Lenore Taylor writes in The Guardian (7.1.14): ‘Like the federal Coalition, the Newman government adopted a crash-through approach in its first term – plummeting in the opinion polls after unpopular budget cuts, public service job losses, privatisations (now rebadged as long-term leases), controversial laws targeting bikies and clashes with the judiciary. And, like the federal Coalition, Newman insists the reward is an economy better than it would otherwise be and a bright economic future just around the corner. This means the Queensland election isn’t only an indicator of Tony Abbott’s unpopularity – measured by just how few campaign appearances he can make beside Newman – but also a test run for the federal government’s whole political strategy.’
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