The sum of money isn’t huge[1], but if you want to sum up the Newman government in a single policy decision, it’s this: to save $200k, they could either scrap the Premier’s Literary Awards or withdraw a promised grant to fund the next series of Big Brother. Of course, they went for Big Brother, and boasted about it.
Update Although the funding is gone, the Premier-free Queensland Literary Awards have gone ahead, with a win for Frank Moorhouse, who has just brought out the final volume in the trilogy that began with Grand Days. I’m very keen to read this – the first two books were superb.
fn1. Compared, for example, to the $100 million they splashed on vanity projects for the racing industry which could have saved the jobs of of 1000 or so nurses.
John Quiggin 
Newman prefers turkey slaps to “The Slap”.
Chac’un à son goût.
Book sales can be convincing awards.
No. Don’t really believe that. Think. Harry Plopper.
But formal awards are frequently no better.
Its an outcome that is not humorous. It reveals much.
In Victoria one of the first steps the Liberal government took was to abolish restrictions on developing the green belt areas around Melbourne – publicly-recognised Liberal Party contributor-developers will make a fortune from this move. Their next step was to permit commercial tourism development in state-run conservation parks. See who gets these contracts. I read this morning that the last reserves of a critically- endangered possum are to be logged.
These are irreversible decisions made on behalf of Chamber of Commerce sharpies and the purple rinse set that imperil our community’s future. They are nausea-inducing.
The brown paper bag economy is alive and well.
But when will Australia finally abolish the death penalty? That is, witness protection.
You old leftie! Such old fashioned ideas went with the collapse of the Berlin Wall!
The brown paper bag economy is alive and well.
But when will Australia finally abolish the death penalty? That is, witness protection.
Sounds like they’re getting stuck into making those “tough” decisions.
Not in favor of the words prime minister, or premier, being attached to any award. For that reason I applaud the demise of the award.
These scribblers hardly need encouragement anyway.
In relation to big brother, prior to knowing any of this I had been musing what is the point of a democracy if it can’t or wont legislate a program like that off the air.
Lets go loopidy loop….
http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/free-banking-and-lost-ideals-at-the-mont-pelerin-society/2012/09/12/
Campbell Neuman, could, of course, have donated to this big brother, who definitely know what’s good for us.
Free banking – exhilerating, like free-basing, just with money!
Clive Palmer certainly didn’t hold back of his criticism of Newman on Lateline last night.
CLIVE PALMER:
“It’s not good person versus bad person, it’s the community we’re worried about. State government is there to deliver a service the people – hospitals, schools and police. And all of us benefit by that, regardless of our political views. It’s not goodies and baddies; it’s just a good service to the community.
We’re a decentralised state, but we brought a Victorian in to tell us how we should run our state. He wasn’t elected and all he could say was that we haven’t – have got more public servants per capita than Victoria.
Well that’s been the case since Federation. There’s no great news about that. Queensland and Western Australia are decentralised states. We’ve got Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Cairns, Mount Isa, Townsville, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast to deal with.
We’ve got to provide those services across a great geographical area. And yet this guy wants to come in, sack people, so there’s a decline in services, so people get unemployed and there’s no money in the economy.
For god’s sake, get some advice from an economist, not from an ex-barrister or someone like that. But is this what it’s really about, or is he playing politics with the people of Queensland?”
Yes. Clive recognises that government needs to do some halfway satisfactory job if one is to have a reliable workforce to send down one’s dark satanic mines (or open cast for that matter)!
@hc
Spoken like a true conservative, Harry. Good on you.
(No sarcasm meant, implied or to be inferred).
True conservatism has a lot going for it. Not everything new is good, nor old bad.
It never ceases to amaze me how popular racing (gambling) is to some politicians. It creates jobs! they cry.
But there’s money in gambling. If you’re doing it right, lot’s of cash. Unmarked bills. Perfect for brown paper bags.
Or given politician’s acquired refinement – plain white envelopes.
check out what colin clueless (a mandate given by 64 votes)is doing to the public open space on the Esplanade in Perth.
and logging habitat of critically endangered unique wildlife?
west oz is right (wing?) down there with the worst of the eastern states libs.
Moder eh?
Just wait until all that Riverside Dve traffic gets funnelled through the tunnel May. Should be a hoot.
Given Qld susceptiblity to climate change damage, and flagging desirability as a retirement destination, I’m all for booting them out of the Ozizone. We could always replace them with the “land of the long white shroud” to retain the same number of states.
Nice to see the occasional literary award winner eviscerated. In this case a job lot from another continent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/anis-shivani/the-15-most-overrated-con_b_672974.html
Well. A position coming vacant at Australia’s self-described premier government advisor on all things right! So, let’s hope jq applies. Getting the gig is possible. There’s even talk that to choose they are considering experimenting with merit selection.
Wow! That’d risk that they could do the job!