Qld: Liberals maintain pressure on Beattie

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2000
Qld: Liberals maintain pressure on Beattie

BRISBANE, Dec 7 AAP - Queensland Premier Peter Beattie could not be serious about his
complaints that the state was in for a dirty election campaign, according to Liberal MP
Santo Santoro.

Mr Beattie has complained that Liberal Party leaflets distributed at railway stations
yesterday marked the start of a dirty campaign.

The leaflet, authorised by Liberal state director Graham Jaeschke (Jaeschke), said
Mr Beattie could not expect electors to believe he did not know anything about widespread
electoral fraud in the Labor Party, when as party campaign director he ran 16 election
campaigns between 1981 and 1988.

Mr Beattie said the leaflet was the start of the opposition's "dirty tricks" election campaign.

"They've established a dirty tricks campaign which will be designed to personally target
me," he told a news conference.

But Mr Santoro hit back, saying "he can't be serious".

"Given what average, ordinary, decent Queenslanders have heard come out of the Shepherdson
Inquiry (into electoral fraud), how can the Premier possibly complain when they ask 'What
does he have to hide?'," Mr Santoro said.

An unofficial election campaign has been underway in Queensland since Labor was plunged
into minority government by the resignation of two MPs from the ALP in disgrace.

Opposition leader Rob Borbidge has placed his team in election mode and has begun releasing
election policies despite Mr Beattie's determination to hold out for a May election.

Mr Beattie said he had been inundated with complaints about the leaflet.

"The only way they can win the next state election is by personally assassinating me,"

Mr Beattie said.

But Mr Santoro said Mr Beattie knew he was in a weak position as a result of the Shepherdson
Inquiry.

"He's going to have a very difficult time extricating himself from the mess the Labor
Party has got itself into," Mr Santoro said.

AAP jfs/gmw/de

KEYWORD: POLL QLD DAYLEAD

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