SPRING 2017

State Election The Final Countdown

MESSAGE FROM ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK

For the past two-and-a-half years, your Labor

Government has been working to restore the frontline services cut by Tim Nicholls and the LNP.

And we’ve continued our investment in the Queensland economy which has helped 115,000 jobs be created in Queensland since the election.

We want more jobs for more Queenslanders and that’s what the state conference was all about.

In what was the final state conference before the election, we released our Buy Queensland policy.

Under this policy we will prioritise Queensland workers and Queensland companies to ensure we see better benefits for Queensland workers.

In combination with other actions that Labor has taken- like keeping our electricity assets in public hands - we will continue to ensure

Queensland is a state of economic opportunity.

Before the 2015 election, we made 553 commitments to the people of Queensland.

We have now delivered 484 of those election commitments.

In two-and-a-half years, 87 per cent of our election commitments have been completed and delivered.

We have returned the values of dignity in work, fairness and respect for others in our state.

We have reinforced a separation of powers, and we have re-established trust in how government works.

We returned portfolio Estimates hearings to seven days to allow proper questioning of Ministers.

We appointed Directors-General through a merit-based selection process.

We restored much of the arts funding that has been so cruelly slashed by the Newman Government.

We implemented a Nursing Guarantee, with legislated nurse-to-patient ratios.

We reintroduced civil partnerships, legislated for equal age of consent, and made an apology on behalf of the Government for historical homosexual convictions.

We have employed more than 4,400 extra teachers and teacher aides to improve education in Queensland state schools.

Thank you for your ongoing support and I look forward to your support as we prepare for an election.

The last thing Queensland needs is a coalition Government of the LNP and One Nation.

I need your help in the lead up to the next election.

Annastacia PalaszczukQueensland Premier

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MESSAGE FROM THE STATE SECRETARY

In 2015, our Opposition of nine Members

of Parliament, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, took on the massive majority of Campbell Newman and Tim Nicholls. And won.

Our election victory has delivered a strong Labor agenda for Queensland. Our Labor Government has restored frontline services, made workplaces fairer and started to rebuild Queensland jobs after Newman – all without selling our assets.

But as we look to the next State election, we again are building our movement, for the cause is just as great as 2015.

The combined forces of Tim Nicholls and Pauline Hanson are looking to return us to the position of underdog. While Labor will always put One Nation last, the LNP are prepared to preference One Nation in a deal that will see the LNP

in government, beholden to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

When I was elected as Secretary in 2014, I said I wanted to lead a Queensland Labor that was a big party, that welcomed new members and built strong local campaigns.

Across Queensland, we have more than 80 local candidates running strong community campaigns, and there are more candidates to come.

Our membership is now more than 10,000 strong, and our field campaign is bringing new volunteers to our campaign each week.  Our Community Action Network provides dedicated resources to reach out to Labor supporters, asking them to join our campaign for change. More people are wearing red Labor shirts each weekend, knocking on doors and talking to voters.

We might be up against the preference deals with Nicholls and Hanson, but we have a grassroots army of volunteers, a strong Labor policy platform and a leader in Annastacia Palaszczuk. 

We might be the little guy, but we’re ready for this campaign; Queensland needs a Palaszczuk Labor government.

Evan MoorheadState Secretary

Cairns candidate Michael Healy showing the local sights to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister Steven Miles.

From little things, big things grow.

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A committee has been established to review current Party structures and procedures in an effort to

improve rank and file involvement in the ALP, and to improve campaigning capacity through increased membership activism.

This Committee (Branch Structure Review Committee) has after initial consultation with Party Units and members, during the first part of 2017, produced an Issues Paper designed to focus feedback to the Committee on possible changes to be implemented.

The Issues Paper has for example, identified the fact that the Branch Registration process for new members is in need of review and improvement. For example, at the end of 2016, of the 10,011 financial members of the Party, 2800 were unregistered and therefore not participating fully in the Party’s activities.

Another fact that would indicate the need for change is the significant number of new members who joined since 2011, did not renew their membership.

The Issues Paper asks 10 key questions which members may wish to respond to:

1. Is the current system of member registration appropriate? If not, what specific changes should occur?

2. Are the current Rules in relation to Branch Meeting procedures/standing orders (Rule 59) adequate? If not, what changes should be made?

