Time MPs stood up to rebuff

THERE are few things that will pierce party allegiances but it’s clear in neglecting the regions when selecting her new Cabinet, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk crossed the line.

The Labor- aligned Townsville City councillors, led by Mayor Jenny Hill, who yesterday were dismayed at the decision to scrap the position of Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland, deserve praise for breaking ranks.

Mundingburra’s Coralee O’Rourke and Barron River’s Craig Crawford were the only two MPs outside of the southeast corner to be given a portfolio. That leaves the North critically under- represented and the west of the state completely ignored.

More people live outside the state’s capital, yet they are not given adequate representation in this decisively Brisbanecentric Cabinet. Given the response from our local council, even the staunchest of Labor supporters can’t and won’t defend the decision.

Even the state’s new agriculture minister is based in Brisbane with Ferny Grove MP Mark Furner named to the role.

The Premier’s office claims that creating five assistant ministers from regional areas strengthens the Cabinet’s rapport with the rest of the state.

Those assistant ministers represent an extra $ 421,460 burden on taxpayers each year. And they have no right to even sit at the Cabinet table and cannot perform ministerial duties on their behalf.

Now our local Labor council representatives have broken ranks, it’s time for our local Labor MPs to do the same and to call this Cabinet make- up for what it is: a complete disregard for regional Queensland.

If the last election taught us one thing, it’s that voters are tired of major party politics evidenced by the fact Katter’s Australian Party extended its influence by picking up an extra seat. So let’s forget about sucking up to the Brisbane powerhouses in the hope of getting a pat on the head from the party and instead, as Cr Hill says, hold them accountable for the issues that matter to our region.