Don’t reward Labor insincerity over councils
22nd November, 2007
Kevin Rudd should get no mercy on Saturday for his role in undemocratic forced local government amalgamations in Queensland, Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss said.The State Labor government has used a report developed under federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd when he was Premier Wayne Goss’s right-hand-man in 1992 as its template for the current council amalgamations.
Former Premier, Peter Beattie demanded that that the Local Government Reform Commission, the body that recommended the current amalgamations, “have regard” to the Rudd/Goss era report that generated the previous round of forced mergers in 1992.
Mr Rudd and Mr Beattie both used former Local Government Minister and Labor party strong-man Terry Mackenroth to do their dirty work in forcing the amalgamations through.
“Mr Rudd now says he favors the plebiscites that the Australian Government has ensured Queenslanders will get but it’s clear the man who talks about a fork in the road talks with a forked tongue,” Mr Truss said.
“The only reason Kevin Rudd’s now in favour of plebiscites is because he fears how people will react to the forced mergers at the ballot box.
“On Saturday, they should send Labor a very clear message.
“A drubbing for Kevin Rudd may be the only way to get the message through to Minister Bligh, and it would be an appropriate response to Mr Rudd’s real role in these amalgamations — as their architect,” Mr Truss said.
ENDS
