Greens, One Nation and Katter’s Australian Party key members, policies: Qld 2024 election
Queensland’s state election may be heading towards an LNP government but the minor parties could yet have a say.
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Queensland’s state election may be heading towards an LNP government but the minor parties could yet have a say.
That’s because behind the scenes – and sometimes front and centre – ‘minor’ entitles like One Nation, the Greens and Katter’s Australian Party often end up in the ultimate negotiating position.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on October 25 staunchly ruled out forming a minority government with the Katter’s Australian Party.
Regardless, who exactly are these ‘minor parties’, what do they stand for and how did they fare in the state election?
See who’s who and what’s what below >>>
ONE NATION
How did they fare in the election?
One Nation looks set to fail to secure any seats, but performed strongest in Keppel, Cairns, Callide, Lockyer and Whitsunday.
Campaign policies and preferences
■ One Nation went hard on youth crime, particularly in Townsville, with candidate Steven Clare urging the city to “wake up”, saying the scourge will continue under the major parties. He said his first order of business would be to hold a referendum on how parliament in Queensland is run saying the state is “so corrupt”.
■ Pauline Hanson in February declared One Nation will preference the LNP over Labor, despite her “distrust” of party leader David Crisafulli.
Key headlines
■ October 15: Wide Bay One Nation candidates Katy McCallum and Taryn Gillard called for the controversial $2 billion Forest Wind wind farm north of Gympie to be dumped, claiming it was a threat to wildlife.
In a joint statement, Gympie One Nation candidate Ms McCallum and Maryborough One Nation candidate Ms Gillard claimed the community did not want it.
■ October 15: Brettlyn ‘Beaver’ Neal is listed as Brett Neal as a candidate, and on all her official voting material, sparking speculation online as to why.
But the One Nation candidate said there is a simple answer — her legal name is Brett.
In Ms Neal’s telling, both she and her uncle shared the name Brett so to make things easier growing up, she went by Brettlyn.
Unprompted, she acknowledged rumours spreading around that she had had a “sex-change” and laughed them off as ridiculous.
■ October 15: A minor party’s preference deal with One Nation was not well received by voters attending a debate in a remote Indigenous community in Far North Queensland.
Eight of Mulgrave’s 10 candidates visited the coastal town of Yarrabah, south of Cairns, with about 20 guests encouraged to ask questions of each of the political aspirants during the debate.
The inquiries were well generally received until the conversation turned to preferences, with Katter’s Australian Party candidate Steven Lesina indicating that he would be putting One Nation’s Michael McInnes after his name on the ballot.
■ October 3: Pauline Hanson’s right-hand-man and One Nation Keppel candidate James Ashby was slapped down for graphically likening a late-term abortion to “cutting up a Sunday roast chicken”.
Mr Ashby, who pundits say is on track to unseat Labor’s Assistant Health Minister Brittany Lauga in the central Queensland seat of Keppel, used a candidate’s interview to criticise contents of the government’s 2018 law to decriminalise abortion.
In the conversation, Mr Ashby said he was informed about first-trimester abortions but wanted to learn about what a second and third-trimester-procedure looks like.
■ Full list of candidates here
KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY
How did they fare in the election?
KAP is set to secure three seats – Hill, Hinchinbrook and Traeger.
Policies and preferences
■ Queensland’s abortion became the lightning rod topic of the election, with KAP vowing to make life tough for would-be Premier David Crisafulli.
■ David Crisafulli in October 2023 adamantly ruled out doing any deals with the crossbench to become Queensland’s next Premier. Then Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk insisted a $1.3bn pledge to build the CopperString energy project was not made to appease Katter’s Australian Party, whose support could be crucial in deciding the next state government.
Key headlines
■ October 22: Katter’s Australian Party leader Robbie Katter backtracked on his vow to repeal abortion laws, saying only a Bill mandating care for a baby born alive would be introduced to parliament.
Addressing a firestorm prompted by his pledge to tinker with abortion laws in the next parliament, Mr Katter told Sky News his only plan was to reintroduce a Babies Born Alive Bill that failed earlier this year.
