Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will take that interjection. This year I was on Sky TV during the March landslide. The Labor Party was consigned to the dustbin that election night, with only seven Labor MPs returned. It was a tough night to be on TV. I clearly remember what Clive Palmer said about Premier Newman and how it was going to be a grand new tradition. He is of course no longer a member of the Liberal National Party—only six or seven months later.

I remember the first statement from the Deputy Premier was, 'We want the Great Barrier Reef to be smaller.' I thought, 'Hello, this could be a problem.' But I thought that maybe that was just a one-off from Deputy Premier Seeney. Then we get the jobs for the boys—Caltabiano appointed to the transport department—we get the nepotism; we get the redefining of 'front-line', even for nurses and BreastScreen Queensland people; we get hard-fought, negotiated workplace agreements torn up; we get 14,000 people sacked; and we get 26,000 people losing their jobs. It is unbelievable. My message tonight is that I am starting a new campaign to say to Premier Newman: 'I want my state back. I do not want to go back to the Queensland I grew up in. That was a different time. Put those white shoes away.' I respect the democratic process but I can make a comment about the direction of my state. Give me my state back, Premier Newman. (Time expired)

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