Here we Joh again? The spectre of Bjelke-Petersen still looms large over Queensland

At least one senior Liberal privately describes Joh Bjelke-Petersen as the ‘best premier Queensland ever had’, but such a comment is rarely made publicly. Composite: Fairfax Media/Getty Images/Guardian design

A sign stopped Aunty Sandra King in her tracks. The elder of the Yagara, Quandamooka and Bundjalung people, now in her 70s, spoke at a protest last month against plans to build an Olympic stadium in the heart of Brisbane’s Victoria Park.

In the crowd a man held aloft a homemade placard with the words “I Preferred Joh”.