When is the Queensland media going to start giving Peter Beattie the bollocking he deserves for his gutless preference strategy and constant stunts? Hillary Bray wants answers now.

Yes, yes, yes. We all know that Peter Beattie has said that they’ll put One Nation last – but who believes what politicians say. The fine print tells a very different story.

Queensland has an optional preferential voting system, and the Queensland ALP has announced that it will not distribute preferences in most of the seats it is contesting and only giving a limited distribution in around 20 others. In other words, Labor isn’t putting One Nation or its spin-off, the City Council Alliance, last – and this decision means some of these candidates will almost certainly get elected.

Instead, Labor’s preference decision is a cynical attempt to beat National Party candidates in rural seats. At the 1998 State Election, Labor came third behind Coalition candidates in 12 seats, and its preferences were critical in deciding the final outcome in many of these.

Since 98, there has been a redistribution in Queensland, and on 98 figures there are nine seats where Labor came third where this time round ON or CCA candidates are running – Beaudesert , Callide, Cunningham, Gympie, Hinchinbrook, Lockyer, Nanango, Tablelands and Warrego.

Out of these, Lockyer is held by the CCA and Nanango and Tablelands by ex ON Independents. The 1998 ON vote exceeded 40 per cent in Nanango and Tablelands, with Labor polling some 10 per cent less that the Nats. The independent MPs in these seats have a good chance of winning the primary results – and without ALP preferences the Nats will be out in the cold.

In Lockyer in 98, the Nat vote was split between One Nation and an independent. Again, the current CCA MP is likely to win the primaries and – without Labor preference flowing through – keep the Nats out.

Callide and Gympie are now at risk because of Labor’s strategy, with ON or the CCA a good chance to win the primary vote. Labor is not preferencing, and with no incumbent Nat running in Gympie, things look bright for the rednecks.

B1’s self proclaimed “put One Nation last” strategy means that the City Country Alliance could win Gympie, ex One Nation “independents” keep Nanango and Tablelands and boost the ratbag parties chances in Callide and Gympie. If there’s a good vote for Pauline’s band of bigots and their ghastly bastard children, Labor’s preference decisions will have a major impact in at least five seats – and help anything up to four rednecks keep their seats.

One Nation are currently distributing brochures that read: “Gun Laws – the right for citizens to bear arms is guaranteed under our constitution and inherited laws. Armed citizens are the best deterrent to wayward government. We must return to previous gun ownership laws allowing free use to all shooters, offering training for novices and destruction of present government firearm records we don’t need more police, we need less crime.” And these are the people that Peter Beattie is trying to help? Jesus! We all knew that Queensland Labor was bent, but

Editor’s Note: And how cynical was B1 on the Sunday program yesterday gloating about how his swimming with sharks stunt had stopped people talking about Labor rorts. This guy has no shame gloating on national TV about the effectiveness of his circus in disarming a piss-weak media. Why aren’t the rest of the media getting stuck into Beattie over the rorts just like Sunday’s Graham Davis did yesterday? It is amazing that he can get away with not putting One Nation last, failing to stamp out the rorters until one minute to midnight and then pulling off a succession of stunts to deflect attention from the morally bankrupt rabble that he leads. The media has one last week to right this wrong.