[Rebel1]

Originally Posted by Donunder

Let's hope that when the photo ops of the crisis have begun to fade away, Anna Bligh continues to stay out of the way of people like Major General Mick Slater who has been drafted to oversee all phases of the recovery and reconstruction programme. This guy sounds like the real deal and it is to be hoped he has the strength and support to withstand any political white-anting of his position when the really tough decisions concerning deployment of resources and funding have to be made.

His job has to be free of pressure from both sides of politics, as well as interference from any of the competing interest groups. Time will tell if he's a paper tiger, or someone in the mould of the late and great Clem Jones who was appointed to rebuild Darwin after it was smashed to pieces by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day in 1974. That he did so by famously cutting through all levels of red tape and standing on not a few toes and bruising the egos of many a local politician and bureaucrat, has become the stuff of legend.

Times have changed and we may never see the likes of Clem Jones again, but I hope that Mick Slater has the guts to keep Clem's spirit alive in the forthcoming years, for Queensland's sake.

Totally agree Donunder. I hope the Major General has that fire and I suspect he does. He has a quiet confidence that I suspect could turn very toxic to any-one standing in his way.