Anna Bligh’s thought bubble, in which the Queensland premier on Tuesday floated the idea of returning the state to compulsory preferential voting, has not gone down very well. Probably because Labor will win from the move, says Charles Richardson.
Anna Bligh
Bligh looking to remove optional preferential voting
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has reportedly asked the Attorney-General to look into whether optional preferential voting is leading to an increase in the informal vote in Queensland. Maybe, just maybe, boosting ALP electoral prospects has something to do with it, writes Possum Comitatus.
Blaming women not the answer to abortion law reform
For too long, the Queensland Parliament has relied on the exercise of discretion by police to not prosecute abortion crimes, write EMILY’s Listers Tanja Kovac and Hutch Hussein.
Queensland nurses pull the pin on Bligh’s Left power base
The Queensland Nurses Union will disaffiliate from the Australian Labor Party’s Queensland branch, stripping 12 votes from Anna Bligh’s Left power base on the state conference floor and increasing pressure on Australian Workers Union kingpin Bill Ludwig to knife her as premier.
Did ALP state govts impact the federal vote?
One of the big questions post-election is whether ALP state party parliamentary performance impacted ALP results in the federal election. Possum Comitatus examines the data.
It really was the economy, stupid: how Queensland dragged down Labor
Queensland voters punished the Labor Party severely in Saturday’s poll, and perhaps a weak state economy played a much bigger role in the outcome than many commentators realise.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Crashing Bligh’s big day
In today’s tips and rumours: Bligh’s birthday crashed, a letter from Malcolm and Henderson is everywhere in Corangamite.
Political snippets: Too much Rudd, too often
As Kevin Rudd’s daily television appearances have less and less impact on a disillusioned public he has decided to have more of them. Plus, dreaded independent inquiries and other political news.
Fighting for the states’ right to exist
Kevin Rudd’s political agenda was wrapped up in a hospital plan. The historic health reform deal was only partly about health and the GST, but more about fighting for the states’ rights and their right to exist.
King: Give Bligh daylight savings and she’ll sell that too
What happened to the women that Queenslanders voted in? asks Madonna King. Premier Anna Bligh sold off all the state’s assets and now is trying to escape scrutiny by talking about trivial issues.
Why is Bligh so private?
It was politically irrational and not economically explainable why Anna Bligh would privatise major public assets like Queensland Rail. So why do it? What purpose does a state government have? asks Mark Bahnisch.
leaked Possum: Wading through the leaked Qld polling
Possum Comitatus wades further into the leaked polling from the Queensland unions, finding the Bligh government’s privatisation plans could have some serious political consequences for Kevin Rudd at the federal election.
Possum: Rudd faces privatisation blight in Queensland
Will a backlash against Anna Bligh threaten to spill across into the federal election arena later this year?
Abortion, Queensland and a law unchanged since 1861
One woman’s story of travelling interstate to abort a child with a severe abnormality highlights Queensland’s antiquated abortion laws. Dr Caroline de Costa explains.
Galaxy: 59-41 to LNP in Queensland
A new Galaxy poll shows the Liberal National Party with a crushing 59-41 lead over Anna Bligh’s Labor government, while Bligh’s approval rating is down four points, to a parlous 28%. William Bowe has the numbers.
Joe Ludwig’s dad shows the real campaign finance agenda
The Australian went back over a decade of returns from Labor Holdings Pty Ltd and concluded that this secretive Queensland investment arm has pumped $25 million into the ALP’s federal and state campaigns since 2000.
The corporates that helped Bligh, Barnett to power
The release of this morning’s Australian Electoral Commission’s “periodic disclosures” data paint a vivid picture of who bankrolled the two state elections that occurred in the 2008/09 financial year.
Mungo MacCallum: Abbott’s cunning stunt is just a distraction
Tony Abbott’s planned private member’s Bill to override Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation may be, as his opponents claim, a political stunt, but they can hardly deny that it’s a bloody good one.
States of play: who are the most popular pollies?
A different way to look at how the various political leaders of our country are travelling is to contrast their net satisfaction or approval levels against their two party preferred vote share. Possum Comitatus crunches the numbers.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Amanda Vanstone’s Christmas card
A glimpse at Amanda’s Vanstone very ‘elegant’ Italian Christmas card. Plus, which state Labor president is dumping on their premier?
The scent of death hovers over Bligh
Is it already bye bye Bligh? Queensland premier Anna Bligh has alienated many on the Left, her chief of staff has left and polling is looking poor. It’s only a matter of time until she’s gone now.
Queensland prepares for a Dick-led government
Ailing Queensland Premier Anna Bligh will be knifed before state parliament resumes in February and replaced with Attorney-General Cameron Dick, says senior QLD ALP sources.
Sheehan: Get ‘em in and spit ‘em out: the media churn of politics
Leadership speculation! Spill! New leader! Opinion Polls! Scandal! Rather than focusing on policies, Australian politics is an endless horse race with the media as jockey and lots of blood being spilt, writes Paul Sheehan.
Stott Despoja: Spilling on last week’s spills
Joe Hockey was drafted to run as Liberal leader before he was ready. Just because you can win it, doesn’t mean you should run, writes Natasha Stott Despoja, reflecting back on her own Democrats experience.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: SBS teams with Foxtel
Will SBS, thanks to its highly successful World Movies channel, parter with Foxtel for a new Arts pay-tv channel? Plus, Anna Bligh and a hilariously placed street sign.
