REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Tuesday August 6, 1968

AN open letter to Premier-elect Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen from the Gold Coast.

Dear Mr Bjelke-Petersen, first let us congratulate you on becoming Premier of Queensland, the top position you hold in the Country Party, your rank in the Coalition Government, plus your proven ability as an administrator with your modern line of thinking makes you an admirable choice, we on the Gold Coast believe.

Now, let us assure you that we do not write open letters to government leaders unless the subject is one of great importance.

We refer to the vacancy in your cabinet.

So it is with great sincerity that we ask you to give consideration to the claim we feel the Gold Coast has for one of area’s two parliamentary representatives to become a member of your cabinet.

It has been a very long time — about 53 years — since the area had a Cabinet Minister.

Not since Mr J.G. Appel was Home Secretary and Minister for Mines in 1913 have we had a representative in Cabinet, although in the interim the district has grown tremendously and has drawn the attention of all Australia to its rapid — and record rate of expansion.

The area’s two representatives at the time were Albert MP Cecil Carey and Russ Hinze in the seat of South Coast.

Hinze was eventually elevated to Cabinet as Main Roads Minister in 1974 after eight years in Parliament while Carey never attained the position — he died in office in December 1969.

Hinze resigned from Parliament in 1988 and died in 1991.