EXPRESS The
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Locally owned and proudly independent
101 years – Lest We Forget Across the region and the nation, Australians gathered on Monday to commemorate ANZAC Day. Locally thousands attended dawn and mid-morning services to pay their respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. ■ See next Wednesday’s edition of The Express for full Coverage of ANZAC Day 2016 across the region.
No public consultation on electoral overhaul for Qld
By Justin Fris LAST Thursday evening marked a watershed evening for state politics in Queensland for a variety of reasons. The Liberal National Party Oppositioninspired Electoral (Improving Representation) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill was debated heatedly into the late hours of Thursday evening, when a curveball from the Palaszczuk Government threw chaos across the chamber. The Bill originally had the sole intention of increasing the number of MP’s across the state from 89 to 93, in a bid to uphold sufficient regional representation in parliament. Both the LNP and the Katter’s Australia Party had attempted to get the Bill passed last year, but it was unsuccessful on both occasions. However with the support of new Independent Rob Pyne (Member for Cairns), the Bill (in its original form) seemingly had the numbers to get across the line. Member for Cook Billy Gordon didn’t share the view of increasing regional parliamentary representation in our state and
sided with the Palaszczuk Government on rejecting the Bill’s original outline. Transparent democracy in Qld then took a hit. With only 18 minutes notice – and with no public consultation with any Qld voter – State Attorney General Yvette D’Ath suddenly introduced a major amendment to the Bill. Ms D’Ath’s amendment involved a major overhaul of Queensland’s voting system, making preferential voting no longer optional. From 2018, all Qld voters will no longer be able to select one preferred candidate – they will be forced into preferential voting. Prior to the vote on the amended Bill, Ms D’Ath told the parliament: “Members opposite say that they have not had the chance to consult their constituents on our amendments, but can they truly say that they have consulted their constituents before they introduced this Bill on Tuesday morning? “The Bill is very different to what they introduced into this parliament last year.” CONTINUED PAGE 4
What’s New at Amaroo? Brand new stage Selling Now! Debbie Sweedman debbie@amarooestate.com.au
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