At some stage in our lives, many of us are called on to accept the often thankless and onerous obligations that the executorship of a deceased relative’s will imposes.

Thankless because expectant heirs, disappointed by the terms of the will, can make all manner of claims ranging from unfairness to senility of the testator or importuning influence by the person who stands to benefit most. On other occasions, beneficiaries can become agitated and impatient at the progress of administration. They want their money now and the hapless executor is in the firing line.

Onerous since in all cases the duties are a constant. An executor is in the same position as a trustee. His or her primary duty is to gather in the assets, pay the creditors, hold the net liquidated funds on trust, scrupulously account for all expenditure, and promptly wind up the estate paying out entitlements according to the express intentions of the testator. An executor who wastes or squanders the estate is liable in an action called devastavit at civil law, meaning that he or she can be personally liable for the funds lost together with all the legal costs involved in their recovery.

In addition, serious criminal penalties can attach to an executor who converts trust funds to his or her own use. So, make an executorial mistake that sees money seep out of the corpus and it’s going cost you. Borrow a portion for yourself to tie you over for a bit and it’s going to cost your liberty. Handy to know, but why all this elemental will stuff?

Here’s a hint; wouldn’t it be rather nice for me, as an executor, to punt a slab of the estate money on getting elected to Parliament, a fabulous salary in the offing? Just write it off in the accounts as ‘expenses of administration’, hedging my bets with an IOU at 20 per cent interest tucked away somewhere along with a list of principles for the greater good attached in order for it to be justified in some fashion or as a salve to conscience…

We are in prime-time government ad season up here in the Sunshine State and those exemplary custodians and trustees of taxpayers’ money, ministers from the Premier down, are on a spendathon, not their dough of course, rather yours and mine with but one purpose in mind, re-election, hence the analogy. And nothing but sheer coincidence, old boy, we’re told that pre-polling for the October 26 poll is under three months away. It would help if Premier Miles and his Cabinet reminded himself and themselves of the above but they appear too arrogant to notice let alone care about the maxim, Be ye ever so high, the law is above you.

For as it happens, basic ethics Westminster conventions aside in a world where such notions are rapidly approaching veritable dead letter status, an August 2018 Code of Conduct for government advertising established by former Premier Palaszczuk obtains. A Code, mind you, easily circumvented by weasel words.

It states, inter alia:

Materials produced or published by the Queensland Government agencies or government entities must not attempt to foster a positive impression of a political party or promote party-political interests. For example, it must not: use political argument … directly attack or scorn the views, policies, or action of others such as the policies and opinions of the other political groups … be designed to influence public support for a political party, a candidate for election, or a Member of Parliament…(my emphasis)

In last ditch desperation, where clinging to the trappings of power and patronage to which it has assiduously held for 31 of the last 36 years trumps all other considerations, the Miles Labor government announced an avalanche of handouts as a forerunner to the recent state budget. And as if CFMEU millions of dollars in round-robin patronage isn’t enough to fund an advertising campaign, they are raiding the pockets of Queensland taxpayers in order to achieve their ignoble ends.

They tell us that the government has a big development plan for renewable energy and everything else besides. We’re reminded ad nauseam that from August 5 all fares on local and regional buses and trains would be slashed to 50 cents across the board until February 5, purportedly to ‘encourage the use of public transport’, and there will be a 20 per cent cut in registration for cars and light vehicles taking in the 12 months from September 16 to no doubt encourage the use of private transport. Such is the mesmeric illogic of a government in its apparent death throes but determined to leave booby traps everywhere for the incoming LNP should this ‘Bribey’, a term coined by a Courier-Mail sub-editor, for the latest rush and rash Labor promise to run a companion beside the existing Bribie Island bridge, prove fruitless.

Where did all this spending money come from? To answer that we go back to 2022 when, without any consultation with the mining industry, Labor Treasurer Dick announced a stratospheric increase in mining royalties to mark the state out as no country for old men to explore for minerals and do business if they happen to be miners. We now wear the dubious ‘honour’ of bearing one of the highest rates of royalty in the world to buttress the war chest for the latest Labor election sweeteners.

After the announcement, miners rebelled and funded a costly and attenuated advertising campaign to raise awareness of the royalty increases, reminding that companies such as BHP were taking their business elsewhere and highlighting the disincentive to investment and concomitant loss of employment opportunities. No doubt this infuriated the government since these ads had been a constant presence in the electronic and other media.

Unable to make the political case against the argument of harm being caused to the economy, the government decided to raid the Treasury and institute counter-advertising, for several months now, promoting through every means at its disposal the budget ‘Bribeys’. But it went one step further by authorising a political tag, adding that increased mining royalties were funding rebates on electricity, registration, and other things.

In tandem with such advertising, on May 23, 2024 Cameron Dick stated that additional revenues generated under the ‘new tiers’ have allowed the government to spend more in, ‘critical economic and social infrastructure and essential services’ helpfully adding, ‘…royalties have also funded the $1,000 rebates that every Queensland household will receive off their electricity bill from July 1.’

In the same release he attacked Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s approach to royalties as ‘small target’ and concluded as follows, ‘The best way to keep progressive coal royalties as they are and protect them for the future is to vote for the Miles Labor government in October.’

Labor has unambiguously made royalties a political issue and that’s fair enough. What amounts to foul play, however, is using taxpayers’ funds to run a political campaign about that issue. By the most curious of coincidences, one of the government ads brazenly asserts, ‘$1000 off your energy bills funded by coal royalties.’

It is patently clear from these ads authorised by the Qld government that a vote for the LNP will put at risk such electricity rebates, transport, and registration concessions, social infrastructure, and essential services on account of the LNP’s ambivalent and small target approach to mining royalties.

As such, it is my opinion that this is a clear breach of Labor’s own advertising Code as well as being morally and ethically reprehensible. The government and ministers, from the Premier down, in authorising this advertising is engaging in the business of nakedly using taxpayer money entrusted to it in order to get themselves re-elected.

If these actions do not amount to a breach of the Code and/or are distinguishable from an executor and trustee abstracting estate funds to win a highly paid seat in the Queensland Parliament, it is incumbent on Premier Miles, Cameron Dick, and his Ministers to explain why that isn’t so to Queensland taxpayers.