Anna Bligh
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh goes to the polls today as the nation’s first ever-elected woman Premier, and will more than likely end the day as member of a small Labor Oppostion.
Why do women in state politics only seem to get the top job in a government’s dying days?
Every state except South Australia has now had a woman as Premier or Chief Minister, all of them have got the gig before facing expected electoral annihilation. Anna Bligh defied history, and became the country’s first popularly elected Premier, but no one expected her to win (or so decisively) four years ago. Today, Anna Bligh is facing a smashing in the polls. She’s pretty much conceded defeat this week, publishing ads in major Queensland newspapers urging voters not to give too much power to her opponent, Campbell Newman.
As of this morning, Queensland Labor has a comfortable majority in Parliament: they hold 51 seats to the LNP’s (Liberal National Party) 31. Tonight there are predictions that Labor could hold as few as 12 seats. So what has gone so terribly wrong?
Truly, nothing major. Queensland’s state government has not been as scandal-plagued as the last NSW Labor Government that seemed to wake up every day to a fresh drama. But it is 20 years old.
Aside from 2 short years in the late 90s, the Labor Party has run the show in the Sunshine State since 1989. A year ago, it seemed possible that Anna Bligh could win an historic sixth term for her Party. She was riding high on polls that placed her comfortably in front of the LNP, after strong leadership during the Queensland flood crisis. 12 months on and the Premier’s Party is facing a massive swing which will take years to repair; the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan (also a Queensland boy) admitting Labor could be ‘wiped out’.
Campbell Newman
Anna Bligh’s opponent – Campbell Newman – has modelled himself on the Tony Abbott/action man style of politics, repeating a mantra throughout the campaign that Queensland will become the “Can-Do” state under his leadership. He’s breaking new ground too, as the first leader of a party to seek Premiership without even holding a seat in Parliament.
As for Anna – yep, she’s had some unpopular reforms – but all governments have to make tough decisions at some point. She’s widely regarded as a people person, and is known to not leave a room until speaking to everyone in it. That leaves me feeling a bit sad about today. Not because my politics are left of centre (ok, maybe just a little bit). But I’m really sad because Anna Bligh is a woman, and I feel like she’s being used as a pawn by her party as they head into defeat.
She joins Carmen Lawrence, Joan Kirner and Kristina Keneally in the political graveyard of women who were picked as an interim measure in the face of electoral defeat. I can’t say I know the reason that Anna Bligh has decided to fight this election as the leader, but it’s high time both sides of politics stopped using women as a sacrificial lambs.
Anna Bligh will be remembered as the first elected woman premier – here’s hoping there’s many more to come.
Zoe is a freelance journalist and voiceover artist. In a former life she worked for two State Health Ministers, and is currently studying for her Masters of Politics while being a full-time Mum. She is often seen with a latte in one hand and a phone in the other. Find her on twitter @talkingzoe.
Comments
74 Comments so far
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The biggest problem for female politicians is that female won’t vote for them. Like in a Federal election there were 133 seats contested by females. Only 42 were elected. All would have won on the votes of females alone. The What Women Want Party which started in SA and contested a Federal election didn’t even get 4% of the vote so didn’t get any funding and folded. Same with the Australian Women’s Party in NSW.
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Goodbye Labor. You have ceased to exist as an opposition in Queensland and after your disgusting treatment of the State, the Nation and Campbell Newman it is no less than you deserve.
Bring on 2013
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I’m so sorry you lost Anna. Campbell makes my skin crawl. I hope you have a good rest.
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She is going to have a great rest. Do you know how much money she walks away with ?
Mind you, none of them, regardless of political persuasion should be a away with an amount like that for the rest of their life. I don’t accept the line that a politician could have earned far more out in the public sector. Sad fact is, looking at track records of parliamentary achievements…most of them would be unemployable in the public sector.
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The greatest political dummy spit of all time !
My party lost the election, I won my seat. So to all those in my electorate who supported me again this time by handing out the “how to vote” cards, fund raisers and actually giving their vote to me……here is the bird !
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No mention here that Zoe Arnold is Craig Thompson’s wife. No mention at all. For those who are unaware, Thompson is a federal Labor member under investigation for allegedly squandering funds contributed by HSU members on hookers and other personal indulgences. Zero credibility Mamamia, showing your red colours well and truly, once again. Tsk tsk.
