Qld: Springborg on starting blocks

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2006
Qld: Springborg on starting blocks

By Paul Osborne

BRISBANE, Aug 15 AAP - Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg is the Robert de Castella
of Queensland politics.

Elected on the same day as his Labor nemesis Premier Peter Beattie, the 38-year-old
farmer has made it clear he regards politics as a marathon, not a sprint.

Since becoming the state's youngest MP at 21, the father of four has put in the hard
yards to claw back Labor's lead in parliament.

His fitness was highlighted during the 2004 election campaign when he frequently appeared
on TV and in local newspapers taking a morning jog and showing off his physique in a singlet.

It contrasted strongly with the older Labor leader's rather leisurely strolls along
regional city foreshores.

But the image difference was not enough for the coalition to win government and will
again need to be bolstered by strong campaigning focusing on leadership, coalition unity
and key issues such as water, health and education.

Mr Springborg can argue he has leadership credentials, having been the state's youngest
ever member of cabinet aged 29, when he was sworn in as minister for natural resources
in 1998.

And at 34 he became the youngest political leader in Queensland since Ted Theodore
became premier in 1919.

Mr Springborg's team has kept the government on its toes over the past two years, focusing
on deficiencies in the health system, a lack of planning for the future and accountability.

And it has paid off in terms of votes.

Liberal team-mates won by-elections in Redcliffe and Chatsworth and the Nationals won
the Gold Coast seat of Gaven.

But it's yet to be seen whether the coalition can translate its success to a state election.

Winning 22 extra seats to achieve a majority will take a massive swing against the government.

One of the factors going against Mr Springborg's team is whether the coalition can
hold together long enough to maintain a stable government.

Impatient Liberals are itching for the party, which has been very successful federally
and holds the Brisbane lord mayoralty, to become the dominant conservative political force
in the state.

But with the Nationals holding 16 seats to the Liberals' seven, it is going to take
a massive effort in Brisbane, Sunshine and Gold Coast seats for the Liberals to turn things
around.

Mr Springborg made an ill-fated bid to secure support for a merger between the two
parties, knowing that disunity is death in politics.

But instead, the parties settled on ruling out three-cornered contests and signed a
a coalition agreement setting out rules for sharing power.

Armed with his "Positive Politics" - a slogan to match Mr Beattie's "Smart State" -
the Opposition leader is likely to improve his figures this time around.

But can he can outpace the premier on the election track?

AAP pjo/sc/sd

KEYWORD: POLL QLD SPRINGBORG (AAP PROFILE)

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