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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/23/queensland-government-debt-reduction-website-criticised-for-deceiving-public
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Queensland government wants to hear from you on debt (as long as you agree) | Queensland government wants to hear from you on debt (as long as you agree) |
| (4 months later) | |
| If you're not interested in raising taxes, reducing services or selling off assets, then the Queensland government doesn't want to hear from you. | If you're not interested in raising taxes, reducing services or selling off assets, then the Queensland government doesn't want to hear from you. |
| Queensland treasurer Tim Nicholls has declared the government's “Strong Choices” campaign a success after the first week of operation, with more than 16,000 people making submissions through the Strong Choices website on how to reduce government debt. | Queensland treasurer Tim Nicholls has declared the government's “Strong Choices” campaign a success after the first week of operation, with more than 16,000 people making submissions through the Strong Choices website on how to reduce government debt. |
| Using an interactive questionnaire, people can suggest raising taxes, selling or leasing state assets, and reducing government services to reduce government debt. | Using an interactive questionnaire, people can suggest raising taxes, selling or leasing state assets, and reducing government services to reduce government debt. |
| In a statement on launching the site, which is part of a $6m campaign, Nicholls said the aim was to canvass Queenslanders’ views. | In a statement on launching the site, which is part of a $6m campaign, Nicholls said the aim was to canvass Queenslanders’ views. |
| “This unprecedented level of community consultation and communication will enable every Queenslander who wants to take part to have the opportunity to provide detailed feedback on exactly what their priorities for the state are and to make their own choices as to how they would reduce the state’s debt,” he said. | “This unprecedented level of community consultation and communication will enable every Queenslander who wants to take part to have the opportunity to provide detailed feedback on exactly what their priorities for the state are and to make their own choices as to how they would reduce the state’s debt,” he said. |
| However, the questionnaire does not allow you to submit your results if you choose not to raise taxes, cut services or sell off assets. If you complete each page but don't reduce the debt by the approved amount, you're unable to continue on to submit your results and the section on prioritising government spending. | However, the questionnaire does not allow you to submit your results if you choose not to raise taxes, cut services or sell off assets. If you complete each page but don't reduce the debt by the approved amount, you're unable to continue on to submit your results and the section on prioritising government spending. |
| This ensures any responses collated by the Queensland government will only include those who agree with the premise that the debt must be reduced to between $50bn and $55bn, skewing the results. | This ensures any responses collated by the Queensland government will only include those who agree with the premise that the debt must be reduced to between $50bn and $55bn, skewing the results. |
| When asked why the government was not accepting responses that didn't agree with the debt reduction targets, a spokeswoman for the treasurer said: | When asked why the government was not accepting responses that didn't agree with the debt reduction targets, a spokeswoman for the treasurer said: |
| "The debt reduction target is the target set by the Independent Commission of Audit which found that reducing the debt by $25-30bn would bring the debt to a sustainable level. We want to hear Queenslanders priorities in how they would reduce the debt." | "The debt reduction target is the target set by the Independent Commission of Audit which found that reducing the debt by $25-30bn would bring the debt to a sustainable level. We want to hear Queenslanders priorities in how they would reduce the debt." |
| The graph used on the site also emphasises the “unsustainable” range of debt, as it mixes two different axis increments – the “sustainable” section increases in lots of $10bn, whereas the unsustainable section increases in lots of $5bn, and has a greater distance between tick marks. | The graph used on the site also emphasises the “unsustainable” range of debt, as it mixes two different axis increments – the “sustainable” section increases in lots of $10bn, whereas the unsustainable section increases in lots of $5bn, and has a greater distance between tick marks. |
| Brisbane-based software developer James Ottaway posted this new version of the graph to Twitter, demonstrating how it would look with a consistent axis: | Brisbane-based software developer James Ottaway posted this new version of the graph to Twitter, demonstrating how it would look with a consistent axis: |
| The treasurer's spokeswoman responded to questions around the graph presentation with the following statement: | The treasurer's spokeswoman responded to questions around the graph presentation with the following statement: |
| "The government is not aiming to reduce the debt to zero but rather to bring it to a sustainable level. The focus of the debt reduction graph is on being able to reach that sustainable level so we can then invest in Queenslanders’ priorities for future spending." | |
| The shadow treasurer, Curtis Pitt, described the website as "intentionally deceiving" because of how it presented private investment in the electricity assets. | The shadow treasurer, Curtis Pitt, described the website as "intentionally deceiving" because of how it presented private investment in the electricity assets. |
| “The website tells Queenslanders they can pay off $28bn worth of debt through the private sector financing of electricity assets," he said in a statement. | “The website tells Queenslanders they can pay off $28bn worth of debt through the private sector financing of electricity assets," he said in a statement. |
| “That $28bn is future investment that doesn’t yet exist. Those funds are proposed to be invested in the network in the future and as such will never be available to repay debt." | “That $28bn is future investment that doesn’t yet exist. Those funds are proposed to be invested in the network in the future and as such will never be available to repay debt." |