Hmmm the courier mail does not seem to be at all happy with Campbell Newman.... The first hitch came via Alan Jones’s allegations that Newman had lied to him over plans for the New Hope coal mine at Acland. Initially, Newman batted away the accusations like a pro: Jones was a Sydney blow-in and this type of slur is just a repeat of the nonsense in 2012. And Newman should have left it there. As others have said, defamation suits just draw attention to matters best left dormant. Moreover, voters expect pollies to weather insults with a tough hide. It’s part of the game. For Newman to sue Jones at the height of a campaign reignites old claims about a glass jaw. But a similar accusation made by a respected Police Union president was always going to be damaging. When Ian Leavers said anyone who lies to police is capable of lying to anyone, you could feel LNP strategists cringe. But this, too, could have been avoided had Newman engaged police more closely. Then there are chicken dances best left to kids’ parties and not campaign trails. Ray Stevens’s failure to brush aside a journalist — instead of turning it into the story of the day — suggests LNP head office hasn’t been schooling MPs and candidates on campaign conduct. More damagingly, it is one thing to make accusations of opponents’ nefarious links (in this case to bikies) — which plenty of voters would have accepted — but it is quite another to reverse the onus of proof of those accusations. Most Queenslanders will shun this “guilty until proven innocent” mantra as decidedly un-Australian. Then there are warnings that certain infrastructure will be delivered only if LNP candidates are re-elected. Again, this is overreach that will almost certainly see southeast LNP marginals fall back to Labor. More clumsy still was the poor defence that newly elected MPs may have different priorities. Voters instead know that public policy spending decisions are made by ruling cabinets with parliamentary majorities, not by opposition MPs. couriermail.au/news/queensland-state-election-2015/opinion-wheels-falling-off-campbell-newmans-campaign-which-needs-to-stay-on-message-and-strategy/story-fnrab879-1227197385688
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:41:05 +0000
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