The Liberal National Party (LNP) government in Queensland is drawing increasing comparisons to the repressive era of former premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, as it pursues controversial policies on crime, transgender healthcare, and protest suppression. At least one senior Liberal privately describes Bjelke-Petersen as the 'best premier Queensland ever had', though such praise is rarely made publicly.
Indigenous Policies Under Fire
Prominent Indigenous barrister Joshua Creamer told ABC Radio that the government's quiet removal of First Nations people, policies, and programs has been described by a public servant as 'project invisibility'. This includes defunding programs like Murri Watch, which provides services to Indigenous children in watch houses, and plans to contest all native title claims. 'There's an organised strategy to ultimately eliminate, remove, reduce Indigenous affairs, Indigenous initiatives, Indigenous voices,' Creamer said.
Aunty Sandra King, an elder of the Yagara, Quandamooka, and Bundjalung people, spoke at a protest against plans for an Olympic stadium in Brisbane's Victoria Park. She was shocked by a placard reading 'I Preferred Joh'. 'That is going back to Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who we did not like,' she said. 'No, Joh was not better, I can say.'
Historical Parallels
Academic Julianne Schultz noted in her 2008 essay 'Disruptive Influences' that First Nations people were an early target of the Bjelke-Petersen government. 'A lot of the early starting point was around race, about Aboriginal rights,' she said. 'It's always been the thin end of the wedge.'
The government's 'adult time' crime laws, introduced after a populist campaign focusing on juvenile crime, and its ban on puberty blockers for transgender healthcare in public hospitals, rely on a calculation that these issues are marginal for most voters. Several groups have compared arrests under 'hate speech' laws to police suppression of protests under Bjelke-Petersen, particularly his 1977 ban on protest marches during a tour by an apartheid South African rugby team.
Premier's Political Hero
Premier David Crisafulli has repeatedly compared himself to 'honest' Frank Nicklin, who became premier in 1957. Since Nicklin, only Bjelke-Petersen and Campbell Newman have won general elections as conservative leaders, both with controversial legacies. Crisafulli has commented on how long it had been since a Queensland government abolished a tax, but omitted mention of Bjelke-Petersen, who scrapped death duties in the 1970s.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart, a key financial backer of One Nation, praised the Bjelke-Petersen government in a recent YouTube video. Many voters in rural Queensland appear to be splitting from the conservative establishment, with One Nation gaining support.
Public Perception
Paul Williams, associate professor of politics and journalism at Griffith University, said Queensland voters tend to see the LNP as a centrist government, but 'it's a capital-C conservative government'. He noted a 'disconnect' between public perception and reality, but called comparisons to Bjelke-Petersen 'exaggerated'. 'A One Nation state government would be a repeat of Joh,' he warned.
Polling shows the LNP has protected itself from damage inflicted on conservative parties elsewhere by One Nation's rise. The government has offered enough to maintain appeal in rural and regional areas where crime is a concern, while presenting itself as more moderate in urban and suburban areas. Whether this tightrope can hold as agendas like 'project invisibility' come to light remains to be seen.
