A change that was as good as a holiday

But his post-election decision to abolish the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and merge its functions with the Department of Communities prompted an outbreak of chin-scratching, not least among Queensland's Indigenous communities.

"This will give you a higher profile and much more clout," said the government spin doctors in the tone of voice used by door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen who want to close a deal.

However, they would not confirm that water-buckets with holes in them were particularly useful because they were so much lighter to carry or that cold pies were terrific because they didn't burn your mouth.

Aboriginal people have become used to getting the sharp end of the pineapple from the Queensland Government. They can do without being patronised at the same time.

A few years back the Great Helmsman, John Howard, subsumed Indigenous Affairs into the Department of Immigration, creating a super department known colloquially as the Department for People We Wish Weren't Here.

The “merger” saw Indigenous input into policy development take on a tokenistic quality, as the federal-government indulged in a spot of something that looked very like old-fashioned black-bashing.

Consultation and compassion were ditched for a suite of heavy-handed policies predicated on the notion that Aboriginal people needed to be compelled, commanded and controlled.

But Beattie is no standover merchant. On the contrary, his interventions are most notable for their superficiality. In his latest master-stroke, the Premier has announced that he will append the title of “Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships” to the office door of his Minister for Communities, Warren Pitt.

Beyond costing the tax-payers a few thousand dollars on signage and letterhead, it is unclear what this latest change will achieve.

At a time when the Beattie Government's inept handling of the Mulrunji case is exploding on the front pages of newspapers across the country, something a bit more convincing that a new name badge for the minister is desperately needed.

The Indigenous people of Queensland - and their supporters all around the country - are fast tiring of the charismatic Premier's facility with smoke and mirrors.