The ABC’s Jessica van Vonderen reports (6.3.16) on comments from former Premier Rob Borbidge about the coming referendum on fixed four-year parliamentary terms in Queensland. While supporting the proposal, Borbidge claims that the state’s parliamentarians have chosen the wrong time to take this issue to a public vote.
‘A referendum to decide whether Queensland should have fixed four-year terms for state politicians could fail because the public is so cynical about politics, former Queensland premier and Nationals state MP Rob Borbidge says.
‘On March 19, Queenslanders will decide in the referendum whether to end Queensland’s century-old system of three-yearly parliamentary terms and instead hold elections on the last Saturday in October every four years.
‘Mr Borbidge supports fixed four-year terms, but told the ABC he believed the timing of the referendum was wrong.
‘”There’s a very real chance that the referendum will fail because people are angry and upset with the political system at the moment and that’s not just here, that’s right around the world,” he said.
‘”In a way that would be a big shame, because it makes a lot of sense to have four-year terms”.’