Howard-Beattie face-off - Beattie admits defeat ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

I stuffed up on amalgamation polls - Beattie

19 August 2007

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie admits he "stuffed up" by legislating to ban polls on forced local government mergers.

But he does not believe the issue will cost federal Labor votes.

He said the amalgamations would still go ahead because a majority of Queenslanders supported them, but "we should have given people the vote".

The State Government yesterday backed down from its threat to sack and fine councillors who ran polls on local government amalgamations.

See - Just another Beattie backflip.