The headlines said it all.
“BEATTIE TO FIGHT PLUMMETING POLLS.”
“BEATTIE AT NEW LOW.”
“END OF LOVE AFFAIR WITH PREMIER PETE.”
One was ominous.
“BEATTIE ADDRESSES LABOR FAITHFUL.”
Once upon at time, politicians in trouble would engage in some foreign military intervention which in those days could be popular.
Not any more.
So what do we have today?
You guessed it – republicanism.
I guarantee that this distraction will be used by desperate politicians on both sides until the truth finally dawns on them.
It will not get them one more vote, or one better poll.
It won’t even help the republican cause-but this doesn’t worry most of the so-called republican politicians. You see, many of them couldn’t care less about the republic. They just think that if they push the republic, people won’t notice what a mess they have made.
And even the media didn’t take Mr Beattie’s revival of the republicanism seriously. After all, he’d tried this a few months ago.
The Australian (12 September, 2005) gave the comments the greatest indignity they could.
They put them in their vaudeville column,”Strewth”!
It even had a comedy headline:
“TAKING QUEENS OUT OF QUEENSLAND”
“QUEENSLAND Premier Peter Beattie entered the republic debate when he gave the Light on the Hill address at Bathurst on Saturday night. "We cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with the United Kingdom when we are still bowing and kneeling," Beattie thundered. "It’s time we stood up." And if you’re going to change the world, best to start at home, where a Brisbane university newspaper says Beattie is trying to get rid of Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce by moving to clarify that she can only appoint or dismiss ministers in accordance with constitutional conventions and on the advice of the premier.
Beattie has already made Bryce pay tax (the first time for a Queensland governor) and gone part of the way of having parliament choose future governors.”
And of course there was this punch line:
"Not very Queens-land of him."
Until next time,
David Flint