportunity. We should not have to tell him.

    Glenis Sunday 31 January, 2010 - 10:01 AM

  • Maybe Anna can get some money from M/S Rinehart and she can send some to the Taliban as well.This Labor Govt is getting more corrupt every day.Have a look at the photo the idiot is stuck for words.

    p davis Friday 29 January, 2010 - 10:52 PM

  • Come on guy give this government their due, don't we all have the same gauge rail line now through out the country after how many years??? This state and government almost makes me wish I could play dueling banjo's.

    John Friday 29 January, 2010 - 10:22 PM

  • Too complicated for Anna Bligh.
    If she can't sell it or tax it she doesn't have a clue what to do with it.
    She would be totally baffled by the fact that you can invest in this state and make money.
    Typical labour policy, Tax, Sell then Tax some more.
    I almost forgot their most important policy.
    "Look after your mates and smear the opposition as much as possible."

    Richard Edwards Thursday 28 January, 2010 - 1:40 PM

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