#qldvotes2020 - Queensland State Election 31 October 2020

[ozbob]

FMD!

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1318642822552055809

^

Labor had to try to come with something to counter LNP Bruce Hwy plan.  This is it ^

[ozbob]

Labor need $800 million from Commonwealth for second Bruce

Queensland Labor's "second Bruce Highway" plan will be a series of upgrades to existing roads, funded in an 80-20 split with the federal government.

Labor announced $200 million in funding for the project today, partially funded through its multi-billion-dollar borrowings program and partially through existing budgets*, with the expectation that the federal government would pick up a further $800 million.

Labor has criticised the LNP's highway plan because it is yet to secure federal funding, but Transport Minister Mark Bailey said they have an existing funding relationship with the federal government.

Mr Bailey was also challenged to explain why Labor was calling the project a "second Bruce" when it was really a series of much-needed upgrades to existing inland roads including the Gregory Highway.

He said the upgraded road would function as one route, instead of a series of separate roads.

Labor says the plan will remove heavy freight from the coastal route, and improve safety for families travelling on the route.

"The Bruce Highway is like the artery of Queensland, families use it to get around," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

"I often travel on the Bruce, families do as well, we want to make it safe."

State commits $200M.  This is just babble ...

[Gazza]

It seems like wishful thinking. Basically it seems like they want the feds to treat the Canarvon/Gregory highway as part of the National highway, and then fund 80% accordingly.

"Function as one route" come off it, if you put Google Maps Townsville to Sydney, it tells you to go this way. The name changes on the way are irrelevant.

[achiruel]

I'm not so sure, I see some merit in improving the quality of State Route A7. Not so much as alternate route to the Bruce but connecting inland towns that aren't connected by rail (to each other) anyway. Last time I took that road the pavement was ratsh!t.

But yes, the NCL definitely needs a lot of work as well.

It is a few token road upgrades, nothing like a ' second Bruce Highway '.  They need to get serious and get the bulk freight off the roads and onto rail.  The roads will break up if there is any real truck traffic.  Every election it is the same, more dumb transport policy.

Nor do I think it should be a second Bruce Hwy, but the fact is there's no rail link along the A7 corridor and it carries a fair bit of OD freight that couldn't be carried by rail anyway like mining and agricultural equipment.

The main north-south freight spine in Qld should be the NCL, but that doesn't mean others should be ignored.

Edit: obviously no good for OD loads, but I wonder if there'd be any sense in building an extension of the Inland Rail route to Townsville via roughly the A7 route.

[achiruel]

Queensland just gets dumber and dumber by the day ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1318670086681501697


https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1318742902391017472

Even in Europe they can no longer sustain freight on roads. The ideal way to move freight between Cairns and Sydney is by rail. Rail improvements between the two hubs would be substantially cheaper and economically viable. Electric locomotive hauled freight would be the ideal outcome.

How would you handle the gauge change?

I think the most sensible way would to be have robotic container transhipping (expensive capital but reduced future labour costs). This could also enable double stacked containers to be changed to single at the same time for the journey north.

The other options could include bogie exchange, manual container transhipping (expensive labour) and building a DG line from AR to Cairns. I think this third option is complete pie-in-the-sky though, and there's probably loading gauge as well as track gauge issues.

[red dragin]

How much actual freight goes to Cairns for shipping though?

Wasn't there talk at one stage of branching Inland Rail up to Rock/Mackay for freight and that was about as far as it went?

[aldonius]

If Inland Rail were to go north from Toowoomba I believe it would go to Gladstone. 

[ozbob]

The Labor mob spin is get 'freight off the Bruce Highway'.  The best way to do that is get more bulk freight on the rail. 

They roads out west can be upgraded but it is never going to be a ' second Bruce Highway '. 

It is a spin exercise to counter the LNP Bruce Highway hoax.

A battle of the Bruce Highway Hoaxes ... fukwits!

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Second Bruce Hwy plan hits funding roadblock

Labor's plan to build a second Bruce Highway has been cast into doubt after the Morrison government said it could only be done if money was "ripped" from other projects.

The Palaszczuk government's $200m commitment yesterday to build an alternative inland route for heavy vehicles was dependent on the federal government tipping in $800m for the project.

But the announcement seemed to catch Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack off guard as he branded it a "thought bubble" and called on Queensland Labor to explain "how and from where it would be funded".

Labor has previously attacked the LNP's centrepiece Bruce Hwy plan – to expand the road to four lanes – as a "hoax" because it also relies on uncommitted money from the federal government.

