Who is he kidding...QUEENSLAND Premier Peter Beattie said last night only Jesus Christ could have done a better job than he had in dealing with the havoc wrought on his state by Cyclone Larry.Stung by criticism from one of his ministers over the pace of his Government's response, Mr Beattie angrily attacked his critics, including the media.
He said "any Australian with half a brain" would realise it would have been a mistake to rush in public servants and other recovery workers to the devastated Innisfail area before sewerage and other basic facilities were in place.
"We couldn't impose another 100 people on that community without risking disease," he said.
It was not clear whether Mr Beattie included among those with less than half a brain his Communities Minister, Warren Pitt, who admitted on Thursday that the Government had misjudged the situation after the storm and "learnt a lesson".
Mr Beattie attacked a report in The Australian of Mr Pitt's comments as "bullshit".
"Unless you were Jesus Christ himself, you would not have been able to solve these problems any quicker than we did," Mr Beattie told the ABC's Lateline program.
He said he had set former military chief General Peter
Cosgrove a six-month target to restore the region, but said certain sectors - such as banana, sugarcane and macadamia plantations - could take years to come
back to full production.
Mr Beattie, who according to a Newspoll is politically on the nose, admitted that if the relief effort went
slower than expected, he might face a backlash.
But he added: "I could not really care less about the politics ... I know politicians say that sort of stuff, but I really believe it."
To reiterate your comment Peter... "This is bullshit!"
Ava great weekend!