3. What should the “objects” or Charter of branches be? Should their current scope be addressed?

4. How can branches better support local campaigns?

5. Should the current system of geographical branches continue to be the foundation of the Party Branch Structure?

6. Should there be an expansion of the number and range of specialist branches?

7. Do you support the need for more training of branch officials? If so, what form should that take?

8. Is the current role of the Electoral Councils (MEC, SEC, FEC) in need of change? If so, what do you suggest?

9. What should be the role of the Electoral Councils during election campaigns?

10. Do you have any other specific recommendations to improve the operations and activities of Branches?

Some other suggestions already received during the initial consultation stage prior to the production of the Issues Paper have been included in that Paper. For example, the Committeee has agreed that Party Administration should develop an annual recruitment/retention plan, which would include strategies to maximise Branch Registration by members.

The deadline for feedback from Party Units and members has been extended to Friday, 1 December, 2017. Please send any feedback to John Battams, ALP President & Chair of the Branch Structure Review Committee - bsr@qld.alp.org.au

Time for members to have your say!

JOHN BATTAMS – PARTY PRESIDENT

John Battams addresses the 2016 Queensland Labor state conference

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A MESSAGE FROM BILL SHORTEN

I’m writing this message while in Mackay – my 20th

trip to Queensland since the election. When I was here back in April, communities were picking up the pieces after the devastation of Cyclone Debbie. Talking to people in Bowen and Proserpine, Rocky, Emerald and Airlie Beach – I was struck by their courage and perseverance. No one was looking for sympathy. No one was complaining – though they had plenty of reasons to. Everyone was just rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job – cleaning up, rebuilding, getting back to work. It’s one of the great qualities of Queenslanders – in hard times, you bounce back.

Annastacia’s government is playing their part and funding the recovery – but Turnbull’s LNP has left the recovery effort $81 million short. It’s a disgrace, and it shows he isn’t listening. My team and I are listening. We are working hard on policies for the next election – and we’re already announcing them. Labor will invest in job-creation right up and down the Queensland coast. We will fund the infrastructure projects local communities need – like the hydroelectric power station in Townsville, or the important flood levee in Rockhampton. We will invest $1 billion exclusively in tourism infrastructure in Northern Australia – a tourism and

jobs boom for your region. We’ll protect penalty rates for local workers. We will close the dodgy loopholes that allow employers to import and exploit foreign workers, and undercut local wages and conditions. We will make the tax system fairer – because I don’t think it’s fair for a nurse in Brisbane to be paying more tax than a CEO in Sydney. We will close the schools funding gap, we will boost apprenticeship numbers, and we will make TAFE and university more affordable. This is what Queenslanders are telling me they want – this is what my Labor team will deliver.

Bill Shorten MP addresses the 2017 Queensland Labor state conference

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Cynthia Lui - Cook

Cynthia has strong connections to the Cook electorate having been born on Thursday Island

and raised on Yam Island in the Torres Strait. Her grandfather was a community teacher and both he and her father served as Chairperson of Yam Island Community Council. Cynthia grew up valuing the importance of community service and has a real understanding of how unique and diverse our region is.

Cynthia has wide-ranging experience working for more than 12 years in health, child protection and family support services throughout Far North Queensland. She’s currently a Manager of a large team working in a child protection unit of a non-government organisation. Her job takes her throughout the region giving her the local knowledge and experience that’s needed to get things done.

Cynthia knows education is one of the keys to success. As a parent Cynthia knows that a good education changes people’s lives and helps build stronger communities. Cynthia will work tirelessly to improve our local schools and deliver better access to affordable health care. Cynthia’s top priority will be to support more local jobs and help build a stronger region for generations to come.

Michael Healy – Cairns

Michael Healy is an established leader in Queensland’s tourism industry. Michael and his

wife Trudi have lived in Cairns for more than 20 years, together raising their two children in the tropical north.

Michael has vast experience over many decades as a businessman and on state, national and regional tourism boards. Driving new job and economic opportunities for the region is a priority for Michael. He has the life experience, a clear vision and the negotiating and management skills to get things done for the people of Cairns.

