And after testing it out in radio interviews and doorstops, Campbell Newman followed in Bligh and Beattie's footsteps by pulling out one of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's favourite tropes in the most sympathetic of rooms.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he told the Queensland Property Council of Australia lunch, "the cranes are back".

The 'crane index' has been used since the 80s as a way for premiers to demonstrate a booming economy.

Premiers point to the skyline where the sky scraping skeletons stand as an indicator of growth.

Looking back as a way of looking forward marked the Premier's speech.

"...I'd like to cast everyone's minds back to the Queensland of two years and three months ago," he said.

"Back then we were competing with Tasmania for the wooden spoon. We had a government budget that was blowing out by more and more each despite being in a mining boom.

"We had a health system with a fake Tahitian Prince, a $1.2 billion payroll disaster, ambulance ramping...

"And most significantly for this industry... there were very few cranes on the Brisbane skyline.

"So let's look at where we are today. We know there's a lot of work to be done...but I do say today that I am very, very upbeat about where we are at the moment. We are heading in the right direction."

"It didn't happen by accident. It happened because the government I lead is committed to reform, to getting the economy going, to revitalising frontline services."

Mr Newman's speech was greeted warmly by the room, which embraced his promise to continue to support the development industry.

But as he continues his mission to rebrand and rebuild his own, and the government's, image, expect Mr Newman to continue pointing to the past as well as the sky.

"Sometimes, in this fast moving world, we forget the things that have happened only a short period ago," he said.