Forum Post: Returning to Tyranny

My home state was once the scene of a ridiculous gerrymandered police state.

Things seem to be going full circle, mostly because of a lack of an Upper House in the political arena, to put the stoppers on tyrannical leaders. Read on.....

Journalist Kathy Marks writes, "For much of its modern history, Queensland was known as the 'Deep North', ruled with an iron fist by a colourful, far-right politician, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who enforced a repressive law-and-order regime, used the police to crush dissent and repeatedly gerrymandered his way back into power.

"The former peanut farmer was forced to resign in 1987, following 19 years as premier, after a judicial inquiry exposed rampant corruption within his government and the police force. The inquiry, chaired by a senior judge, Tony Fitzgerald, seemed to mark a watershed for the state, leading to major reforms to the police and other institutions.

"Recently, though, following the election of a conservative Liberal National Party (LNP) government led by a former Australian army major, Campbell Newman, Queensland has been experiencing a sense of déjà vu.

"Mr Newman has pursued an unashamedly populist agenda, cracking down on criminal motorcycle gangs, lambasting courts for being "soft" on paedophiles, and sacking a parliamentary committee which questioned the independence of the state's corruption watchdog, the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope is also quoted in the article, criticising the state that gave Australia Pauline Hanson as an MP.

"It [Queensland] seems to be some sort of a breeding-ground for rednecks," he says. "You can't imagine another state doing this."

http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/world-hears-redneck-qld-reminiscent-nazi-germany/2131450/