Johannes Bjelke-Petersen

In virtually any state in the Commonwealth I believe you could ask an adult in their 40’s or above to name a state leader and the majority of them could name Joh – no other State Premier left such an indelible mark on the national psyche.

Some Queenslanders may talk about strong development and a long period of stability. Others, particularly those from southern states will talk of gerrymanders, corruption, white shoe brigades, civil liberty infringements or daylight savings. But many will talk of a man who oversaw perhaps the most dramatic and positive changes the State has ever undergone.

Whether loved or reviled, Johannes Bjelke-Petersen was a polarising figure, and an indisputably successful one. But too many are quick to dismiss this incredibly successful politician as an aberration of the oddity that is Queensland.

To understand Joh a little better, this monograph considers Joh’s period in office from the following perspectives:

His success in moving the Country Party from a rural base to gaining and holding urban seats His role in assisting in the downfall of the Whitlam government His economic management, overseeing Queensland’s transition from a rural economy to a vibrant and rapidly expanding one and creating funding processes from which the State still benefits His masterful understanding of the mood of the electorate in dealing with the likes of power strikes, anti-Springbok riots or street marches His market fundamentalism which potentially allowed corruption in commercial activities for tangible benefits for the state