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I agree SophieBee. Full disclosure should be demanded when making comments – especially political comments. I am aware of Craig Thompson but not of Zoe Arnold , so thank you for pointing this out. Can this be anything other than a deliberate non disclosure by Mamamia ?
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Mark, Mamamia is not supposed to be a pure political discussion forum, although a lot of their pieces end up taking that slant. I dare say if a wife of a conservative MP wrote a rather biased piece, there would be disclaimers all over it stating exactly who the author is. Another example of why Mamamia is losing credibility by the day. Sheer and utter inconsistency based on which political party they support.
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Yes, I noticed that as well. Not a good look.
But the scoreboard on Saturday night certainly was. Glorious to see and the personal attacks on Campbell Newman were the final straw. Decent, normal Australians have had a gut full of the lies, corruption, incompetence and deceit and Labor got what they deserved.
Well Done Queensland. You have given me the strength to get through the next eighteen months.
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I’m no fan of Everything-Must-Go-Buy-it-Now-Anna…. BUT having grown up only knowing Joe Bjelke-Peterson as Premier, I’m scared. Really scared.
We have no opposition, which is a big deal in a state with no House of Representatives.
Opposition are the ones who amend bills and prevent corruption. There will be no checks and balances.
I’m scared for when they start fracking for CSG near one of our major water supplies and there’s an accident. I’m worried for the Great Barrier Reef.
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I’d like to know why you are scared by the result of the election.
Had it been the case where Labor held 78 seats and the opposition members the other eleven seats, would you be as equally scared ? I’ve heard it said so many times….this is the parliament that the public elected.
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Hi Bradley, yes, I’d be just as scared if the ALP had that many seats. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The problem is not the people, but the entrenched notion of “Just Vote 1″.
Lots of people think that by doing this, the party can then give preferences if they lose in that seat. That’s not true – those votes are “exhausted” and count for nothing. If you number every box and your first choice doesn’t win, your vote will go to your second preference.
By the way – Anna retires on $150K a year in government pension and her husband (who’s contract was resigned for 3 years in December) walks away with a $600K termination payout.
I expect to see Anna in Federal Politics in a few years and I’m also sure that she was pushed by her party so that a leader can go into what is probably the safest seat at the moment.
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is this one of those cases where people outside the state/country think far more highly of the politician than those inside? The division in comments below reminds me of 2008 when US President Obama seemed to be far more popular internationally than amongst Americans.
I happen to think she’s a very able politician, but maybe that’s because we only get information about the state of QLD politics in minute quantities in Victoria.
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a happy day for clive palmer
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Well done Queensland. An annihilation and a glimpse into the future for the Federal Election. They don’t even have enough seats to be considered a party! Ha! A well deserved thrashing and best wishes to Campbell Newman and the LNP.
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I cant think of anything polite to say to you!!
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I applaud the fact that you appear to be so gracious in defeat.
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Zoe, you thing selling off 15 Billion dollars worth of assets, only to still be in enormous debt is nothing major?
The best part of this election is that the ALP in Queensland are back to their natural habitat, opposition.
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Privatisation is a liberal policy!!!!!!!! I assume you’re a Liberal supporter Shane, so how can you attack this??
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How can you say that privatization is a liberal policy when sell off of public assets started with the Hawke government over 20 years ago?
The reason I mention it is that Bligh had been a minister for some time before becoming premier, and for her to conceal the real state of qld finances by not mentioning selling assets during the election campaign, then suddenly saying the assets absolutely must be sold means that she either lied through omission, or she didn’t have any idea how bad the state’s finances were. So she was either a liar or incompetent. Take your pick.
Even if sale of assets is a liberal policy, that doesn’t mean I have to agree with it even if I am a liberal voter.
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How in the world has Anna Bligh been used as a pawn as the Qld ALP flounders? She was elected to the role in her own right and obviously the public are not impressed with her leadership and her government between then and now.
This article reads as a “women are victim” piece and frankly I am pretty disappointed it has been published. These women know what they are getting into entering the world of high profile roles in politics and I think we should applaud their courage and tenacity to be there in the first place.
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I disagree Bligh was used as a pawn and her appointment was very different to Lawrence and Kirner. Yes, in the 90s, the party machines did use women to try and revive their ailing govts but this simply wasn’t the case for Bligh. Beattie & Bligh had the numbers stitched up for some years prior to her succession.
