TURF WAR: Liberal Josh Young in poll eve confrontation

NUS Queensland President and Liberal student Josh Young had a big election eve, according to well-informed sources. Young is the first Liberal state President of the National Union of Students and has been campaigning vigorously against the Rudd Government’s new $250 student tax.

Young was called in by a seasoned but small LNP campaign worker who was concerned about the territorial aspirations of bunting placement specialists from the ALP at the Cannon Hill booth in the seat of Bulimba. The former Vietnam vet LNP helper was also said to be waving a big stake around in a manner perhaps taught at basic training when dealing with bayonets.

When Young – who served as the campaign director for the LNP in Bulimba – arrrived to asssist the old bloke – he confronted ALP campaign workers whom he felt were taking liberties by placing their signs in front of the well-placed LNP signs, Young remonstrated with them in forceful terms. Impolite language was used, according to eye-witnesses.

There have been claims that others were involved in a physical confrontation, but these are not possible to confirm at time of publication.

The stoush occurred on the Friday night before the election at the Cannon Hill booth, with Morningside Police called in shortly afterwards.

They had no reason to be concerned with the election hi-jinx and after warning everyone to behave, went back to their doughnuts without arresting or charging anyone.

The LNP candidate in the seat defused tensions with an apology for the incident. All’s well that ends well.

FOUNDATION 51 MYSTERY: The political fundraising arm that isn't or says it isn't

The Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory has created a fundraising organisation “Foundation 51” that has pledged not to give funds to that Party.

Not since America’s “Area 51” has there been such a mystery. Area 51 is an informal name for a US Air Force installation in Nevada that is frequently the subject of UFO speculation and other zany conspiracy theories. It is believed Russian-designed aircraft are stored there, for testing purposes. Area 51 is not visible on Google Maps, a degree of invisibility also actively pursued by some political donors.

Labor’s boss in the Northern Territory George Addison has been understandably puzzled about the mysterious Foundation 51.

He believes the organisation might have been created to circumvent the NT’s laws mandating disclosure of political donations above $1500.

Donations to Foundation 51 do not need to be disclosed it seems, despite the fact their material is emblazoned with “An Initiative of the Country Liberals.”

The Foundation 51 itself denies there’s any mystery about their organisation. Much like Area 51, it insists it is conducting innocent research into many subjects of great interest to business in the NT.

The Foundation is actually a Pty Ltd company owned by two CLP operatives James Lantry and Graeme Lewis.

Pledged to assist these enterprising chaps is eminences as great as Peter Costello, former CLP Chief Minister Paul Everingham, Mark Textor and billionaire Andrew Forrest, who’ve all been nominated as speakers at Foundation 51 gatherings.

In addition, even though subscribers to the Foundation 51 are not giving money to their Party, CLP Shadow Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition will also make themselves available to the Foundation to a distressingly regular degree.

Any subscriber capable of out-drinking a CLP Shadow Minister will himself be eligible to take his seat in the NT Parliament, where a bloke has as few as 2000 constituents to look after while being paid the best part of $150,000 a year to do so. While that’s not the case, what members of the Foundation do get does seem very similar to the generous spread laid on to political donors in the rest of the country.

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