It ain't the first time there has been discussion about splitting the canetoads in 2....you know the state of Queensland. Melbourne is closer to Brissy than Cairns is to Brissy I'm fairly certain. The disparity in demographics and distance is quite significant from the south to the north. Sure there will be plenty of cons but my thinking is that cities such as Gladstone, Bundy, Hervey Bay, Maryborough and Gympie etc would receive much more attention as potential constituents of the South. Joh Bjelke-Petersen was the last premier to have a focus on the bush......well Kingaroy anyway. I think Australia needs something exciting and new. We're such a boring country in some aspects and need to look more broadly in how we can change things up. A republic would have been one mighty boost but that ain't going to happen anytime soon. Obviously the financial benefits for the north and focussed around development would be huge. Seriously in this day and age the road that runs the coast of QLD is still a single lane highway for the most part and is the biggest indicator of neglect of the North. Great Britain had a Brexit surely we can become a republic or add another state to our political landscape. What are some potential names? Monarchists would want something boring like some association with the royal family. Interesting to know what people's thought are on the proposal, even from Mexicans etc.
I'm a Republican, for me the royal family is a waste of space and resources. Can't wait for Australia to choose it's own Head of State, someone who puts Australia first, hope I'm still alive when this happens. Yes it's astonishing how bad the roads are going up north in Queensland, more like a third world country. But I wonder if the northerners want change, they're so different from those in South East Queensland with different priorities and principles, it's like crossing a border into another country with a different culture. When I travelled up the coast north of Brisbane I found the locals very laid back and friendly, but if you took SE Queensland away from the north they'll probably say "hey! who's going to do all the tedious work now!" lol As a Mexican (tongue in cheek) I don't think the north is ready to separate from the south and frankly my dear I don't think they give a damn. T boring is peaceful, boring is better. I remember arriving in Australia just prior to a Federal election thinking... "what is this?... no one gets shot... no one gets killed... where's all the election action?" Watching in disbelief and disgust as politicians only sling lame insults at one another. Of course since then I have embraced the peace and now deeply treasure the boredom, the laid back and the friendly
There is enough smarts in QLD. It would help stop the brain drain heading south I think. You don't want to be that bored that you are stagnant and lose ground to international markets. I've lived boredom my whole life. I need something new and fresh!
Regionalism. For example, south-eastern South Australia has more in common with western Victoria, so why not amalgamate the region? Same for far northern South Australia and the centre including bits of NSW, Qld. and WA. Darwin and the other north coast tropical settlements seem to have much more in common than Darwin does with Alice Springs. The same might work for other areas.
My bet would be its not big enough, in terms of population density. An example being not enough reason to justify the duplication of the upper echelons of these States public services. Sure the numbers of workers at the coal face might stay the same, but you'd probably see a 30% of middle and upper management for no increase in capability. The only reason I can think of is daylight savings, but many QLDers down South still think it will confuse the cows, etc.
PLEASE!!!! Not another wasteful government! The pitiful 23 million in Australia are already stretched trying to support the 9 governments we already have. We need fewer states, not more.