The duelling Bruce Hwy plans add to a lengthening list of promises from each major party that have been targeted at the same policy areas if not virtual copies of each other.

Both sides have offered similar or competing visions for major infrastructure projects, including building a second M1 between Logan and the Gold Coast, installing airconditioning in classrooms, a new Bradfield irrigation scheme, hiring thousands of new teachers and committing to no new taxes or asset sales.

Labor has hounded the LNP over its Bruce "highway hoax", but was left exposed when Mr McCormack poured cold water on the plan for a "second Bruce".

Funding for the national highway is regularly completed under an 80-20 federal-state split, but Labor's plan is effectively an upgrade of a network of inland state highways.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would upgrade existing roads between Charters Towers in north Queensland and Mungindi in the south of the state, to divert big trucks and freight off the main arterial coastal road.

She also announced $100m in new funding for the existing highway, with just $30m for both projects required to come from Labor's $4bn debt-funded election war-chest.

Roads Minister Mark Bailey said there was a "locked and loaded" principle for an 80-20 split for projects "off the Bruce", but the state has not secured any kind of commitment on that front despite discussions.

"We believe the federal government needs to back this in," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said federal funds for the road were "already allocated to several upgrades and projects" so Labor had to "explain which part of the existing Bruce Hwy it wants to rip money from to fund today's thought bubble".

LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said Labor had been "caught ripping money out of the Bruce Hwy to fund a cobbled-together imitation".

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Editorial: Palaszczuk now following pacesetter Deb's lead

Annastacia Palaszczuk's plan for a "second Bruce Highway" is a risky move because it gives the impression that Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington is now the pacesetter of this campaign and the Premier is following her lead, writes THE EDITOR.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's plan for a "second Bruce Highway" is an intriguing pivot given Labor has spent the past three weeks denigrating the Opposition's long-term proposal to convert the Bruce Highway into a four-lane motorway from Gympie to Cairns.

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of the proposal itself, this is a potentially risky move by Ms Palaszczuk because it gives the impression that Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington is now the pacesetter of this campaign – and the Premier is following her lead.

It also indicates that Labor is concerned that it has not been able to shift the electoral needle in the direction it needs in the regions despite dominating the first fortnight of the campaign.

And it shows, again, the cynical nature of this campaign. To fund their inland highway, Labor has proposed the same 80:20 funding split with the federal government that it has been mocking the LNP for pursuing for its highway plan.

As The Courier-Mail's state affairs editor Steven Wardill wrote yesterday, voters are being assaulted with an array of mistruths by the major and minor parties at this election – and things have only got worse this week as pre-poll stations opened to huge queues.

Parties seeding mistruths that play to a stereotype is an unfortunate feature of modern campaigning. We saw it in 2016 with federal Labor's appalling yet successful MediScare campaign. And we are seeing it again in this state election over the claims being made about taxes and cuts. Spreading mistruths makes it more difficult for voters to determine what is real and what is not. This is unfortunate.

The best advice we can give Queenslanders is that they should engage with this election and investigate properly the policy details covered in their trusted media source and on the party websites instead of believing the advertising scare campaigns.

Queenslanders should also know that it remains their right to vote at any point they would like right up until 6pm on the official polling day itself; next Saturday, October 31.

The Electoral Commission has opened additional pre-poll venues – and extended opening hours – to cater for those who would prefer to vote early. But Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has repeatedly insisted that it is safe to vote on election day if proper social distancing protocols are followed.

And perhaps it is worth waiting – because what is clear from the behaviour of the major parties is that they think this election is far from over, despite polling suggesting the statewide vote is in Labor's favour. Most incumbents in post-COVID elections so far have cruised to victory, but both parties believe this is still a close contest in the few seats that will decide the next government. Labor's big highway promise yesterday showed that, as did Deb Frecklington's heavy-handed proposal for a youth curfew plan in crime-riddled north Queensland.

Another sign of how close this contest could turn out to be can be found in the efforts by Deputy Premier Steven Miles to persuade people to vote now, rather than wait until election day itself. Mr Miles did so in the context of accusing Ms Frecklington of being "arrogant" for having not yet released her policy costings. But that was an unnecessary comment that could spook some people out of voting at all, which is the worst outcome in a democracy that values every vote.

Dumb policy opens chinks into chasms ...   

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Proof election will be won or lost in the regions

Annastacia Palaszczuk's decision yesterday to fly to north Queensland again and announce a so-called "second Bruce Highway" plan shows Labor is struggling in critical regional seats.

