Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Anna Bligh tries to replace Toowoomba's outgoing Mayor with her own brand of scare tactics ...

Seems like Anna Bligh is trying to replace Toowoomba's bullying outgoing Mayor with her bullying tactics.

It's outrageous that she would try to interfere in a local government election to try to get her candidate elected.

She takes a leaf out of the outgoing Mayor's campaign book with her claim that Toowoomba will run out of water.

Toowoomba residents were told the water would run out by Christmas 2005.

It didn't.

The water lasted far longer than Toowoomba's outgoing Mayor and will probably outlast Anna Bligh.

Excerpt from the Chronicle:

Bligh warns Manners over pipeline stance: I'll stop you

12 March 2008

Toowoomba mayoral hopeful Snow Manners is claiming political interference after Premier Anna Bligh vowed to "over-ride" anyone who stood in the way of a pipeline to deliver emergency water from Wivenhoe Dam.

"This is a political scare campaign, in the last week of an election, to ensure Snow Manners doesn't get elected," Cr Manners ruled.

He reignited claims the Labor Party was backing one of his rival candidates.

Cr Manners has made it clear that if elected he would stop the pipeline which would bring recycled water into the region.

He has said one his first meetings if elected would be to renegotiate the deal with Ms Bligh.

And while the Premier concedes she wants to sit down and talk, she's damning his proposal to create a Darling Downs water grid.

The Premier said the Toowoomba Water Taskforce brought the "disagreeing parties" together two years ago and agreed the pipeline was the best option.

"People who are holding out hope of false options, I don't think, are doing their electors any great service.

"This is the best long-term future source of water for Toowoomba and I'm not going to let that city run dry," Ms Bligh told the ABC.

As water levels in the dams continue to fall, the State Government has provided $20 million to expedite works.

Cr Manners said he expected to be clobbered by his rivals, Clifton mayor Ian Jones or Jondaryan mayor Peter Taylor, but not Ms Bligh.

Yesterday, Ms Bligh said the State Government wanted to work cooperatively and consultatively with every council.

"I will work with whoever the Toowoomba region (electors) chose as their mayor.

"Frankly, I do not believe that any mayor of Toowoomba would deny water to the region's residents.

"If, in the very unlikely event that such an act ever happened, I would act swiftly to put the safety and security of Toowoomba region residents first," she said.

"I don't think people should underestimate the seriousness of the situation we don't have three or four years for people to keep 8arguing about this.

"The time has come to act. In Toowoomba, this city is running out of water and it could run out as early as sometime in 2009."

Cr Manners says the city council has a drought management plan and won't run out of water.

"Anna Bligh has told me, on more than one occasion that the idea of amalgamation was to give regional councils real political clout and on the other hand she's saying that she will 8impose her rule on regional councils.

"And she has said she will sit around the table and talk about water. I'm looking for that opportunity to sit down with Anna Bligh and renegotiate this.

"This community wants that opportunity. We have got to do what's best for the Darling Downs region and, it's not Toowoomba only, it's the whole of the Darling Downs region," Cr Manners said.

He also cited failed Labor Party candidate Chris Meibusch's letters of endorsement where he tossed up between Crs Jones and Taylor for mayor "and not getting Snow Manners".

"I've heard candidates endorsing candidates, parties endorsing candidates and candidates saying they are not endorsed by parties, definitely Anna Bligh has bought into this for political reasons only nothing to do with water supply," he said.

Cr Manners said the Premier, who will face an election within two years, would not want a regional mayor opposed to drinking recycled water.

See - Bligh and Manners go head to head.

If no-one in Labor wants Mayoral candidate Manners elected as Mayor, he must be doing somehing right ...