Q’land Premier fights off big challenge

Press, 30 August 1989, Page 10

Q’land Premier fights off big challenge

NZPA-AAP Brisbane The Queensland Premier, Mike Ahern, narrowly retained his job by a 26-21 margin in a party room vote yesterday.

The vote was forced by the resignation of three Ministers, including the Emergency Services Minister, Russell Cooper, who said he would challenge for the leadership. Mr Ahern emerged from a party room meeting lasting just over an hour yesterday to say that a motion for a spill of positions was defeated by 26 votes to 21;

The premier said he would lead the Parliamentary National Party to the next state election.

A smiling Mr Ahern told reporters the coup planners were “not as good as I was in my day.” "My little coup was much more successful,” he said, referring to his defeat of Sir Joh BjelkePetersen in 1987.

Mr Ahern said that to avoid any controversy he had ordered that the party room vote be by secret ballot. “I wanted to make absolutely certain there was no-one in the room that could complain that I had coerced them in some way.” He said three new

Ministers would now have to be appointed after the resignations of Mr Cooper, the Attorney-General, Paul Clauson, and the Community Services Minister, Bob Katter Jun. Pushing through a throng of news media he said he was going to his office to handle the matter and expected to have an announcement today.

The premier also attacked members of the news media who had been predicting his downfall.

“There’s a lot of innumerate people around in the media these days who can’t count.”

The premier did not say who moved the spill motion in the party room. After the decision was announced the Liberal leader, Angus Innes, said: “The people of Queensland are the real losers in this episode. "The National Party must now get on with the business of governing the state.”