She won a large majority at the last election and is about to get punished for one decision only and that was to push privatisation. I will never understand why given that privatisation is about as popular to the electorate as Rush Limbaugh is to feminists.
What is disturbing is how many seats KAP will win. Already polling strongly. *cringe*
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Anna Bligh once toyed with the idea of becoming a Nun. That’s never mentioned but Tony Abbott’s brush with vocation is used to insinuate a sinister flaw.
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Well, maybe that is because Anna Bligh has never publicly declared that women should remain virgins until marriage.
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No, but I didn’t see her demand the Heiner Affair be exposed, though.
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Neither did Tony Abbott. If you believe that he did then it just means that you’ve fallen for the spin.
What Abbott said was when asked when he thought a good time for his daughters to have sex, was to say that he like to see them wait as long as possible.
The portrayal of that simple statement and the way it has been misconstrued and twisted by wome’s groups and the left wing media is nothing short of disgusting.
Yet the same people remain remarkably silent about Bob Hawke’s endless screwing around.
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OMG Zoe – I don’t think I’ve ever read a more anti-woman article. This situation has nothing to do with Anna Bligh being a woman. She was gifted a strong government and State and has run both into the ground. Beattie handed over power 2 years before the last election. She lost seats, but won the election. This is her, and her government’s own doing. Please don’t pull out the old “it’s because she’s a woman”. It’s really disrespectful to all women.
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Agreed. Very disappointing to see this turned into a ‘it’s because she’s a woman’, victim mentality regarding ‘her’ loss tonight. It’s the party that lost, not Anna on her own. As has already said, Anna WON on her own right last time, she screwed up and is paying the price. Welcome to politics, regardless of your gender.
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Absolutely right. As a Labor supporter all my voting life I do not feel sorry for Anna Bligh at all. She made bad choices in the people she trusted with portfolios especially the Ministers for Environment, Tourism and Health.
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When a political party is doing a good job, it wins elections regardless as to the gender of the leader. But for a few brief weeks during the summer of natural disasters, the Premier of Queensland and her colleagues did not perform well.
It’s such a good line, it deserves to be repeated. Oppositions do not win elections….governments lose them. The size of the loss is representative of the number of ordinary folk that has been cheesed off.
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You get to see the pattern after awhile. Labor inevitably gets itself into deep poo with its never ending scandals, botched policies, empty symbolism and atrocious fiscal management.
Then it’s groundhog day for the spin doctors – ‘If we give the leadership to a woman then the Opposition has to watch its P’s and Q’s, the media will applaud our progressive views and we’ll capture the votes of women who are silly enough to vote for us just because we have a woman leader.’
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It does concern me when I hear/ read people saying they hope the ALP stops existing as a party. No need to be so one eyed. We need big parties from both sides of the political spectrum.
I don’t think Anna Bligh used the floods to her advantage as such.
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You’re absolutely correct Faybian, we need a strong ALP. They make outstanding oppositions.
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So you think having only one party ever get to power is ideal????
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Not really Faybian, of course we need strong political parties to keep the government of the day accountable. Every party needs a cleaning out every now and then, so it’s not such a bad thing that Labor will be forced to find new candidates.
In 4 years there will be a little more balance in the election, and the new crop of Labor candidates will win some seats back.
I just happen to despise the ALP as a party with their non democratic internal structure and parliamentary caucus. At least the Liberals can cross the floor and vote with the opposition without fear of being kicked out of the party. The Caucus system essentially destroys freedom for a politician to vote on what they believe is right.
Apart from that, we have never had a Labor government leave office in a better financial state than when they arrived.
So in my perfect world I’d have the libs in power for 80% of the time to keep the finances right, and then ALP for the other 20% to introduce the humanitarian reforms that we need from time to time.
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I think she did try and use floods to her advantage. There were 2 ads the alp were showing. One was the extremely negative campaign against Newman and the other was her speech during the floods.
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Yes, she did play on it and it wasn’t necessary because we in Queensland could not fault her at all during that terrible time in 2011. She won all our hearts and minds but to go after Campbell Newman the way she did when she shouted in Parliament that Campbell Newman would end up in jail and then kept reinforcing it throughout the campaign only to be left with egg on her face, only caused further damage to the Labor Party.
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Typo of Anna Blight made me giggle.
