Bizarre Bigger, Better, Bailout Bleating By Bligh.

ABC photo: Anna Bligh, calls for a “coordinated spending plan.”

Anna Bligh has to be committing one of the greatest acts of political cynicism that has been foisted on the Queensland and Australian taxpayers in a very long time. In the recent round of economic talks with Rudd she has claimed that what we need is a “coordinated spending plan” which she claims is vital.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has urged the Federal Government to accelerate plans to stimulate the economy.

Ms Bligh held talks with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra today to discuss ways to protect jobs amid speculation the Federal Government is preparing another economic stimulus package.

Ms Bligh says a coordinated spending plan is vital.

"Now is the time for governments at all levels to put our foot on the pedal and be doing everything we can to invest in the economy, whether it's in services or infrastructure and job creating programs," she said.

"It is public investment at times like this that is going to ensure that we see it through.

"Our own data shows us that we are seeing a deterioration of the Queensland economy and it's happened very rapidly.

"What we need to see is state governments responding very very forcefully and the Commonwealth continuing the sort of activity that they've put in place over the last few months."

The problem we have with this is that one of the reasons for the “deterioration of the Queensland economy” that she professes concern about is that last August Anna canned the McFarlane Oil shale project at Proserpine. Onya Anna, the marginal seat of Whitsunday will be kept in Labor hands at the expense of the Australian taxpayer.

The immediate result was the loss of the jobs of 500 people engaged on the project. It also wiped out $300 million already invested in the project. The project was worth $15 Billion, with the potential for $400 million annually in royalties alone and would have created 3,000 direct jobs as permanent as jobs can be.

It would have produced 30 million barrels per year of low sulphur diesel and aviation gas and could have lowered Australia’s fuel import deficit to the tune of $10 billion per year.

Queensland’s reputation had already taken a beating from the prohibition on the mining and export of uranium and the oil shale decision meant that the Queensland government had effectively halted the development of two globally significant energy fuels in 15 months for the sake playing politics.

It has to be incredible hypocrisy for a state government, which has blocked thousands of jobs worth of development projects, to then go to Canberra with its hand out for massive funding for infrastructure projects to create jobs that it prevented us from having in the first place not to mention the economic cost both to the state and the nation as a whole caused by these idiotic feel good at the time decisions.