Queensland leads Coalition to Federal Election victory
Queensland is ground zero for a spectacular LNP triumph which placed the Coalition on the brink of claiming at least a minority government overnight.
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QUEENSLAND has become ground zero for an LNP triumph which placed the Coalition on the brink of claiming at least a minority government.
The LNP was last night on track to win a record 23 seats in the Sunshine State in a stunning display of electoral dominance.
Adani, jobs, Labor’s proposed franking credits changes and a strong campaign led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison were being credited with securing the remarkable result for the Coalition.
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A swag of LNP-held marginal seats previously thought to have been at risk, including Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson, were all retained by the Government with increased majorities.
The Coalition also picked up two more seats in Queensland – the Townsville-based Herbert, and Longman, north of Brisbane.
A third Senate seat was also within the LNP’s reach last night.
Labor was shell-shocked at the result, having previously been hoping to gain at least one seat.
Instead it was reduced to holding just six seats, and recorded large swings against it in two more.
Labor was just holding on to Blair and Lilley last night, despite both seats previously looking safe. It now has no presence in the Lower House outside southeast Queensland.
Despite this, there has largely been only a small lift in the LNP’s primary vote, with a large preference flow from the One Nation vote and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party bumping up the result.
Mr Dutton, who had been fighting to keep his marginal seat, paid tribute to Mr Morrison for delivering the victory.
“There is an amazing mood across the country in support of the Prime Minister,” he said. “(Opposition leader Bill Shorten) needed to be called out, and he was.”
While Longman had been predicted to be close, it was still a surprise win for the LNP’s Terry Young, who looked set to win the seat from Labor’s Susan Lamb. But with the vote remaining tight last night, Mr Young was not willing to declare victory. While Ms Lamb won a by-election in July last year with an increased margin, she had fallen behind in the count late last night.
LNP candidate Phil Thompson was ahead in the Labor seat of Herbert, where MP Cathy O’Toole struggled with the Adani issue throughout the campaign.
“We did expect it to be tough and we did expect it to be tight,” Ms O’Toole said last night.
While Labor was bullish about its chances early on in Leichhardt, LNP veteran Warren Entsch was easily returned.
LNP Senator Amanda Stoker said Adani, Mr Morrison and a “reaction against Mr Shorten’s radical redistribution agenda” contributed to the strong result for the Coalition in the state.
“This was Queenslanders rejecting the (State Labor Deputy Premier Jackie) Trad Government’s green agenda in favour of the go-ahead for major projects and the jobs that come with them,” Senator Stoker said.
There were only three seats in Queensland with a two-party preferred swing in favour of Labor, all of them in the inner-city. Griffith, Brisbane and Ryan all looked to swing towards Labor, the only positive movement for the party in the state.
Shayne Neumann was narrowly hanging on in Blair after suffering a 7.3 per cent swing against him.
There was a 10 per cent swing against his primary vote, a small movement against the LNP, while One Nation picked up almost 18 per cent of the vote.
One Nation’s strongest support was recorded in Flynn, where it picked up 20 per cent of the primary vote. Preferences delivered the LNP’s Ken O’Dowd, once holding one of the most marginal seats in the country, a safe buffer of almost 10 per cent.
In Petrie, the LNP’s Luke Howarth was set to be returned, despite going into the election with a narrow 1.5 per cent margin. He increased his margin against the national trend in 2016, and looked set to do the same again this year, dashing the chances of Labor hopeful Corinne Mulholland.
Mr Dutton won Dickson for a seventh time last night, despite Labor’s Ali France having high-profile support throughout the campaign, including from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
First-time LNP candidate Angie Bell had won the seat of Moncrieff, replacing former Trade and Tourism Minister Steve Ciobo, who announced he would not contest the election weeks before it was called.
Former Turnbull Government Minister Wyatt Roy was in Brisbane with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, handing out for LNP MP Trevor Evans.
There was a small swing the LNP in Ryan, but not enough for the seat to fall to Labor.
It will still have a new MP, with Julian Simmonds replacing the outgoing Jane Prentice.
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