Often in election campaigns, where politicians go and what policies they unveil says much more about how they're travelling than the words that spill out of their mouths.

That's why Annastacia Palaszczuk's decision yesterday to fly to north Queensland again and announce a so-called "second Bruce Highway" plan shows Labor is struggling in critical regional seats.

This was a high-risk policy for Palaszczuk, full of hypocrisy and holes.

Labor has spent the past three weeks denigrating LNP Leader Deb Frecklington's plan to four-lane the Bruce Highway from Gympie to Cairns over the next 15 years.

It was a "highway hoax", they reckoned, because the federal government hadn't committed the funding.

It wasn't necessary, they insisted, because there was already a long-term plan to upgrade the Bruce.

But clearly that strategy hasn't worked. So Palaszczuk has been forced to pivot just as early voting begins.

Unfurled from all the flowery rhetoric, the Premier's "second Bruce" announcement amounts to not much more than a decent upgrade of some existing roads.

And it contains the same funding arrangement as Frecklington's proposal under which the federal government would have to pay the bulk of the bill.

But Labor will be hoping that these details are lost on people and the policy will neutralise the issue. Frecklington was also in the north yesterday announcing a curfew plan for kids.

The controversial idea won't play well in inner Brisbane where there's few seats for the LNP to win.

But it will appeal where the curfew would be applied in Townsville and Cairns, where crime is a concern and there's marginal seats up for grabs.

So what does it all mean?

This election will likely be won or lost in the regions and remains tighter than some have led themselves to believe.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Battle of the Bruce: Bidding war to unblock Queensland's artery

The Palaszczuk government's pledge to create an alternative route to the Bruce Highway, inland from the current Queensland artery, has raised questions over funding and whether it will come to fruition.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack described the plan as a "thought bubble" while a north Queensland business manager on the Bruce Highway said "we've heard it all the time".

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has promised a second inland route from Charters Towers to the NSW border to take trucks off the main highway on Queensland's east coast.

The state has pledged $200 million for road and bridge upgrades from Townsville to Roma to support heavy vehicles on the inland route, funded in an 80-20 split with the federal government.

Bowen Holiday Park manager Leanne Henry said Bruce Highway traffic in north Queensland needed to be eased, even if that meant a negative impact on her workplace.

"The amount of trucks that go past here is unbelievable," she said.

"We have a 24-hour service station next door and all of the trucks call in there, it's just truck after truck after truck.

"It's not hard to sleep, but it makes it hard to listen to the TV or radio because there are just too many trucks."

Ms Henry has lived in Bowen for 17 years and previously lived on the Gold Coast, where her commute to work included using the M1, for 20 years.

"The M1 is a far better road," she said.

"[The Bruce Highway] is mostly a single lane [in each direction] up here and there are so many roadworks going on up here it's unbelievable.

"Bowen to Townsville normally takes around two hours, but now it takes 3½ hours due to the roadworks — it will be great when it's finished, but at the moment it's not good."

Ms Henry said she considered more overtaking lanes as a priority for the Bruce Highway.

"We're definitely in need of a Bruce Highway solution, it's good in places and bad in others," she said.

"In fact, work will start out the front of here on Monday to add more overtaking lanes."

Mr McCormack said he wanted more details on how and from where Labor's second Bruce Highway would be funded.

"The Australian government has a strong $10 billion commitment to the existing Bruce Highway – money which is already allocated to several upgrades and projects," he said.

"The Australian government has invested significantly in the inland road network in Queensland to support the efficient and safe movement of people and freight, including more than $1 billion under the popular Roads of Strategic Importance program.

"Making elections commitments is fine, but when you promise to spend money already allocated to existing projects, you need to be transparent about the communities from which you intend on stripping funding."

Queensland Trucking Association chief executive Gary Mahon said he expected it was "probably more in the order of $2 billion" that would be needed to bring the corridor up to the required quality, but the move was something for which the sector had pushed.

He said the "activation" of an inland highway was one of six election priorities the association took to Queensland political parties and Mr McCormack, who was also the federal Infrastructure Minister.

RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said an inland route had been on their wish list for some time and urged the federal government to support the project.

There is no timeline attached to the Labor plan. It has proposed a one-off $100 million boost to the existing budget — to be met by $400 million from the federal government — to prioritise flood mitigation and dual-lane upgrades between Proserpine and Mackay, and Rockhampton and Gladstone.

