PM's pitch to Ipswich
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard rolled into Ipswich on Tuesday determined to win the hearts - and votes - of the people of Ipswich.
In a whirlwind day she announced a new cancer clinic in Springfield and returned to the base of Ipswich's SES flood heroes, while a flying squad of cabinet ministers hit the campaign trail across the city.
And Tuesday night she faced a crowd of almost 500 at Redbank Plains State High School, where she was grilled on the future of our schools and put the case for the controversial carbon tax.
She received a rock-star welcome in Redbank Plains but knows Labor has to lift its game in south-east Queensland if it is to see off the Coalition at the next federal election.
In an interview with The Queensland Times, she admitted she was disturbed by the size of the defeat inflicted on Anna Bligh's state Labor team, but said it certainly did not spell disaster for the party she leads in government at Canberra.
