National-Liberal Parties, Merger
Posted by Administrator (admin) on May 15 2008
2008 >>

PETER LAWLOR (SOUTHPORT):

One of the key requirements of corporate takeovers is due diligence. I want to urge the National Party to be rigorous in its due diligence of the finances of the Queensland Liberal Party before it consummates the takeover in a couple of month’s time. There are reports that the Queensland Liberal Party is up to its ears in debt, possibly as much as one million dollars, again. What’s new? What’s new is that the position is more desperate than ever, so much so that the Liberal Party is engaging debt collectors to hound poor defeated candidates from the last federal election for moneys allegedly owed to the state Liberal Party office.

How desperate can Geoff Greene possibly get? A few months ago I advised the House that the Liberal Party State Director had raided the campaign bank accounts of sitting federal MP’s, defeated MP’s, and failed candidates. Apparently Gary Hardgrave’s account was “relieved” of close to $100,000. But the Liberal Party remains in dire financial straits. No wonder the State President, and State Director, are desperate to be taken over by the wealthy Queensland National Party. T

he National Party needs to ask the question – where did all the money go? And I suspect the answer – if it is given honestly – it will be on the Liberals failed Gold Coast City Council election campaign. This campaign, run by Geoff Greene, cost well over a million dollars and has to be regarded as one of the most unsuccessful major party campaigns in Australian political history. Over a million spent – not one seat won! It is little wonder that Geoff Greene, and the state president he wanted, Gary Spence, are falling over themselves to be taken over by the National Party. The Nationals will assume their debt – and Geoff Greene will be the State Director of the new entity. My colleagues and I sometimes ask – will our Liberal Party-driven luck ever run out? But there is also little wonder the National Party is enthusiastic about this takeover......even if it means swallowing a one million dollar Liberal Party debt.

The structure of the entity to emerge from the takeover will bring tears to the eyes of the political descendants of Joh Bjelke Petersen and Russ Hinze. The gerrymander the Goss Government abolished – and the Liberal Party fought against for years – is back! Under the new administrative structure there will be ten regional councils that will be represented on the state executive. Only two of the regions – two of ten – will be in Brisbane. Twenty per cent of the regions for forty per cent of the population! But it gets worse. The whole of South East Queensland will have four of the ten regions. Just forty per cent of the votes for over two thirds of the population!

This is a gerrymander that even Russ Hinze would blush at! And the real losers from this gerrymander will be Liberal Party members and supporters on the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast provides almost half the Liberal Party seats here – and all the Gold Coast federal seats are held by the Liberal Party. The new administrative structure is not only a gerrymander, it also treats the Gold Coast, and particularly Gold Coast Liberals with contempt. And it even treats the remnants of the National Party on the Gold Coast with contempt as well. Is it any wonder the National Party is desperate to consummate this latest shot gun wedding? And it is any wonder that more and more Liberals are questioning what is a total sell out masquerading as a friendly takeover?

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