Labor has criticised the LNP's plan to widen the Bruce Highway to four lanes between Gympie and Cairns because it is yet to secure federal funding.

The LNP's proposal would begin with $50 million to planning the four-lane highway upgrade from Curra, north of Gympie, to Cairns. Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said she would then lobby the federal government to reach an 80-20 federal-state funding agreement for the $33 billion, 15-year project.

An increase to the annual Bruce Highway budget from $200 million to $440 million was also flagged, though the LNP is yet to reveal how it will fund any of its campaign promises.

Ms Palaszczuk and Ms Frecklington campaigned in Townsville on Wednesday, where there are a string of must-win marginal seats.

No mention of getting more freight onto rail ...   

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1318947626318929920

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1319006349477306368

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/DebFrecklington/status/1319787208392413184

[timh]

https://twitter.com/DebFrecklington/status/1319787208392413184

Wait, so on one hand they want to build the Eastern Busway but on the other hand want to """""upgrade"""" (read: widen) Old Cleveland Road!?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[verbatim9]

Every State and Council election cycle politicians do the old tramway walk along Old Cleveland Road. Yet no progress made over many years in regards to mass transit along that corridor. Widening car lanes will not result in reduced congestion. It only results in increased vehicle and motor bike use.

[verbatim9]

Breaking: LNP commitments fully funded and costed under an LNP led State Government

Brisbane Times----> LNP policy commitments fully funded

[verbatim9]

The @AnnastaciaMP @QLDLabor Active Transport Policy has just been released... $58m next yr + new bikeways along big road & rail upgrades + rail trails https://t.co/fQTwPFaeTa

@space4cyclingbn @bicycleqld @cbdbug @BrisbaneWestBUG @bicyclemackay @EASTBUG @BugNorth @AirportBug

https://twitter.com/MarkBaileyMP/status/1321682408966705152

[verbatim9]

Lnp Qld---> LNP GOVT WILL SCRAP CONTROVERSIAL M2M CYCLEWAY DESIGN – $6.7M

[verbatim9]

I couldn't find any specific Active Transport Policy from LNP Qld. They have mentioned improvements on the Sunshine Coast and from Springwood to Logan.

I assume LNPQLD would honour the work from the Statewide Cycling strategy from TMRQld as well as follow the initiatives set out by the Federal Government https://t.co/gvWvcJBsgt #QLDvotes2020

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1321832885578391558

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1322538206890348544

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1322537758561234945

[techblitz]

gee bad night for scomo......goes to the bledisloe to see the wallabies get thrashed....then later on...the QLD libs. 

[ozbob]

ABC QLD Election 2020 Results

https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2020/results?filter=all&sort=az

[Gazza]

Did anyone else have the impression the LNP only cared about North Queensland at this election?

Basically, they promised billions for the Bruce and the Bradfield scheme, and dont get me wrong its good to build up the regions, but they had no signature project in Brisbane to commence construction in this term of Government.

[achiruel]

I reckon the LNP thought they couldn't win seats in SEQ so they concentrated on trying to win Cairns/Townsville and failed miserably.

[techblitz]

No amount of sucking up or infrastructure building by blue/orange...regional or city could have changed the result......
Labor was always at the very minimum going to win due to their covid performance......they put safety before economics...pure and simple....and it was enough to ensure their return......regardless of how sh%t queenslands economy/unemployment rate is(worst in the country)...

[Gazza]

I disagree Techblitz.

The LNP were polling below 40% 12 months out from the election....As if they had a chance.

Ditto, Australia was headed for recession before covid too, unemployment rates in Qld were just a symptom of that.

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Open borders and light rail named as new government priorities

GOLD Coast business and political leaders are challenging the re-elected Palaszczuk Government to roll up its sleeves and find a way to safely reopen the city to visitor-rich Sydney and Victoria.

The Labor Government was re-elected despite a last-minute push from tourism bosses imploring voters to back the Opposition over the ongoing closed borders.

With the election now decided, Village Roadshow theme parks chief operating officer Bikash Randhawa said the focus needed to be on the economy.

"That appeal was not made because of a specific political party, it was made because we did not agree with a decision," he said.

"I congratulate the Premier but I sincerely hope she will work for everyone in Queensland and with Christmas coming up and the cloud of the election gone, she will be in a better position to communicate.

"The past is the past and the future is right in front of us."

Mayor Tom Tate also congratulated the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on her win and said he looked forward to working together for another four years: "There is much to be done and the priority needs to be getting our economy firing on all fronts again - and key to this is tourism," he said.

