It isn’t true, it’s not smart politics, it’s authorised by the Queensland Nationals and it is on a billboard just metres away from where Campbell Newman started his billboard campaign to rid Brisbane of gridlock.
I know people from National Party Headquarters read these posts, so here is my free advice – get that billboard down as fast as you can, because it won’t do your next campaign for government any good. Newman may have won the Lord Mayoralty of Brisbane, but it wasn’t on the strength of his billboards.
I don’t care if some rich benefactor has donated the space, or if you think that all publicity is good publicity, neither is a sufficient reason for pushing a message that will alienate voters more from you than the Bundaberg Hospital fiasco will alienate voters from Peter Beattie.
Our research says that Queenslanders are looking for a decent opposition, not a new government. They are content with Peter Beattie, and they don’t think you’re even up to the role of opposition. Stridently accusing the government of killing will accentuate those perceptions. Sure, people don’t think the government has performed well over hospitals, and they’re probably convinced that fugitive surgeon Jayant Patel ought to be convicted of the criminal offences the commission has recommended he be charged for, but that doesn’t mean they regard the cabinet themselves as killers.
If you want to run a billboard campaign which might win you some seats and even be useful right up unto the next election you need to tag the government with something that voters might blame them for, and you need a lighter touch.
A proposition that voters might be prepared to accept is that Peter Beattie has to take more responsibility for events in the Sunshine State. What about a “Where’s Pete?” campaign. You could redo that billboard, but budget to change it frequently. Just put up the attrocities as they occur and pose the question. You might even be able to adapt a cheshire cat cartoon to show just how the premier fades in and out depending on whether it is a good or bad news day.
I’m just shooting the breeze here, so don’t take these positive suggestions too seriously without some market research. But in the meantime, send someone out with a squee-gee to get that sign down.