Lady Flo not impressed by new party name

Published 12 May 2008 12:30
Updated 12 May 2008 16:31

| By Paul Osborne and Gabrielle Dunlevy

Senior Queensland Liberals have urged caution on the proposed merger with the Nationals.

The Queensland Liberal and National parties have agreed to work towards forming a united, non-Labor force under the name of the Liberal National Party of Queensland.

The new party remains subject to a postal plebiscite of Liberal members after the party's annual convention later this month.

A joint convention of the two parties to agree on a new constitution has been flagged for July.

Former Howard government minister Mal Brough, who will contest the Queensland Liberal Party presidency at the party's convention, told Fairfax Radio more details were needed before members could decide on the merger.

"Anyone that asks for people to make a decision on such a fundamentally important issue to both Australian and Queensland politics without seeing the full details is really making a big mistake," Mr Brough said.

Gold Coast Liberal frontbencher Ray Stevens said he believed any change should start at the federal level and not be imposed by the party's state divisions.

"It has to happen from the federal level down," Mr Stevens said.

"We can't have the tail wagging the dog."

Entering a joint meeting of Nationals and Liberal MPs in Brisbane on Monday before this week's sitting of state parliament, Sunshine Coast Liberal MP Steve Dickson said he was pleased with the merger's progress.

"I'm happy to see things moving forward and I think it's great to see the Liberal Party and the National party working together so well," he said.

He backed Nationals leader Lawrence Springborg becoming leader of the new party.

Nationals stalwart Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen said she was somewhat disappointed with the proposed name.

"I really thought they were going to come up with an entirely different name, something like the Conservative Party in Australia, or something like that, because that's what we are, we are both conservative parties in Australia," she said.

But she backed the concept of a single, non-Labor party.

Nationals frontbencher Ted Malone said the party hadn't surrendered its name to the Liberals.

"It's great, because it encompasses all we believe in, both the National and the Liberal party," Mr Malone told reporters.

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