Opinion: Labor-Greens coalition election scenario we need to worry about

Number crunchers from both major political parties say that this state election will be desperately close, which means Queensland could be heading for a hung parliament. It brings a dangerous scenario into play, writes Peter Gleeson.

There’s a growing suspicion that Queensland is headed for a hung parliament after the October 31 election.

Number crunchers from both major political parties say that this election will be desperately close and those in the Labor Party who believe Annastacia Palaszczuk is home and hosed are delusional.

There are political corpses scattered throughout the world where hubris and complacency have cost them victory. Bill Shorten’s ill-fated tilt at The Lodge is a perfect example.

While the ALP will poll well in Brisbane for its coronavirus performance, the Palaszczuk government is on the nose in central and north Queensland and voters will punish Labor for escalating youth crime and a perception of overreach to COVID-19 in the regions.

Palaszczuk Government accused of ‘hubris and complacency’ by former Labor strategist

Letters: Greens councillor Jonathan Sri fails constituents by supporting protesters

It’s looking unlikely Annastacia Palaszczuk will be able to form a majority government after the next election. Picture: News Corp/Attila Csaszar

Add into the mix the Clive Palmer factor – he’s already got ads out there saying Give Labor the Boot – and the fact that the preferences from the minor parties will flow mostly to the LNP, and you can see it won’t be a picnic for the ALP.

Unless Labor or the LNP secure a majority – which looks unlikely – there are three possible scenarios that will ultimately determine which party resides at One William Street for the next four years.

The first is a Labor-Katter’s ­Australian Party-Greens minority government. The second is an LNP-Katter’s Australian Party-One Nation minority government. The third is a Labor-Greens minority government.

Many in politics have speculated that the Katter’s Australian Party will once again side with Labor if it holds the ­balance of power.

Take this to the bank. The Katter’s Australian Party will form government with the LNP this time around if there’s a hung parliament.

Katter's Australian Party state leader Robbie Katter is holding a grudge with Annastacia Palaszczuk over having party resources pulled. Picture: Matt Taylor

Leader Robbie Katter has never forgiven Ms Palaszczuk for pulling staff and resources after then ­Katter’s Australian Party MP Fraser Anning used parliament to talk about a “final solution”, which ­angered many, including the Jewish community. Anning was quickly dumped by the Katter’s Australian Party, but that didn’t stop Labor ­decimating its resourcing.

Robbie Katter had to sack staff, and he is still smarting.

Plus Katter’s Australian Party voters are more traditionally conservative and the Katters are big on coal and dams, which Labor just doesn’t get.

Labor won’t get the Katter’s Australian Party’s support. This leaves the other scenario – a Labor-Greens minority government, which is the most dangerous of all the combinations for Queensland. If the Greens got any control or influence in state parliament, Queensland would be a very different place.

Let’s take a closer look at their ­totemic leader and most high-profile politician, Gabba councillor Jonathan Sri. A self-confessed anarchist and communist, Cr Sri lives on a houseboat and doesn’t pay any rates. He says he can’t afford to buy or rent a property on his $180,000 annual salary.

Jonathan Sri is the Greens’ most high-profile politician in Brisbane. Picture: AAP image/ John Gass

Last week, he missed a finance committee meeting because he was on a microphone stirring up CBD protests to free refugees. There was widespread CBD traffic disruption. He complained to The Courier-Mail that he was sick and tired of organising protest rallies, just a week after Sri tried to distance himself from his involvement in protests.

Last week, Cr Sri posted on social media about so-called “blood stained water fountains – a powerful and ­creative protest from a few activists in Brissie this morning calling for ­refugees to be released from indefinite detention’’. Businesses were forced to drain the fountain and clean the graffiti.

This is the same Cr Sri who pretended to be somebody else in a phone message to an Ipswich state MP. It’s the same Cr Sri who tried to compare Extinction Rebellion CBD protests with Anzac Day marches and has encouraged illegal squatting.

The Labor-Greens minority government is the one to be worried about.