"We need to diversify our tourism offerings and get those borders open to as many regions as possible as quickly as possible.

"Light rail all the way to the airport must be locked in and budgeted for this term.

"We also need to see a commitment from the State to maintain its bushfire mitigation services here on the Gold Coast and to retain the World Surfing Reserve status quo - as a ceremonial title only.

"We need to roll up our sleeves - and get to work. There's a lot to be done. "

Destination Gold Coast chairman Paul Donovan welcomed the result but called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to appoint a southeast MP as the new Tourism Minister replacing Kate Jones.

"We also need to look at getting these borders open in a way that lets Sydney and Victorian people back into Queensland," he said.

"Operators are hanging out and nobody wants to risk a second wave here but we need some certainty going to the peak Christmas period."

Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall said the election result was good news for the extension of the light rail and the Coomera Connector.

However, he insisted that work must begin on both projects as soon as possible to stimulate the economy during the pandemic.

[techblitz]

^^
Yet it isn't stopping labor heavyweights coming out and talking up anna.p & her covid/borders performance..
Two that come to mind are her own father and party heavyweight wayne swan who predicted a close election but then stated labors border stance made it an easy victory for them.
Fairfax are also hammering it home on that front....
If 12 month prior polls end up similar to the final result......its nothing but a co-incidence imo....

[red dragin]

I feel Labor was trying to play the underdog card saying it was going to be close.

Meanwhile, the LNP is in the market for a new leader.

[achiruel]

No amount of sucking up or infrastructure building by blue/orange...regional or city could have changed the result......
Labor was always at the very minimum going to win due to their covid performance......they put safety before economics...pure and simple....and it was enough to ensure their return......regardless of how sh%t queenslands economy/unemployment rate is(worst in the country)...

Queensland's unemployment rate might be the highest in the country, however we are fourth in participation rate behind ACT, NT & WA (NSW is fifth by a small margin), and fifth in population:employment ratio (ACT, NT, WA & NSW ahead, although NSW only by a small margin). So the unemployment rate doesn't really tell the full story, in reality Qld is in about the middle of the pack in terms of employment.

[verbatim9]

The LNP should drop the slogan from Curra to Cairns Bruce Hwy duplication. A better option would be the duplication of  the Bruce Hwy Curra to Bundaberg within the next 8-10 years and improve the rail corridor as well to enable more electric hauled freight to take trucks of the road.  That would make the road safer, as well and address emissions, especially if the electricity for the freight trains is renewable.

[achiruel]

enable more electric hauled freight to take trucks of the road.  That would make the road safer, as well and address emissions, especially if the electricity for the freight trains is renewable.

That would require electric locomotives to be available for NCL freight, which I believe at the moment there are exactly zero of.

As all freight services have been privatised, it's not really within the scope of the State Government to change that.

[Gazza]

Agree, in the medium term, they should duplicate to the Bundaberg turnoff, with a bypass of Childers.

If you've ever driven it, it becomes very quiet through Gin Gin and Miriam Vale.

They could possibly focus on duplicating between Gladstone and Rockhampton, doing and doing the Rockhampton Ring Road.

Again, once you get past Rocky, its very quiet to Mackay.

Sarina to Mackay, and Ingham to Ayr, and Innisfail Gordonvale would be high priorities too.

Everything else should just be 2+1 for the medium term.

[Gazza]

enable more electric hauled freight to take trucks of the road.  That would make the road safer, as well and address emissions, especially if the electricity for the freight trains is renewable.

That would require electric locomotives to be available for NCL freight, which I believe at the moment there are exactly zero of.

As all freight services have been privatised, it's not really within the scope of the State Government to change that.

Didn't aurizon put out about becoming more carbon neutral and using electric where available?

[achiruel]

^ perhaps, but AFAIK all available/operational electric locos are used in the coalfields.

[verbatim9]

^ perhaps, but AFAIK all available/operational electric locos are used in the coalfields.

Doesn't stop them from buying electric freight locomotives in the future and utilising the electric lines where available.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Analysis: Time for failed LNP to cut excuses

The LNP is beset by a bunch of lazy, incompetent and irrelevant members who are clueless about the hard work required to beat Labor at a Queensland election. The fundamental difference between the two parties couldn't be more stark, writes Steven Wardill.

As the LNP sets about pulping the signs of another generation of failed candidates – and picking another leader – the party's remaining MPs have been trotting out familiar excuses.

