The Cairns Diaries

One more sleep!

msolga wrote "1 more sleep" I concur

Get excited.

bugger!

Officially less poor - although a bit of hiccup as local bank sent the money to the attached credit card account - which doesn't allow transfers to All In One account (overdraft mortgagy thingy). Took them four hours to sort it out.

Can't wait to see what the next interest payment is. My life is quite pathetic really..

Progress!

(Admittedly slow & messy, but progress nether-the less!)

Let us know when you're officially rich, OK, hinge?
You can shout me a glass of wine to celebrate!

I'm extremely rich deprived. I know them well, she says. So it goes.

Anyway, I'm glad to see you all getting out of snafflougle.

Meant to say never-the-less, obviously.

(It's been a long day. I'm tired.)

Another Queensland election looms

Posters on the roadside all the way to work.

Couldn't help but think on the Michael Trout/Campbell Newman LNP poster that I should texta 'Brisbane Inc.' on it. For those of you who don't know Newman is the LNP opposition leader - who isn't actually an MP so can't take part in parliamentary proceedings (Queensland is always freak city). I worry because he's actually Tasmanian - not that I've got anything against Tasmanians... except that Joh Bjelke Petersen was one too and history repeats.

On the Fitzgerald/Katter posters (Bob Katter's Australia Party ) I wanted to texta 'Vote 1 Drunk Uncle Party'.

Petersen was actually a New Zealander- not that I've got anything against Kiwis. Joh Petersen was probably the most corrupt politician Australia has ever seen.

Hi Bootlace

You are correct - I can only think that I've always thought Joh spent his formative years in Tassie because of his Aunt, Marie, famous author, spent her life in Tassie and because when Joh was fined for purgery he pursued business interests in Tassie to raise cash (and tried to start a Tassie independence movement). The foibles of human memory, thanks for the correction.

If you get the chance read Andrew Stafford's Pig City which provides a beginner's lesson in Petersen-era politics in Queensland.

Not one of his cabinet had a university education.

... & they all wore white shoes.

And to be appointed a minister, you had to give Joh a signed, undated letter of resignation.
That's how he ensured "loyalty".

Well we're in the throes of a state election and the television advertising is picking up.

An interesting sideline is the ad that shows Campbell Newman (the unelected leader of the LNP) stating that he is pro-Gay Marriage (they repeat the same grab about five times). That's the entire gist of the ad. Provenance: Katter's Australia Party. So Bob's strategists think their pathway to power is to drag social conservatives away from the LNP, while the LNP tries to drag the centre voters into their camp on the lines of 'time for a change and an end to fiscal mismanagement'. The ALP focuses on Campbell Newman's business links, particularly through his wife's family, with a few examples of Brisbane council rules being changed while he was Lord Mayor to favour development over community wishes.

Precious little actual policy debate.

The KAP strategy may work, but it's hard not to think any gains they make will come at the expense of the LNP rather than the ALP (smacks of the Joh for PM election that killed Howard in 1987, even a little of the rise of One Nation in the 90s). I haven't seen any Antony Green predictions yet (and as this is KAP's first election he may find it hard to predict) but I'm wondering whether we might be heading to a coalition govt - someone dealing with KAP.

The really interesting sideline is Campbell Newman's push for the seat of Ashgrove - apparently it's knife edge with the current ALP member Kate Jones working her ass off at grass roots to make Newman's election far from assured. Apparently he needs a bigger swing (7%) in Ashgrove than the LNP needed (5%) to win govt.

I've seen our local member Steve Wettenhall (ALP) at the shops a couple of times but I've never said hello. I'm pretty sure he lives a few streets away, I've walked passed the car with his pic on it while walking the dogs.

Listening, hinge.
Apparently this has been a particularly nasty & vindictive campaign?
Or so "we in the south" have been informed by the media.



Thanks for that, I think I get the picture!

Do keep us posted.

Yeah, I'm hearing that but I haven't really noticed, largely because I have so much on my plate work/family wise I'm finding it hard to allocate time to local media coverage. The Guardian Weekly hasn't mentioned it so I can't be sure

I'm certain, if it is happening, hinge, that the ugliness will become abundantly obvious before too long!

What is the date of the election?
Things should become extremely ugly just before that!
Political ugliness will be right in your face!

24th March - so I can probably hold out. As long as Stewart and Colbert ignore it....

I don't see how they possibly can!

Come on, you're burying your head in the sand.
Not that I blame you!
Not at all!
It's perfectly understandable ....

Bloody hell Margo, I was just going through previous pages and realised I'd ignored you (and CI too!) too late to catch CI but not too late to tell you that we're off to Portugal for two months this time. Have yet to find anyone who has been there in the last couple of decades (the fridge guy had a hoot there in his youth, but I'm guessing things change after 35 years...). 46 sleeps to go.

Looks like you were right (as were several commentators on Q&A last night:

State member Curtis Pitt (ALP) had an overnight attack on his office in Gordonvale (just south of Cairns, in Katter's federal electorate).

Bob Katter's ad give's them the implicit thumbs up.