Of Anna and the Vultures

Guest contributor, Dee writes:

"The Queensland Premier claims "16 key achievements" in a list in the article "Three-year Bligh sails on" (Townsville Bulletin, Tues Sept 14) but ill-directed determination is a failure within itself and self-praise is not worth the paper on which the press release is printed.

The Courier-Mail of the same day nominates the list as "Anna Bligh's Sweet Sixteen".

The Bligh government in reality has at least 17 vultures that are feeding on its corpse as it flails around looking for a way out of the appalling situation that is only of its own making.

These vultures are:

• privatisation of taxpayer-owned assets;

• failure to pay proper compensation for Stolen Wages;

• failure to implement findings of the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission;

• complete policy failure and discrimination in communities suffering alcohol management "plans";
• failure to have alleged misconduct by police investigated by an independent authority;

• homelessness and abysmal levels of public housing construction;
• high unemployment in provincial areas;
• pay debacle for health staff;

• poor response to the Barrier Reef oil spill;

• large fuel price and fertiliser price rises for primary producers;

• huge rises in specific vehicle registration costs;

• privatisation of water infrastructure and huge rises in water prices;

• failure to remove medical abortion from the Crimes Act;

• corruption at ministerial level;

• failure to fund the Townsville cruise ship terminal at the correct level;

• failure to provide appropriate and sufficient mental health services;
• broadscale lead contamination of people and environment at Mount Isa; and
• contamination of water resources and environment due to failure to correctly control coal seam gas projects.

The government propagandists who have been to the US political skills school who have generated the idea that programs such as "I'll come to your region and govern for a week" or "I’ll spend a day in your shoes" can have some wondrous effect in tricking the voters into thinking that government cares about them, should spend their time more productively for the people of Queensland and fix the items on the vultures list.

There has to be an active commitment from this government to fix the list and the voters must be able to see and positively assess some real change in its outlook and its activities.

There is still time for the Premier to send this privatisation of taxpayer-owned assets policy back to the well-remunerated bureaucrats in Treasury for a thorough revamp into something different which is not a sellout and betrayal of Queensland taxpayers and voters.