Qld: Staff funding next hurdle for decimated Coalition

AAP General News (Australia)
02-19-2001
Qld: Staff funding next hurdle for decimated Coalition

By Barbara Adam, State Political Correspondent

BRISBANE, Feb 19 AAP - The Queensland National and Liberal parties, still reeling from
an election savaging, now appear set to squabble over funding for staff and government
cars.

Premier Peter Beattie today said he had not yet decided how much money Queensland's
substantially reduced opposition would receive.

After the last election, the coalition, with 23 National Party MPs and nine Liberal
MPs, were allocated funds for 21 ministerial staff.

Opposition Leader Rob Borbidge and Liberal Leader David Watson were also allocated
chauffeur-driven cars.

But with the National Party likely to have 12 MPs and the Liberal Party facing the
possibility of having just one MP in state parliament, their staff budget is likely to
be slashed.

Mr Beattie said once it was clear how many coalition MPs had won their seats, he would
begin negotiating their staff funding.

"I have the responsibility to ensure that the opposition is properly funded," Mr Beattie
told a news conference.

"Secondly I have to ensure public funds are spent very frugally.

"I have not been lousy when it comes to the opposition - in fact I've been more generous
than they were with us when we were in opposition."

But Mr Beattie said he would allocate funds to "the alternate government" rather than
to individual parties because the decimated Liberal Party did not have the 10 MPs required
to achieve official party status in parliament.

He also said he would negotiate separately the staff funding allocation for One Nation,
which will have three MPs in the parliament, and independents, which could number as many
as five.

After the last election, Mr Beattie allocated $1 million to One Nation, then with 11
MPs in parliament.

The funding, which was to be paid out over the life of the parliament, would have provided
the party with at least five staff, offices, computers, a chauffeur-driven car, and as
party leader, Bill Feldman would get an extra $20,000 a year salary.

That package was renegotiated when One Nation was deregistered as a party and Mr Feldman
and five former One Nation MPs formed their own party, the City-Country Alliance, which
lost all six of its seats in Saturday's election.

Mr Beattie today said parliament was likely to sit in late March or early April, with
anti-vilification laws an early priority.

AAP bja/sc/jnb/de

KEYWORD: POLLQLD FUNDS

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