Celebrate, as another state begins the task of dismantling pointless and damaging green gestures. Yesterday it was Victoria, today, Queensland.
And delicious irony, the man who set them up now has to take them down – brilliant, Campbell Newman!
QUEENSLAND Premier Campbell Newman has ordered Anna Bligh’s husband to begin dismantling green energy programs he helped create, as the new LNP government moved to slash environmental spending to offset the federal carbon tax.
The showpiece of the Gillard government’s $1.5 billion Solar Flagships Program is now in jeopardy, after Mr Newman yesterday pulled the plug on $75 million in state funding pledged for the $1.2bn Solar Dawn solar thermal project near Chinchilla, west of Brisbane.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson yesterday suggested the federal government might withdraw its own $464m contribution, promised only last month. “If the new Queensland government chose to breach the existing financial commitment to the Solar Dawn project, the Australian government would naturally need to consider its own position,” Mr Ferguson said.
Mr Newman yesterday declared his LNP government would axe seven other green schemes, on the grounds the carbon tax would make them redundant. “We now have a federal government that is imposing a great big carbon tax on us and the rest of the country that is meant to solve all these (environmental) problems,” he said.
Mr Newman has given the job of dismantling the programs to the bureaucrat who set them up – Greg Withers, who is married to Ms Bligh.
“We want him to unravel those programs ’cause he’s the bloke who set them up,” Mr Newman said. “There are rumours going around that he’s packed up his office. I want to say very clearly that is news to me; he is, as far as I’m concerned, an employee of the Queensland government, and we would like him to do a few things for us at the moment.” (source)
Great stuff.
But Gillard’s not listening, as she believes that people will warm to the carbon tax when it finally lands:
JULIA Gillard intends to tough out her dramatic collapse in support in opinion polling, convinced the looming introduction of the carbon tax will allow her to regain control of national political debate by exposing Tony Abbott as a scaremonger.
But Labor insiders are continuing to warn that the Prime Minister’s broken promise over the introduction of the $23-a-tonne tax has so badly undermined her public standing among voters that she must address the integrity issue and change her political style. As Ms Gillard and her advisers put their faith in seeking to shift the political debate towards the economy yesterday, the Coalition chimed in on cue with an internet video ridiculing her claim on Monday that voters could trust her to manage the economy by highlighting her pre-2010 election promise not to introduce a carbon tax. (source)
Let’s just hope people have long memories.
Australian Climate Madness 
Poetic justice or just a brilliant sense of humour either way I hope Tabbott has it in himself to do the same thing as well, we’ll see.EVERYONE concerned with this climate nonsense should be held PERSONALLY and FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE and or imprisoned for criminal FRAUD.Cheers
“..the looming introduction of the carbon tax will allow her to regain control of national political debate by exposing Tony Abbott as a scaremonger”
Finally being lumbered with something Australia doesn’t want, which we were promised we would not get, is going to make Abbott look like the bad guy.. yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense.
I just love it. Not only is his first priority laying an axe to the wasteful ‘green’ spending, he is making Blighs husband stay and dismantle the little empire he built, brick by brick.
Then, he invokes the Carbon Tax as the reason for dismantling the projects, thereby daring anyone to say ‘but the carbon tax won’t solve those problems’.
I hope this backbone shown by Newman infects O’Farrell, Baileu and Abbot and shows them the way that standing up to the green boondoggles, waste and idiocy is an election and popularity winner, not a vote loser.
Watch the next poll show a surge in Newmans popularity even further.
All together now …
Campbell Newman for PM!
Like a puppy having its nosed rubbed in it!
What I find interesting (and most annoying) is that every time a Labor (or Green) politician opens their mouth lately, they complain about Tony Abbott rather than say something useful, or answer whatever question was asked of them. How about they do/say something constructive, and stop their hate campaign against the opposition, then maybe they’d get some support…then again, perhaps it’s best they continue their idiocy so they definitely get the boot next year…
Nick, the Labor Party is already acting like it’s in opposition to the in-power LNP. There is an absence of strategy for the labor Party. They’re riding a losing horse and there is no other option but to hang on.
