Brisbane council election: Labor left to rebuild as leadership contenders emerge

While the Liberal National Party continued to celebrate its record win in the Brisbane City Council election, Labor's attention turned to its next four years in opposition.

The ALP will have with a team of just five or six councillors, just four of whom with any council experience, as the party lost almost six decades of corporate memory.

And the retirement of Milton Dick, who has been preselected by Labor to run in the federal seat of Oxley, has left the opposition without a leader.

Defeated Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding said, despite the massive loss in the wards, the Labor Party was still well placed in the council chamber.

Failed Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding says he's confident the remaining Labor councillors can hold their own in the chamber.Credit: Glenn Hunt

Mr Harding hinted at who he thought would be Labor's leaders in the council chamber through to 2020.

"You've got a very experienced councillor in Shayne Sutton [Morningside], who has been an absolute champion for the people in her ward and the people of Brisbane, so no doubt she will continue and do a fantastic job for Brisbane and Bulimba," he said on Sunday.

"And equally Steve Griffiths [Moorooka] is a guy with a lot of experience. Peter Cumming [Wynnum Manly] as well.

"So I'm sure they'll be acting in the best interests of their wards and Brisbane more generally."

Deagon councillor Jared Cassidy has been tipped as a potential candidate to be Labor's Brisbane City Council leader.Credit: Facebook

One he did not mention was Deagon councillor Jared Cassidy.

Cr Cassidy, who was appointed to the council last year following the retirement of Victoria Newton, has been tipped by at least one senior Labor source to be a contender for the leadership, along with former leader Cr Sutton.

Morningside councillor Shayne Sutton, pictured with then-prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2013, may have another tilt at the council Labor leadership.Credit: Harrison Saragossi

Cr Cassidy told Fairfax Media the remaining Labor caucus would meet later this week to discuss the leadership and other matters.

"I've been talking today to my caucus colleagues, bearing in mind that the result in The Gabba could be up to 10 days away, if we're looking at postal votes that have to come in," he said.

"It's looking like it will be a smaller team, with the result in Northgate, so we'll be sitting down and having those discussions in the next few days."

Labor was on Sunday locked in a battle with the Greens to hold The Gabba, which was vacated by retired councillor Helen Abrahams.

As for whether Cr Cassidy himself would put his hand up for the leadership, as has been suspected among some on the Liberal National Party side of the aisle, the Deagon councillor remained tight-lipped.

"I haven't discussed that with my colleagues as yet," he said.

Cr Sutton had a stint as opposition leader during Campbell Newman's time as lord mayor and it was unclear whether she would be keen to take on the role again.

Cr Sutton did not return calls on Sunday and nor did the other re-elected Labor councillors, Cr Griffiths and Cr Cumming.

The only new face for Labor will be Charles Strunk, who won the redistributed ward of Forest Lake after Richlands councillor Milton Dick retired to pursue a federal career.

Labor's mantra in the campaign was "new energy for Brisbane", but as one LNP campaign insider told Fairfax Media: "The only new energy they have in their team is a 62-year-old in Forest Lake."

While that was perhaps an unfair comment, on the surface of it, things did look pretty bleak for Labor.

But the senior party source, who spoke on the condition on anonymity, said the party was now in a much stronger position, despite the head count in the council chamber.

"In any other election, a 10 per cent swing would be greeted with 'wow!' but (the LNP) were at such stratospheric highs all it got us was a more normal council result," the source said.

"We didn't get the seats in the chamber, that's true, but we're within striking distance in quite a few wards that were very safe LNP before."

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