MINISTERIAL MEDIA STATEMENT
Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
Monday, September 08, 2008
PREMIER UNVEILS VISION FOR QUEENSLAND: TOWARDS Q2
Premier Anna Bligh today unveiled her blueprint for growing the Queensland economy over the next ten years and beyond.
Ms Bligh said the watershed document – Towards Q2 Tomorrow’s Queensland – outlined her Government’s plans and priorities for the future.
She said a quantum leap in early childhood education was one of the key planks of her plan.
“Queensland has grown remarkably over the past ten years but we must act now if we are to take the next leap forward,” Ms Bligh said.
“Challenges such as climate change, unhealthy lifestyles, preventable disease, population growth, and global competition have the potential to destroy our quality of life.
“Towards Q2 is my plan to beat the challenges and seize the opportunities.”
Ms Bligh said the blueprint outlined ten specific targets for 2020 under five broad headings – strong, green, smart, healthy and fair.
She said her Government would toll out initiatives to help meet the targets starting with a significant education announcement (attached).
“There is no doubt the targets we have set are ambitious and tough but if we can do it they will improve our day-to-day lives, our community, our environment and our economy,” she said.
“The targets by 2020 are:
Strong – Creating a diverse economy powered by bright ideas
• Building Australia’s strongest economy with infrastructure that anticipates growth
• Increasing by 50% the proportion of Queensland businesses undertaking R&D
Green – Protecting our lifestyle and environment
• Cutting Queenslanders carbon footprint by one third with reduced car and electricity use
• Protecting 50% more land for nature conservation and public recreation
-2-
Smart – Delivering world class education and training
• All children to have access to quality early childhood education so they are ready for school
• Three out of four Queenslanders to hold trade, training or tertiary qualifications
Healthy – Making Queenslanders Australia’s healthiest people
• Cut obesity, smoking, heavy drinking and unsafe sun exposure by one third
• Reduce public hospital waiting lists to the shortest in Australia
Fair – Supporting caring communities
• Halve the proportion of Queensland children living in households without a working parent
• Increase the proportion of Queenslanders involved in their communities by 50%
Ms Bligh said these priorities would drive her Governments program of action over the next twelve months.
“We will hold 30 public forums on Q2 with the first one on the Gold Coast next week,” she said.
“I want to consult with Queenslanders and get their views and ideas so they can play their part in shaping our future.
“As a Government we cannot reach these targets alone.
“Everyone will need to play their part in goals such as leading healthier lifestyles and reducing our carbon footprint.”
Ms Bligh said she had only been Premier for 12 months but her record to date showed her determination to work for Queensland’s future.
“Initiatives such as fluoridation, water recycling, prep year and tax reform will make a real difference to Queenslanders’ quality of life,” she said.
“However we cannot stand still - leadership demands action.
“Q2 is my blueprint for the Queensland we love today – only better.”
8 September, 2008
Contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500
KAE'S PUNTER STATEMENT
Sure, Anna. Whatever.
*we could use the collective ALP as dynamos for power generation!
Update:
And didn't the opposition give them a serve... check Hansard... page 15:
Education, Performance TargetsLearn more and have your say!
Mr SPRINGBORG: My second question without notice is also directed to the Premier. I refer to the Beattie-Bligh government’s 2002 election blueprint which the Premier implemented as education minister six years ago and in which she set a target of 85 per cent of students achieving national year 5 reading benchmarks by 2005. I again table the Premier’s press release and report card on her performance.
Tabled paper: Document titled ‘In 2002 Bligh sets 2005 target for School Reading Benchmarks and FAILS’.
This year’s budget papers reveal that in 2007-08 the Premier has failed, with only 76.8 per cent of year 5s in Queensland achieving the benchmark. Is the Premier now seriously asking the people of Queensland to once again believe a Bligh election-driven promise?
Ms BLIGH: Again, I thank the member for the question. I do not know what it is that the Leader of the Opposition has against setting goals and targets. On this side of the House—
Mr Hobbs interjected.
Opposition members interjected.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Warrego! If members in an orchestrated way want to interject at the same time and disrupt the Premier, who is on her feet, I will deal with those members accordingly.
Ms BLIGH: I do not know what it is that the Leader of the Opposition has against
setting ambitious goals, about setting an optimistic but challenging goal for the future and working hard to achieve it. I am very pleased that the Leader of the Opposition has drawn the parliament’s attention to my record in this regard. I believe in setting goals. I accept that not every goal will be reached. Not every goal will be achieved in the time that is specified, but that is not a reason not to set them.
This government believes that government should be challenging itself, should be working hard for the community and should be setting a target and working to achieve it. I want every Queensland child to have the best possible opportunities. I want every Queensland child to be achieving the best that they can in all of the basics—in literacy and in numeracy—and in every area and opportunity that schooling provides for them.
What are the biggest hurdles that our children have faced? The biggest hurdles that Queensland children face when compared on national benchmarks is that, until last year, they were one year
6 comments:
My immediate reaction is what the hell sort of hallucinagens is she taking? I thought a plan was a series of proposed actions to achieve certain defined goals. The goals she has set would require a degree of Statist interference impossible to achieve in any place outside of North Korea or Fascist Italy.
I dunno what it is, MCB,E. However, I'm sure Queenslanders will know when it's freely distributed to all of us to, er, make us see the changes happening... even when they aren't.
WTF is it with all these Five Year Plans and Ten Year Plans?
They've basically screwed up and thrown out the Mackenroth 2025 Plan.
By Gaia, I just love the desire to reduce your and my carbon footprint, presumably by threats of fines and imprisonment, or else taxation.
Problem: The ALP's voting base is the destitute (monetarily and/or morally).
Effect: The ALP's voting base will be hardest hit by taxation and other measures designed to reduce consumption.
Likely Proposed Solution: Tax rebates and handouts to the destitute ALP voting base, to "equalise" their pain.
Likely Result: No change in consumption habits by the ALP voting base.
Effect on Policy: "Hey, we aren't reducing our carbon footprint enough!"
New Policy: Tax the non-destitutes more (What the fuck, they won't vote for us anyway, so fuck 'em!"
Effect on Community: Businesses pack up and leave Queensland in droves, massive unemployment, most of the State rendered destitute.
Effect on ALP: "Great, we've improved our voter base by 50% this year!"
Rinse, wash, repeat.
Brilliant summary, Kaboom!
Excellent.
Less than a page, too.
You should write for those idiots.
Didja hear parliament opposition rubbishing Bligh today? It was beaut. They got a whole list of plans made over the past 10 years which have never come to fruition.
Haw!
This press release enrages me in so many ways it is difficult to know where to start.
Let's begin with:
“As a Government we cannot reach these targets alone.
“Everyone will need to play their part in goals such as leading healthier lifestyles and reducing our carbon footprint.”
The Government is supposed to be Servants of the People. The People are not supposed to be servants of the Government - particularly when the government comes up with such asinine, dubious and totalitarian drivel.
I suppose when these goals fail to be reached - it will be the People's fault - they would then lose the confidence of the Government.
But wait, there's more... look here:
Learn more and have your say!
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