THE SQUEEZE IS ON, page-3309

Yes a wipeout for sure, and very well deserved. Only got to hope now that Crisafulli plucks up some courage when he takes office as Premier at the end of October. His extreme caution as Opposition Leader has been understandable, to a degree -- he served as a junior Minister during the short-lived Campbell Newman premiership, and remembers that disaster all too well -- but excessive caution as Premier will be as bad or worse than Newman's 'slash and burn' approach. There is a middle ground -- courageous where it really counts, cautious where it doesn't -- but the challenge will be to strike that balance and sell it. A good test of the new Premier will be whether he ditches his absurd promise to retain in full Labor's extravagant, highly politicised and economically irresponsible budget.