After gaining a huge majority in the Queensland parliament, the new Liberal National Party (LNP) government is preparing its assault on unions, the public service and the environment.
Newly elected Premier Campbell Newman wasted no time in showing his intentions to escalate the neoliberal offensive, already started by the defeated Anna Bligh Labor government. He began by appointing leading Liberal Party honchos to key bureaucratic jobs in the administration.
On March 27, former Liberal state MP Michael Caltabiano and David Edwards — son of Joh Bjelke Petersen-era National Party treasurer Llew Edwards — were given plum jobs in the public service.
On March 29, former Liberal federal treasurer Peter Costello was made head of an audit of the state’s finances — aimed at preparing a plan for an all-out assault on the Queensland public sector and working people.
The LNP government has pledged to sell off the remaining state government stake in QR National — the rail freight network privatised by the previous Labor government.
Newman has also said he will scrap state government green energy, including the former government’s industrial waste levy on business. He has also withdrawn state government funding for the Solar Dawn solar power plant near Chinchilla.
Newman has announced a 3% cap on public service wage rises, which is less than inflation. It is likely the new government will make huge cuts in services and programs to fund the LNP’s $4 billion worth of election promises.
Serious industrial turmoil is brewing. The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has warned of a possible industrial confrontation similar to the 1985 South East Queensland electricity Board (SEQEB) dispute if Ergon Energy goes ahead with leaked plans to outsource electricians’ jobs to private contractors.
The ETU has also demanded to know if the new government plans to privatise the electricity industry.
Teachers have threatened industrial action if education cuts go ahead and Newman’s controversial plan to grant autonomy to selected schools is carried out. Another industrial conflict is looming with Queensland nurses over a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
The struggle to defend the rights and conditions of Queensland’s working people and the environment will escalate in the near future.
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