Michael has always believed in giving back to his community and this is reflected in his commitment to a number of not-for-profit organisations. He serves as the Chair of Access Community Housing – the largest not-for-profit community housing initiative in Far North Queensland. He has also served as a past Director of Tourism & Events Queensland, and an elected member of Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Port Douglas Daintree Tourism.

Meet Your Candidates

Read about your local candidate at queenslandlabor.org6

Corrine McMillan – Mansfield

As Principal of Cavendish Road State High School, Corrine understands what it means to be a trusted

member of a close-knit community that cares.A highly respected educator for more than 22

years, Corrine knows that a good education changes people’s lives and helps build stronger communities. Corrine McMillan has a proven record of leadership to be our community’s voice in parliament.

Corrine McMillan is an established leader in our local community. In addition to being a school Principal, Corrine is also a member of the local Community Policing Board and the Board of the Mount Gravatt Show Grounds. Corrine has also helped lead a number of local community initiatives including Cyber Safety Information Forums, anti-bullying campaigns as well as supporting a Homework Hub to help local families.

Corrine will use her energy and experience to help deliver for our community. A major focus will be working to further improve our schools and health services for local families. She will also work with the community and local businesses to tackle suburban traffic hotspots so that residents spend less time on the roads and more time at home with family.

David Greene – Everton

David knows first-hand the struggles of the most vulnerable in our community. Overcoming a

disability, David was the first person in his family to graduate from University, with honours in law. David rose to become a Senior Associate in Australia’s largest plaintiff law firm where he fought for the interests of the disadvantaged on a daily basis.

David now works as an industrial relations specialist in the trade union movement where he deals with wage theft and exploitation of working people. David has a long history of working in small and medium business, and was the President of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce in Queensland. He believes innovation and entrepreneurship has the potential to deliver prosperity and financial security to society if the proper supports are put in place for small and medium business to thrive.

David is running for Parliament because he believes that inequality and decline are risking the Australian way of life. He believes that the system is fundamentally broken for many people, and he wants to be part of a Government helping to deliver outcomes for ordinary Queenslanders. David is an experienced, trusted advocate who will be the local representative the people of Everton desperately need. David is a member of the LGBTI community, and lives with his partner in Albany Creek.

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At this year’s state conference in Townsville 38 party members were bestowed with awards and commendations for outstanding service

to the party. Ten long-serving members were awarded our party’s highest honour, Life Membership.

• Peter Doyle (Cairns Branch)• Colleen Lavarch (Petrie-Lawnton Branch)• Kylie Bock (Edmonton Branch)• Les Jobson (Waterford RHC)• Diana O’Brien (Innisfail Branch)• Robert (Bob) Henricks (Arana Hills Branch)• Yvonne Breitkreutz (Waterford RHC)• John Hogg (Logan South Branch)• David Beddall (Logan South Branch)• Peter Sherwood (Redcliffe RHC)

2017 Life Members

Life Member Les Jobson with the Waterford connection Evan Moorhead, Shannon Fentiman MP and Sean Leader

Some of the happy awards recipients with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Federal Leader of

the Opposition Bill Shorten

Bill Shorten with

Far North Queensland

Life Members Diana O’Brien

and Kylie Bock

Yvonne Breitkreutz showing off her Life Membership certificate with Bill Shorten and Annastacia Palaszczuk

Life Member Yvonne Breitkreutz with her local

MP Shannon Fentiman

Life Member Bob Henricks from Arana Hills branch, with our state and federal leaders

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Farewell Comrades Vale Gerry Jones, Phil Gray and Con Sciacca

PREMIER ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK

This year our movement has lost some of our greatest true

believers – Gerry Jones, Phil Gray and Con Sciacca.

Gerry Jones was a gifted athlete, boxer and building contractor who joined the party in 1956.

He was State Organiser and State Secretary.

Gerry helped organise and lead protests in Brisbane against the apartheid-era Springbok rugby union team.

In 1973 he won the state seat

of Everton, serving only one term, then served as a Senator from 1980 to 1996.

In April – the same month we lost Gerry – we also lost a proud Gold Coaster and former Gaven MP Phil Gray, who died just a day short of his 70th birthday.

