Debt should not be a campaign issue in a recession. The fact Queensland has a big debt is a problem – but the future Queensland Government needs to be building infrastructure to create jobs.
So campaigning on the fact that you’re not going to do anything to address rising unemployment is ridiculous.
This raises a question for me – what happens when a state can’t pay off its debt – it’s not like infrastructure assets can be repossessed. And you’d think with all these countries racking up trillions of dollars in debt it’s all a bit moot.
Anyway, the ad makes some good points about Labor’s pointless debt – borrowing without finishing jobs (Traveston Dam) and spending money on projects that don’t work (Desal plant in the south east).
Springborg has been shaping the debt narrative for some time. His favourite line is that we’re paying $10 million a day in interest as a state. As a campaign issue debt is a winner. But politically it shouldn’t be. Particularly in a recession.
It worked a treat in the Townsville City Council elections because for some reason people are comfortable with personal debt in order to invest in infrastructure (housing) but not government debt.
The ads also look nice. Black again. They get points because it will work, lose points for political content, and lose some points for style – it’s an attack ad.
Grade – B-
Comments
I’d heard we were paying $36 million a day in interest. (That was from an NLP rep).
Both sides are doing attack ads though, and it’s annoying me.
Obviously you get different ads to us. We just get pictures of Anna Bligh looking constipated. Obviously they told her she couldn’t smile because we are facing a crisis, but that she had to look approachable as well.
Epic fail.