The former Queensland Labor premier Anna Bligh has emphatically rejected the theory that Australian politics is experiencing an unhealthy level of volatility.
Several media commentators and politicians have suggested “unprecedented volatility” to help explain the defeat of first-term conservative state governments in Victoria in November and Queensland in January and the federal Coalition’s troubles in the opinion polls.
In an interview to promote her new autobiography, Bligh offered a counter-theory that the electorate was becoming more informed and prepared to act on that information.
“I suspect that rather than an unusual level of volatility, we’re actually seeing the development of a new normal,” Queensland’s first female premier told the ABC’s 7.30 program.
“I think there is a growing capability within our democracy, because of technology and social media, for people to find out more information, to communicate and connect with people who think like them, and for that to get a momentum to it.
“That was just not possible even five or 10 years ago. And while the electorate is rapidly changing, I don’t think the institutions of our democracy or our political parties have yet caught up with it. I think we’re seeing the development of a new normal, which is not a bad thing, but it will have these sort of electoral consequences in the transition.”
Bligh – who served as premier between 2007 and 2012 – also reflected on the fall of the Campbell Newman-led Liberal National party (LNP) government just three years after it swept to power with 78 of the 89 seats in the Queensland parliament.
She said she would have found such a turnaround “preposterous” if someone had suggested it after her election defeat in 2012, when Labor’s ranks were reduced to just seven MPs.
“But for those of us, including myself, who watched that government over three years, it didn’t come as a surprise in the end. There was a lot of hubris, a lot of arrogance, and people reacted very strongly to it,” Bligh said.
She admitted to being “glued to the television” as the results rolled in on 31 January with a huge swing to Labor, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, who served as transport minister in Bligh’s government.
Asked if Newman’s loss gave her any sense of personal satisfaction, Bligh said she tried “not to be a vengeful person”.
“I wasn’t entirely successful on the election night. But, you know, politics is a ruthless business and I understood that. I’m sure Campbell Newman understood that,” she said.
“It doesn’t make it any easier to go through it but you do understand that when you walk onto that field there is always a 50/50 chance of one result or the other. I think it’s really important to understand that and to not be so fearful of failing that you won’t take the risks that are needed to do the things that people want you to do.”
