Tuesday, March 17, 2009

With an election coming up this Saturday in the Australian state of Queensland, Wikinews reporter Patrick Gillett previews the contesting parties.

The current distribution of seats has the Australian Labor Party with 58 of the 86 total, the Liberal National Party with 25, the Queensland Greens & One Nation with one each and independents holding four.

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is currently in government and have been since 1998. Current premier and leader of the ALP Anna Bligh will be, if Labor wins, the first female to elected premier in Australian history. Ms Bligh became the third female premier in Australian history when Peter Beattie resigned in 2007.

The premier has received criticism from other parties for backflipping on its commitment to run a full term. “After 11 years in office, Ms Bligh only cares about one job: her own,” said Lawrence Springborg head of the Liberal National Party (LNP) and the Leader of the Opposition.

The Liberal National Party is currently in opposition. It is seen as a prototype for a national merger between the Liberal and National parties. The Opposition need to pick up at least twenty seats from the government to overcome the significant Labor majority and a number of independents.

The Queensland Greens are the states largest minor party. The Greens unveiled its policy to open two solar power stations on the weekend of January 31/February 1.

“We can tackle climate change and create long-term jobs, but Labor can’t see that because they are blinded by the interests of their big donors – the urban development and coal industries,” said Mt Coo-tha candidate Larrisa Waters.

The Greens main policies have been stated “Green collar jobs”, “managing where the money is going”, education and transport.

“The Greens want to give the community and the environment a voice back in State Parliament,” says Ms Waters.

The Socialist Alliance will run two candidates as independents because of what they call “restrictive rules for registration.”

Wikinews conducted an interview with the Socialist Alliance on March 2rd in which they said, “That choosing between “tweedledee” and “tweedledum” once every few years is not real democracy, and with the planet in peril, facing an economic meltdown, and all manner of social problems, we can’t afford to leave sociaety [sic] in the hands of the pro-corporate parties.”

The Daylight Saving for South East Queensland (DS4EQ) party was set up in late 2008. DS4SEQ leader Jason Furze gave an interview to Wikinews in January. “DS4SEQ would like to gain a sizeable percentage of the primary vote and win a number of seats,” Mr furze said. Courier Mail writer Dennis Atkins wrote in today’s Courier Mail that DS4SEQ “will poll better than anyone expected – polling close to double figures in some seats around Brisbane and on the coasts.”

News Limited newspapers The West Australian and the Courier Mail reported that swing voters would decide the election.