MPs' true colours questioned

SMH.com.au


Labor is capitalising on the potential confusion confronting Queensland voters who for the first time will be faced with the merged Liberal National Party when they go to the polls this year.

Although people will vote for a single candidate from the combined party, successful candidates will be assigned to either the Liberal or National parties once they get to Canberra.

''Voters can't be confident these political chameleons won't change their colours every time they vote,'' Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Emerson said.

Dr Emerson, a Queenslander, said candidates should have to declare whether they would be sitting in the Liberal or National party room when they came to Canberra.

''It is simply not good enough that they call themselves LNP when they are in Queensland then change their jerseys when they cross the Tweed River for Canberra,'' he said.

Labor will focus on Queensland as it heads into the federal campaign. Its success in that state in 2007 helped it win government.

But the opposition is confident it can win seats such as Herbert, Dickson, Longman and Flynn, which Labor holds with only small margins.

The Coalition's quest to dominate Queensland with popular MPs has been resurrected.

One example is Warren Entsch, who retired from his seat, Leichhardt, at the last election but will now contest the seat for the merged party.

The Liberal National Party was formed last year when the Queensland Liberals and Nationals merged.

It went ahead with little consideration of how it would affect the federal MPs and senators and was opposed by the then federal opposition leader, Brendan Nelson.

The merger was designed to give the Queensland opposition a better chance of beating Premier Anna Bligh at the next state election.

But that is not due for two years; federal MPs will go to the polls this year.

Former prime minister John Howard was dispatched to Queensland this month to give a pep talk to MPs and to urge them to stay united.

Federal Coalition MPs privately acknowledge that it is a confusing situation for voters. When they are elected, MPs from the new party will sit with the party that historically held their seat.

But this is likely to lead to tension when the two partners in the federal Coalition take different views on things, as they did last year when the Liberal and National parties took opposing positions on the emissions trading scheme.

But, MPs point out, the new system does have redeeming features.

''It means an end to three-cornered contests,'' one said, referring to the tradition of the Liberal and National parties each standing candidates thereby splitting the conservative vote.

Shadow attorney-general George Brandis said he would campaign under the banner of the merged party. But, he said, once in Canberra Queensland MPs would act in Canberra according to Liberal or National party lines.

The arrangement was ''as simple as can be'', Senator Brandis said.

''It's a fused organisation. The Liberals sit as Liberals and the National Party people sit as Nationals.

''And we have a successful and harmonious Coalition which is in the business of holding the Rudd government to account, disposing of catastrophe after catastrophe.''