Release the pork!
Labor has backflipped on a decision to put the Sunshine Coast rail extension on ice following pressure from Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles.
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King guaranteed federal funding for the project just weeks after saying there was no assurance or confidence in the costs of the project which were already “billions of dollars higher than previously stated”.
Carve-outs such as this are becoming Albo’s favourite management tool for every policy.
We’ve seen it in energy, in industrial relations, in immigration and now in pork.
This method breeds corruption and misleads the public. A stern upfront announcement negotiated down behind closed doors with vested interests is the worst policy practice possible.
It was the same method used by the doomed Rudd regime, and I’d guess it is for the same reason.
Both Kevin07 and Albo learnt their political craft in state politics where it is all about being a party to corrupt negotiations between interested parties.
Federal politics is supposed to be above this fray and operate in the national interest. In this environment, the policy development process should be the reverse of what Labor is doing.
Commission research, lead a very public debate to flush out vested interests early and win over the polity. Only then do you legislate.
Albo is just another in a long line of corrupt state Labor failures.