Phil was a people’s person – a passionate advocate for numerous community groups in the Nerang and Helensvale communities.

A former teacher, Phil was a life

member of the Queensland Public Sector Union and he was honoured for his outstanding service to community organisations.

Earlier this month, a lion of the Labour movement, and a friend to so many of us, Con Sciacca, passed away in Brisbane.

Con was the federal member for Bowman and served as a Minister in the Hawke and Keating governments.

Con was a true gentleman. He was one of those rare politicians who crossed the political divide, and was respected and admired by people of all political persuasions.

Con was a larger than life Queenslander and a he was a mentor.

As Minister for Veterans Affairs on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War Two, Con asked Australians to remember. Con we will never forget.

Our sympathies go out to the families of Gerry, Phil and Con.

As we went to press word came through about the sad passing

of life member Bill Richardson.Bill dedicated six decades of his

life to the union movement and his beloved ALP.

Bill started work as a clerk in the NSW Police Department on January 17, 1949 and joined the union (the Public Service Association of NSW) on the same

day. He joined Labor’s Balmain Branch seven years later, in 1956.

In 1973 Bill was elected National Secretary of the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA). In 1979 ACSPA merged with the ACTU and Bill became Assistant Secretary of the ACTU, under Bob Hawke.

Bill Richardson was a life-long advocate of women’s rights

in the workplace and proudly spearheaded a move to establish the first ever Working Women’s Centre in Melbourne in 1974.

Bill retired from the ACTU in 1995 and relocated with his family to Maleny, where he became president of the Labor’s Sunshine Coast Hinterland branch, until bowing out in 2014.

Vale Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson chats with former ALP State Secretary Senator Anthony Chisholm at the 2014 Life Member Awards morning tea

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AROUND THE GROUNDS

State Conference 2017

TownsvilleAMWU State Secretary Rohan Webb speaks to a motion

Premier Annastacia

Palaszczuk takes the stage

Senator Murray Watt on the mike

Jo Briskey speaks to from the conference floor, as Labor for Choice supporters fly their placards

Gracelyn Smallwood delivered a wonderful Saturday morning welcome to

country to our state conference

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Labor For The Regions held a panel discussion following the state conference in Townsville. The panel included Senator Chris Ketter, Cathy O’Toole MP, Mt Isa Mayor Tony McGrady, Coralee O’Rourke MP, Dave Kerrigan and Jim Madden MP

Treasurer Curtis Pitt held a Glass House campaign team breakfast in Maleny, during a recent trip to the Sunshine Coast. L-R Gillian Pechey, Linda McElrea, Curtis Pitt MP, Brent Hampstead (candidate for Glass House), Stephanie Saal, Christina Warry, Ken Nipperess and Brian Kennedy

Whitsunday candidate Bronwyn Taha with the card and champas sent by her former

work colleagues in party office. General theme of the card? “WIN!”

Labor for Choice Qld launched at the 2017 state conference in Townsville. The associaton’s mission statement defines it as: …a movement within

the Australian Labor Party to ensure abortion is safe, legal and accessible across Australia. Find out more at the Labor4ChoiceQld Facebook page

Federal member for Rankin Jim Chalmers out on the campaign trail with member for Woodridge Cameron Dick.

Member for Lytton

Joan Pease ready for a big day on

the hustings with her

campaign team.

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AROUND THE GROUNDS

Whitsunday candidate Bronwyn Taha leads local residents in protesting local member Jason Costigan and his LNP mates in the Turnbull government short changing North Queensland on vital funds to rebuild after the devastation of Cyclone Debbie.

The banner says it all. L-R ALP

Organisers Isaac Cavanagh, Josh

Millroy, Lucy Collier and Jess

Fisher.

Chatsworth candidate Paul

Keene kicked off his campaign

in style with guest of honour

Annastacia Palaszczuk

MP, Member for Griffith Terri Butler and former Deputy

Premier Terry Mackenroth. Also

pictured are Paul’s wife (Lou) and

children.

Member for Stretton Duncan Pegg kicked off he re-election campaign with Minister Grace Grace.

Former ALP Qld President Dick Williams and Organiser Janine Aitken rockin the rainbow colours at the Say Yes to Marriage Equality rally in Brisbane.