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“Every state except South Australia has now had a woman as Premier or Chief Minister, all of them have got the gig before facing expected electoral annihilation.”
Nitpick: Only territories have Chief Ministers. The ACT has had two female chief ministers, Rosemary Follett and Kate Carnell, both were elected in their own right and not before expected electoral annihilation. Both also won subsequent elections.
Interesting article and food for thought.
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Actually we have had three female Chief Ministers – although Katy Gallagher has yet to win an election in her own right.
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You’re right – I knew I was missing someone! I left Canberra before Jon Stanhope resigned so Katy Gallagher didn’t come to mind when I was writing. Thanks
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This article is so disrespectful of Anna Bligh specifically, and female politicians in general. She is so much more than the fall girl for the Labor boys.
If you want to know why Qld is about to give Labor the boot read Anthony Green.
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Anthony Green rocks. He is the most interesting political commentator out there.
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This is a good question, Zoe, and one I have often asked myself. I don’t know the answer but it has seemed as though the party room are saying “well, things can’t get any worse, if we put in a woman in it will look like we believe in equality and we are going down in the next election anyway…..” . Puzzling. I think politics is till a bit of a boy’s club.
I am sad about today for the same reason you are.
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Once again, I just see a woman journalist and MM contributors with h-u-g-e chips on theirs shoulders. Get over it girls.
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Some see chips, I see 37 years of experience as a woman, a voter and an observer of the political spectrum in Australia. The reasons why we do not have more women in powerful positions in politics in this country are complex, not to be written off with a cliche (or two)
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We’ll never win the race while Emily’s List keeps running nags. Harsh but true. Let’s call a spade a spade. The women on the Opposition are there on their own merit. They’re not used by the boys club as head nodding vote catchers and they’re not pushed into preselection by a lobby group.
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Nags? You seem to have a lot of respect for women.
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The term “nag” has been used here as a metaphor. In other words, hacks won’t win the race regardless of gender.
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I actually couldn’t care less – man or woman – as long as they are the best person for the job. But right now, I think our federal leadership is woeful. And the fact that we have a female PM has no influence on my opinion.
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Really? Do we want to play the victim again? Muscle up ladies- all of these women have chosen to take these jobs at these times. Let’s stop complaining and start taking responsibility for our own decisions- good or bad.
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Im actually looking forward to see Anna Bligh gone. I have no respect for someone who uses the big Brisbane floods to make them look good when its her workers that caused them by letting the damns get to full. I also really hope The can-do team get in and follow their promises.
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I hope they don’t follow their promise to repeal same-sex civil union legislation and maybe take a closer look at the literature on juvenile crime before pursuing an expansion of naming-and-shaming laws in order to tackle juvenile crime and recidivism, but other than that I’m hoping they stick to what they’ve said.
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100% agree with you there Shannon. Their plan is to have youth detention centres under the same umbrella as adult corrective services. Great. Just what we need. Big burly heavy-handed corrective services officers working with our kids. Not to mention the implementation of bootcamps for juveniles (which have proven to be ineffective). How about investing those resources into highly under-resourced early intervention/diversion/restorative justice programs?
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Steph, that’s a rather tunnel visioned view of the situation. A city built on a river, extensively on flood plains, is going to get flooded. Dam or no dam. Hardly think that was Anna Blighs fault. It was an unprecedented event, so the situation is hardly black and white. Lets not get small minded about the situation and minimise the terrific efforts and work that everybody put into dealing with a rather difficult situation.
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‘Truly, nothing major.’ Seriously? How many industrial shredders do you think they would have had running for the last month? They’ve got form in shredding evidence – Heiner Affair.
Clearly we have a different take on what constitutes ‘major.’ I don’t like corruption. I don’t like being lied to. I don’t like deceit and cover ups and economic vandalism.
I hope they get their A’s kicked in a very MAJOR way and I hope the ALP cease to exist.
And I hope that the cobbled together misfits in Canberra take notice because it’s their turn next.
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The ALP cease to exist? While there is technically more than two parties, Federal and State politics in Australia is basically a two horse race… do you honestly think giving people one choice is a wise idea? The great thing about living in a democratic society is the fact that we have a choice. I understand why people are fed up with the ALP, but to propose this party ceases to exist sounds like you’d prefer to live in North Korea.
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Clairecam, maybe the ALP mistakenly think they are governing North Korea? Getting into bed with the Greens has been the final straw for middle of the road supporters.
