Qld: Dentist fills LNP leadership cavity

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2009
Qld: Dentist fills LNP leadership cavity

By Paul Osborne

BRISBANE, April 3 AAP - Queensland politics has become a battle between a dentist and
a social worker.

Newly elected Liberal National Party (LNP) leader John-Paul Langbroek and Premier Anna
Bligh are both experienced in helping people in painful situations.

Now Mr Langbroek, a Gold Coast-based dentist, has the opportunity to prove he has what
it takes to extract Labor from office.

The LNP's 33 MPs met on Thursday for the first time since the state election and narrowly
elected Mr Langbroek as leader, ahead of rival Tim Nicholls.

Three-time losing leader Lawrence Springborg, who stood down on election night, was
chosen as deputy leader in a move aimed at shoring up the regional vote.

With the election of Mr Langbroek, who has been in parliament for five years, the LNP
is banking on voters in crucial southeast Queensland seats warming to an MP from the booming
region.

The 48-year-old Gold Coast father of three faces a number of challenges.

The LNP is still a new enterprise, created from the merger of the Nationals and Liberal
parties only nine months ago through the sheer determination against the odds of Mr Springborg.

While Queensland voters have regained some confidence in the unity of the conservatives
- delivering the biggest anti-government swing in 14 years - the amalgamation alone was
not enough to convince them to throw out Labor.

Selling the LNP brand will be a key task for the new leader.

Another task will be to rid the conservatives of the old National Party legacies.

For many voters - thousands of whom have come from interstate and have no experience
of the National party in government or opposition - the Nationals are still equated with
the tainted era of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen exposed during the Fitzgerald inquiry.

With the elevation of a former Liberal MP to the LNP leadership, the evolution of the
conservatives in Queensland is well underway.

Another challenge for Mr Langbroek will be raising his personal profile.

Even Mr Springborg, who contested three elections as leader, had a relatively low recognition
factor - understandable in a state ruled by Peter Beattie for much of the past decade.

However, working in the LNP's favour will be several factors.

It is almost inevitable the electoral cycle will turn against a government in power
for more than a dozen years.

Declining economic circumstances are going to put the government under pressure, creating
disenchantment over job losses and extra demand for more services.

And the premier's decision to appoint eight new ministers raises the perils that come
with putting inexperienced heads in charge of complex government departments.

However, as the just completed election showed, Labor is a formidable machine.

The premier - a former social worker and bureaucrat - has got off to a strong start,
while the LNP has flailed about post-election without a leader.

In two weeks, she has put together a cabinet without a hitch, signed off on lobbying
reforms and laws to crack down on outlaw bikies and delivered on an AFL stadium for the
Gold Coast.

Health, which was a key issue in the election, was also put squarely on the agenda
with new minister Paul Lucas launching a two-month listening tour.

Finding ways to improve the state's 150-plus hospitals and make more than 60,000 staff
more effective will be crucial to Labor's strategy to retain government at the next poll.

Now elected in her own right, Ms Bligh is determined to set her own agenda post-Beattie.

As the new parliament - expected to include 52 Labor, 33 LNP and four independent MPs
- opens on April 21 all eyes will be on the two leaders.

The LNP will be bracing for strong results from Mr Langbroek, while Labor's welfare
will rest with Ms Bligh.

AAP pjo/wf/cdh

KEYWORD: NEWSCOPE QLD (AAP NEWSFEATURE)

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