Seats still in doubt, but Greens blame Labor for party’s poor showing

The LNP’s decision to reverse the preference flows that enabled the Greens to pick up South Brisbane at the last election could see the seat go back to Labor.

On Sunday afternoon, first-term Greens MP Amy MacMahon was leading on primary votes, with Labor’s Barbara O’Shea second, meaning preferences from the third-place LNP candidate will likely determine the winner.

LNP how-to-vote cards in South Brisbane suggested Labor be given preferences ahead of the Greens which, on paper at least, would see O’Shea overtake MacMahon.

State Greens MPs Amy MacMahon (right) and Michael Berkman at a CFMEU rally in Brisbane ahead of the election campaign.Credit: Instagram

Such a scenario would also seemingly give the LNP a mandate to revisit a Gabba rebuild for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, given that the Greens led the campaign against the stadium.

However, Queensland’s first elected Greens MP, Michael Berkman, was hopeful on Sunday that MacMahon would hold on.

Berkman was doing worse than MacMahon on primary votes in his seat of Maiwar, coming second behind the LNP’s Natasha Winters, but was confident of Labor preferences getting him across the line.

Nonetheless, it is a far cry from the Greens’ pre-election prediction that they could pick up four or more seats, and it effectively halts the electoral insurgency that had seen the minor party pick up seats at the previous federal, state and council elections.

While acknowledging the swing to the LNP, Berkman sought to blame Labor for the Greens’ poor showing, saying the now-opposition party had stolen policies around public transport fares (prompting the LNP to also honour 50¢ fares), free school lunches, and incentives for bulk-billing GP clinics.

“In fact, on the day of the election and the preceding day, Steven Miles was spending his time in seats that were some of our best prospects, rather than fighting the LNP, which is why David Crisafulli is now the premier, and why we’re facing four years of conservative government in Queensland,” Berkman said.

“And that is a betrayal of Queenslanders – of progressive Queenslanders who want to see him work constructively with us rather than picking fights to keep Greens out of parliament.”

In the urban south-east, the LNP will pick up the northern seat of Pine Rivers, and nearby Nicklin and Caloundra, as well as bayside Redcliffe and Redlands. It is also likely to pick up the seats of Aspley and Pumicestone from Labor.

But a Labor win in South Brisbane, and winning back Ipswich West, would help offset the losses and give the state opposition a city bunker.

Berkman said progressive voters had only achieved change through the Greens, and Labor should focus on fighting the conservatives instead of having “petty fights” over inner-city seats.

Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt made similar comments on Sunday, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was having none of it, saying the Greens should expect a similar reaction from voters at the upcoming federal election.

“Containing the Greens Party shows that people who elected the Greens to parliament expected them to play a progressive role, not a blocking role,” Albanese said.

The prime minister has already spoken to incoming premier David Crisafulli about the LNP’s planned 100-day review of venues for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Crisafulli will dump Labor’s controversial plan to redevelop the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, and has left open the option of revisiting Labor’s original plan to rebuild the Gabba as the Games centrepiece.

On election night, former Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk defended her work on the Games and said the Gabba option, scrapped by Miles, still made “perfect sense”.

Crisafulli declined on Sunday to predict the outcome of his venue review, but in response to Palaszczuk’s comments, said: “Queenslanders will see a plan that they are proud of.”

Berkman would not be drawn on the message from the electorate regarding the Gabba redevelopment, but said if Miles had adopted a different campaign strategy, Queensland could have had a Labor Miles government.

The Greens were not the only crossbenchers to lose popular support. Katter’s Australian Party leader Robbie Katter on Sunday felt similarly burnt by the LNP, questioning why the conservatives would resort to underhanded tactics ahead of the election and “win it badly”.

Queensland’s only independent MP, Sandy Bolton, held her seat of Noosa.

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