Ah, would Limited Intellect have anything to do with it.A brain dead mob of Gallah’s Who can’t even spell LABOUR, what do you reckon mate.Situation normal but not serious.Cheers
Let’s not forget that Greg Withers had his Queensland Government contract renewed in December 2011 by wife and now ex-Premier Anna Bligh.
“Mr Withers, put in charge of the newly created Office of Climate Change in 2007 barely a month after Ms Bligh became Premier, won a new three-year contract, with a further two-year option, on his $220,000-a-year package in December (2011).”
Add to that the fact that “Mr Withers stands to receive a six-figure payout if he is dumped.”
It’s cheaper for Queensland to keep Withers employed dismantling the green schemes than sacking him and appointing somebody else. Brilliant stuff!
And when he’s finished witht he dismantling, they’ll put him in a dark room and keep him on mundane tasks until his contract runs out. Fitting!
Don’t think I would like to be in Mr Wither’s boots, his next couple of years are going to be pure tedium !! And I hope he takes his frustrations home with him 😉
Long memories? If average people had long memories and a bit of understanding then election campaigns would be ineffective. The fact that shallow personalities and loud hype over several weeks seem to have a significant effect on people’s voting decisions is very sad.
It’s like being respected more, not less, by easily impressed shallow nonthinkers simply because of becoming permanently disfigured with a tattoo.
The above comments and action by Campbell Newman is oh sooosweet, it’s a beautiful thing to watch from so far away. Revenge is sometimes the only coarse of action!!!
I started a running total of the value of projects being dumped – I make it $605 million so far. How about a counter widget on ACM?
YE HAR.I AM MOVING TO NEWMAN COUNTRY AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO UP HOLD THIS NEW STATE. P.S STAY TRUE MR NEWMAN AND YOU COULD BE P.M ONE DAY
Sweet. sweet irony.
As the old adage goes ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer’.
Not only would Anna Bligh be spitting kittens over the disastrous loss at the polls, she now has to bear the humiliation of watching her husband go to work every day dismantling, yes, dismantling his perfect world. What agony.
Can it get better than this?
And yes, Tony, a dark room is where he belongs.
Campbell Newman has a wicked sense of humour.
There’ll be a few people jumping up and down protesting about this. But I’ll be celebrating with the overwhelming majority.
If Australians had wanted green policies and wastage, they would have voted for Bob Brown and the Greens at the last Federal election. But they didn’t… its just that Julia Gillard, it seems, has never figured that out.
Campbell Newman for PM !!!
Poetic Justice that the person that started the Sola Dawn Project, Mr Withers, husband of Ex Premier M’s Bligh, has now the job of dismantling the same project. If he leaves his job,loses a big pay out, as he is not going to be sacked, what a great sense of humour/stealth the new Premier has and ability to rub in in big time as well as saving Australian big tax dollars at the same time
Your anti-nonsense struggle is recognised even here, on the other side of earth (Sweden). Just keep it coming! You give us hope.
I’ve been watching from Canada. Great stuff is happening down there.
As a Queenslander, all I can say is HOW SWEET IT IS!!!!!
Newman is bloody brilliant. What a truly cunning plan. Now Qld has fallen spare a thought for us miserable Tasmanians with the most disfunctional labor/green state govt in history, following in gillards footsteps trashing our economy, ruining our industry, and killing our jobs. Libs still can’t get elected even with majority of primary vote down here all because this is the birthplace of the ecotard green party. Rally behind the consensus for change to put us out of our misery. Oh how sweet that would be!
Dara,Da,Da,Dar, I’m Lovin it!
@agwnonsense, actually “Labor” is the correct spelling for the party, oh and I’m pretty sure “Gallah” is correctly spelled “galah”. We’re not all brain dead in Tassie. Thanks for your support!