Heads up Queensland voters - you can really make a difference on Saturday. Here's how...

First a quick history refresher.

Independent Queensland MP
Peter Wellington

Queensland has only had a single house parliament since the ALP abolished the Upper House in 1922. So ever since then, any party holding a majority of seats got to run a rubber-stamp government for the entire term. Every single vote a foregone conclusion.

Imagine what that gives you...Oh that's right you don't have to imagine - you had Joh Bjelke Petersen! And Russ Hinze. And the Fitzgerald Inquiry...

Back in 1998, when I was a Councillor with the former Maroochy Shire Council, the guy who sat next to me in the Chamber was Peter Wellington. Wello decided to stand as an Independent against entrenched Liberal-National Party (he'd been both) incumbent Neil Turner. (As an aside, I had previously owned a computer store next door to Neil Turner's electorate office - can't remember more than a couple of words from him in four years...)


Wello booted Turner out and helped contribute to a dead heat between Peter Beattie's ALP and Rob Borbidge's Nationals-led Coalition. And then - despite being a fairly right-leaning character - Wello bestowed his balance of power onto Beattie. It was a wise move given the circumstances of the time, and the 'baggage' of the Nationals.

Our Council ended up having quite a lot to do with Beattie and his government over the next three years. At one point I was Acting Mayor when Beattie brought a Country Cabinet Meeting to the Council's home base Nambour.

So I can attest to that one three-year period of minority government being the most accountable, responsible and responsive government in Queensland for many decades, and certainly better than anything since under either Beattie and Anna Bligh. And that's because as soon as Beattie secured a majority at the following election, all the old ways returned. Arrogance accusations arose, developers started getting their ways again courtesy of Terry MacEnroth in the Planning portfolio, and probably the best environment minister I've seen before or since Rod Welford got shunted aside.

On Saturday, Queensland voters have a chance to restore that kind of minority government. Clearly Anna Bligh - despite her rock solid performance in the recent times of emergency - has not done enough to deter Queenslanders from saying enough! But they are faced with the only alternative being to restore the Coalition - amazingly still dominated by the Nationals. Queenslanders don't forget easily what things were like under Joh, Mike Ahern and Borbidge. And they'd be really concerned about treading that path again. That's how much Bligh has lost their faith.

But there is another option.

The Greens have been on the ascendancy across Australia. They have the balance of power in the Federal Upper House, contribute to the balance in the Lower House, and hold the balance in Tasmania and ACT. And the skies have not fallen as some predicted. They call it a 'hung parliament' but the reality is far from that. In fact, what we've been getting is more responsible, accountable and responsive governments. Sound familiar?

A strong vote to The Greens and other like-minded Independents - like Peter Wellington - could put Queensland back into a minority government situation. Think about it Queenslanders. If you have concerns about Greens policies, don't rely on here say - check them out for yourself. And make an informed decision about Queensland's future.