The Passing of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Queensland - 7/05/2005
For as long as I can remember, Joh was Premier of Queensland. He was already premier when I was born and I was 14 when he was finally overthrown. At such a young age, my memory and understanding of the issues and events are not profound.
My main memory of the time was the power dispute. I remember our electricity going off regularly as the state was held to ransom by disgruntled SEQEB employees. I applauded Joh’s decision to sack them all. Lobbying for more wages (or whatever it was) is one thing, but holding the state to ransom by shutting off essential services is another. Joh gave fair warning before the sacking – and opportunity to return afterwards.
I understand that many people hated Joh – and they are certainly entitled to their opinion. Perhaps they’re right in many aspects of their beliefs. But what I cannot comprehend is that some people actually considered picketing at Joh’s funeral. Who would they be targeting? This is a time of mourning (and positive reflection) for Joh’s family. Joh’s family didn’t make the decisions. Joh’s family isn’t responsible for his actions. I could not believe that any decent human being would even consider targeting innocent people like that – at a time when they are most vulnerable. I guess it shows who the more selfish and demanding ones were!
I hear too that Flo has received "hate mail". I don’t understand this either. Flo is a lovely lady. Her perseverance and positive attitude throughout this can only be admired. She doesn’t deserve to be attacked.
Holding a grudge for this long can’t be a good thing. They must be miserable people! I think it’s time for the Joh-haters to accept that he’s dead, build a bridge, get over it, move on and start enjoying life!
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