Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his support. I must say that the person who would be most upset, most concerned, by the decision of the two coalition parties in Queensland to set aside 25 years of self-indulgence will be the Premier of Queensland, Mr Beattie, whose government appears to be losing all of the wheels off the cart. We had the disaster over health. We can barely open a newspaper anywhere in the state without finding out additional problems that the Labor government in Queensland is experiencing.

Let us just place some of the facts before the parliament. I am indebted to the state director of the Liberal Party, Geoff Greene, for this information. The executives of both the Liberal Party and the National Party in Queensland resolved to progress discussions for a possible merger of the two parties under the Liberal Party of Australia Queensland Division constitution. This is the first positive step in the process of discussions that could provide unprecedented unity, giving the Liberal Party the best chance of beating the incompetent and arrogant Beattie Labor government at the next state election. Constitutional changes, if any, will be decided after further talks and ongoing consultation with both organisations and parliamentary wings as well as the rank and file membership. The proposed merger does not mean the creation of a new party.

When one looks at the newspapers around the country, one sees a whole lot of misinformation at work out there. It is important to correct that misinformation. I want to raise some of the questions that have been asked and to give the appropriate responses. The first question is: do merger talks between the Queensland Liberal and National parties mean a new conservative party will be formed? The answer is no. Despite media reports, there is no talk of forming a new conservative party, and the Liberal Party would not be changing its name to ‘The New Liberals’. The merger would not form a new conservative party in Queensland, but rather talks are centring on The Nationals joining the Liberal Party. Discussions with the Queensland National Party leadership will continue to this effect.

People ask: what did the state council of the Liberal Party decide on Sunday? The Queensland Liberal Party state council and The Nationals’ equivalent agreed to support further talks between the two parties on the issue of a merger under the Liberal Party of Australia Queensland Division constitution. The motion passed reads as follows:

State Council congratulates the working party on ongoing discussions with the National Party to date and authorises the working group (President, State Director, Con and Rules Chairman) to continue discussions with the Parliamentary Parties and Federal Party Leadership in regards to the merger of the two parties under the Liberal Party of Australia (Qld Division) Constitution.

People ask: what are the benefits of the Queensland Nationals joining the Liberal Party of Australia Queensland Division? Why is this proposal better than the coalition?

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