It was Deb Frecklington's fault, Labor's fearmongering about borders, the hopeless efforts of party headquarters or some combination of the above.

Yet if these MPs really want to know why they've been trounced again, why they'll spend the next four years wallowing in opposition, they all, with few exceptions, only need to look in the mirror for the answer.

From frontbench to backbench, the LNP is beset by a bunch of lazy, incompetent and irrelevant members who are clueless about the hard work required to beat Labor at a Queensland election.

Saturday night's also-rans, like Amanda Cooper, Janet Wishart, Fiona Gaske and Henry Pike, would have served the party's interests far better than many of the layabout bench-warmers left in safe seats who aren't willing to get off their rear ends.

What's left of the LNP is a modest army of mostly greying old men in greying old suits, a group so homogenous that it's difficult to distinguish one from the other.

In the north, one party stalwart is already banging on about how the LNP merger is the issue and a regional deputy leader the answer.

What bunkum.

As one prominent LNP figure put it "the Titanic didn't sink itself. The crew did it".

Labor has been a single party with Brisbane-based leaders for decades and it manages to win regional seats.

Why?

Partly it's because of the way Labor sets about building regional members into brands, like Bruce Saunders in Maryborough, Barry O'Rourke in Rockhampton and Aaron "I used to be a paramedic" Harper in Thuringowa, which works to increase their profile in local media markets.

The LNP used to have figures like Lawrence Springborg and Jeff Seeney who could traverse the divide between the boardrooms of Brisbane and the bush, and icons like Vaughan Johnson who stood for something.

These days the party's western MPs don braces and flash suits when they come to state parliament but once they leave their property's front fence no one knows who they are.

On the Gold Coast, the party's older MPs spend their time at the track, posting Instagram selfies and lamenting about what might have been.

Or there's the totemic treachery of the "retired" Jann Stuckey and her laughable claim she used to single-handedly win Currumbin.

Stuckey has set about trying to tear down her successor to prove this point, even though her replacement is a young woman and precisely what the LNP needs.

Compare that to Labor's Meaghan Scanlon, who has taken her seat of Gaven from marginal to safe after Labor got behind her and built up her brand.

Or young LNP tyro Sam O'Connor who has worked tirelessly.

Sure, Frecklington's campaign didn't work because it pretended the pandemic was over when Queensland voters had a different idea.

Her "big, bold and ambitious" New Bradfield Scheme, Bruce Highway upgrade and rego rebate would have been great policies at a normal election but they wouldn't have stopped people catching coronavirus.

One Labor figure told me months ago that the LNP's problem was its failure to differentiate Frecklington from Annastacia Palaszczuk.

"It's a choice between the red one they know and the blue one they don't," they said.

But rather than seek to distinguish Frecklington, the LNP campaign dressed her up in hi-viz workwear and made her the mirror image of Palaszczuk.

Trying to out "Annastacia" Annastacia was never going to work.

The Monday's experts of LNP headquarters will be claiming the result confirms their view that Frecklington wasn't cutting it before coronavirus came along and vindicates their ill-fated attempt to blast her of the job.

"The only thing they were more scared of than Annastacia winning was Deb winning," is how one figure saw it.

Yet given they couldn't print the correct sized signs, organise how-to-vote cards to arrive on time or come up with a half decent negative advertising campaign, maybe in future its best they stick to their lane.

And then on election day, two former LNP presidents thought it a grand idea to sup with big Clive Palmer on his super yacht. This is despite the billionaire businessman being political kryptonite in Queensland and contesting the election against the party they used to lead. "Do you reckon (former Labor president) Dick Williams or (union boss) Bill Ludwig would have been socialising with Bob Brown?" one Labor identity pointed out.

That image will be used forever to link the LNP to Palmer.

The fundamental difference between Labor and the LNP couldn't be more stark.

One side is packed full of hardworking people who wake every day willing to do what it takes to win the next election.

The other side just arrogantly assumes Queenslanders will come to their senses and their only effort between elections is to raise their hand every so often to chop and change the leader.

What a bunch of losers.

^ savage rant from Steven.  But he is fundamentally on the mark IMHO.

It was interesting that the only party that responded to our PT priorities for the election was Labor (even if a bit late in the day).

The other majors - LNP Greens failed to engage with stakeholders the way Labor did.   LNP could have used the platform built up about the issues with CRR to go in hard.  They just didn't.  More interested in selfies on disused tram tracks.

We need a sharp on course Opposition, for the best outcomes.  I hope they get their act together.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1323268119532429313