A persistent rumour around Brisbane in 2010 has been that, once the asset sales were out of the way, the Labor caucus would oust Bligh and replace her with Attorney-General Cameron Dick, clearly Labor’s best performer in recent times. With the disappointing news that QR National will list at $2.55 per share, near the bottom of the expected range of $2.50 to $3.00, it’s even more likely caucus will revolt. A lot of old timers will be angry that the Government betrayed what they see as traditional Labor values and didn’t even get the full thirty pieces of silver in return.
If Bligh gets replaced with Dick and Labor’s polling improves, that must increase the chances of Tim Nicholls taking over the LNP in the medium term, meaning the election will be a face off between two Churchie Old Boys. Queensland’s other GPS schools will have to lift their game.
The Brisbane Times has good coverage of the float here:
QRN float hauls in $4.6b for Bligh government
Also, Prof. John Quiggin wrote a hard-hitting post yesterday in which he questioned some of the reported financial gains from the float:
Queensland Economy Watch 