Botched opportunity

MANY years ago I wrote a verse which began with the lines: “The voting and the counting is all over, the people sighed relief. Another win to Labor, a result beyond belief.”

This was when Dr Hewson led the Coalition, but lost the supposedly “unlosable” election.

A somewhat similar situation occurred with the Queensland election. A very close contest was predicted with Labor a narrow winner, but with the minor parties holding the balance of power.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation declared they would win at least eight seats. Even though they won nearly 14 per cent of the overall vote, they won only one seat which proved fruitless for them. The way in which they allocated their preferences away from the LNP proved a disaster.

Pauline Hanson and your supporters, it’s time to take a long hard look at yourselves as you have handed another win to the Labor Party.

The situation in the Hinchinbrook electorate which now includes northern suburbs of Townsville due to the controversial redistribution of boundaries is an example of the folly of compulsory preferential voting.

Andrew Cripps, the member before the redistribution, lost Hinchinbrook despite leading by 2200 votes after the primary count, losing to an unknown and inexperienced KAP candidate, with help from One Nation.

Mr Cripps was an outstanding MP, a shadow minister and minister in the former LNP Government.

Time will determine how the new Member for Hinchinbrook performs.

Thank goodness a bit of sanity and commonsense prevailed in the Burdekin electorate, with Dale Last retaining the seat.

To the gun lobby group who funded the Give ’ em the Flick campaign, the whole thing backfired ( pardon the pun) and you have shot yourselves in the foot. Need I say more?

The three Townsville- based electorates remain with Labor and people say Townsville is a Labor town.

I ask: why is unemployment so high here if Labor is supposed to help the worker, when all they do is quote “jobs, jobs, jobs” as though it is something they can pluck out of the air?

The Adani project would certainly create thousands of jobs but with an absolute majority, Annastacia will do everything she can to hinder its progress. GEORGE YARDLEY,

Alice River.