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Speak for yourself only please, not for the rest of us. Both parties have gone towards the middle of late. For example I still remember the first time I voted in a federal election in the 80s and John Howard was all for getting rid of Medicare. They lost and have never tried to bring that idea back in. Public health care is a pretty left of centre policy.
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Sorry, in case anyone thought i was channelling Fabian, I most emphatically deny it.
GreenLabor is as far from the middle as you can get and the heavy influence of the communist sympathisers of the Greens is the reason. In the late. 70′s I had a fair bit to do with ACP members. I’d tell them they’d never be in power in Australia and they said they most definitely would be, it’s just that we wouldn’t know it was them. Well, they were correct. They are there, using the environment as a cover.
Labor prostituted themselves to remain in power. They will never govern again without being in coalition with the Greens. Therefore, I’m out.
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I agree, the coalition of green and labor is not middle of the road politically speaking, but the ALP by itself has become more middle of the road of late.
Apparently you have a crystal ball and can predict who will be in power can you?
Remember the liberals have not gained enough votes to gain power by themselves for years either, so I guess a left leaning and right leaning coalition (of sorts, the green labor one isn’t cemented) is not unreasonable.
Oh and for the record, if you’re picking up on my nom de plume, I’ve had this nickname since I was a teenager. My first name is Fay. So I use it here. I know about the Fabian society and don’t really care about them, or Emily’s list or the liberal women’s organization (forgotten the name).
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if tony abbott had got his way and negotiated better he would be in bed with bob brown. he’s still tantruming about that!
and in fact i think a lot of labor supporters are very glad to have the ALP and Greens together.
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The LNP don’t support the closure of our coal industry. They don’t support bans on Israeli imports and rallying outside businesses owned by Jews. They wouldn’t bend over for a carbon tax that will have no effect on the climate but a huge impact on every corner of the economy and see billions of our dollars sent offshore to buy pieces of useless bits of paper from shonky sheisters.
They were never going to hop into bed with the Greens.
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listen to miffy. miffy knows all.
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hear hear
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Just to clarify – my round of applause above was in support of ML
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Ta!
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Yes…. Let’s hope that the ALP cease to exist, democracy is just so overrated.
*Sarcasm*
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Well you know,”democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”.
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Agreed, Curiouser. You don’t like ALP, don’t vote for them. Or am I missing something here?
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Anna Bligh got the Leadership as Premier on 21st March 2009 – this is hardly dying days … She was a cabinet minister with Premier Beattie, with full knowledge of the how the state was being run , full knowledge of the corrupt levels of a government she wanted to lead.. Like a lot of women in politics they are political opportunists, them first and to hell with the rest..Anna Bligh got her husband a top Exec level govt role , has comfortably set up her retirement and couldn’t care less about this argument or any like it…
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Anna Bligh actually became Premier of Queensland in September 2007, in the lead-up to a 2009 election (in March) that she was widely expected to lose – but didn’t. That she won the election doesn’t override the fact that she was elected to the position of Leader in the face of presumed defeat.
Joan Kirner became Premier of Victoria in October 1990 at the height of dissatisfaction with the Cain Labor government. She lost the election held in 1992 in a massive landslide to Kennett’s Liberal government that almost had enough seats on its own to not need the Nationals in coalition.
Joan Kirner was Premier for longer than Bligh would have been if – as the pundits expected, the ALP had lost the 2009 election.
There is an absolute pattern of ALP parliamentary parties electing women to take the fall in elections. It’s possibly surprising that it took them as many tries as it did in NSW to get to Kristina Keneally. Clare Martin in the NT as Chief Minister is I think the only time (haven’t checked the ACT, but their demographics make ACT elections a little different to the rest of the country) that a woman as Opposition Leader has become Leader of the party in government via an election. Bligh is, I believe, the only woman to be *returned* as leader in an election she went into as leader. Even Gillard cannot claim this honor, due to the hung parliament in 2010. In Tasmania, Laura Giddings is yet to face an election.
And I say all this as someone who would, by far, prefer the ALP to be in power despite their stuff ups and centrism.
(edit for missing sentence)
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My reply was directed to the subject of the article which is why does alp put women in positions of leadership in the dying days of govt- your correction just sustains my argument that Anna Bligh certainly did not take leadership in dying days of givt -far from it and still managed to get hubby a better job promotion!
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