■ October 16: A relative of a Far North Katter’s Australian Party candidate lashed out at her own cousin on his party’s plans to roll back abortion laws.
Abortion became a surprise topic ahead of Queensland’s election after the state KAP leader Robbie Katter announced his party would introduce a private member’s bill to roll back the decriminalisation of abortion after the election.
Kirsten Lesina, second cousin of Mulgrave’s KAP candidate Steve Lesina, has spoken out on the divisive issue she said was a real possibility of becoming illegal again if the LNP wins government.
■ October 15: KAP deputy leader Nick Dametto launched another fierce attack on the LNP, accusing them of ‘grossly misleading’ voters with a political ad claiming the Katters can’t be trusted on crime.
Residents across North Queensland were bombarded with TV ads urging them not to place their trust in KAP when it comes to crime policy.
The LNP’s ad campaign points to KAP members Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth, accusing them of being soft on crime after being absent from a crucial 2016 vote that the LNP claims played a key role in “watering down” youth justice laws.
■ October 10: Hinchinbrook MP and Katters Australian Party deputy leader Nick Dametto threw a Godfather-esque barb at LNP leader David Crisafulli over his how-to-vote card.
The how-to-vote card urges voters in Ingham — where David Crisafulli is also from — to put Labor and the KAP last.
It showed Crisafulli and LNP Hinchinbrook candidate Annette Swaine stating their points of ‘change’, ‘tough on crime’ and ‘the right plan for Queensland’, while showing ‘more of the same’, ‘not serious on crime’ and risks four more years of Steven Miles and Labor’ next to Dametto and Miles’ pictures.
■ October 9: Conservative crossbench MPs will propose changes to the state’s abortion laws in the next term of parliament, in a direct challenge to David Crisafulli’s authority over the LNP.
The Opposition Leader doubled down on his promise there would be “no change” to the ability of women to access abortions in Queensland should the LNP take government.
But he cannot control what laws crossbenchers put forward nor how his MPs vote unless he chooses to break with convention and deny his party room a conscience vote on matters of life or death.
■ October 9: A Katter’s Australian Party MP wants parents to have the freedom to smack their kids, framing it as a solution to the youth crime crisis.
Mirani MP Stephen Andrew said generations before did not have the same issues and advocated for “greater freedom” for parents in disciplining their children.
When asked if that meant physical discipline, like smacking, he said yes.
■ Full list of candidates here
GREENS
How did they fare in the election?
Michael Berkman is set to land the seat of Maiwar – see the live results here.
However bold plans to pinch multiple other Brisbane seats look set to fall plat in a major blow for the Greens.
Policies and preferences
■ The Greens insisted they are the only party with a long-term plan on housing.
Key headlines
■ October 12: Paula Creen put her hand up as the Greens candidate for Mackay promising to deliver affordable housing.
A Mackay resident of 21 years, Ms Creen ran for the Federal seat of Dawson in 2022.
Having worked as a building designer and drafter for 27 years, Ms Creen said she wants to make big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share in tax to fund housing, healthcare and education.
■ October 1: The Greens made a pitch to struggling swing voters, claiming they are the only major party with a wide-ranging, long-term plan to address the affordability crisis.
“Labor are announcing some short-term pre-election sugar hits, but the Greens have long term plans to actually tackle the cost of living and housing crisis,’’ the party’s South Brisbane MP Amy MacMahon said.
“Housing is the number one expense for most Queenslanders, but only the Greens are proposing to cap rent increases and create a publicly-owned bank to offer cheaper mortgages.”
■ August 24: Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath launched a scathing attack on the Greens after the party claimed it was poised to steal several key Labor inner-city seats, accusing the minor party of striking a backdoor preference deal with the LNP.
The Queensland Greens sensationally claimed they were on track to boot three Labor MPs – including a powerful minister – from parliament with a surge in support across Brisbane.
The minor party had long been expected to challenge Labor and the LNP in six inner- city seats at the October 26 poll and insisted it was on track to win three of them from the state government.
■ October 11: Greens candidate Elena Quirk is running in Whitsunday, and insists she is not beholden to big corporations or vested interests.
She is advocating for the taxation of big corporations to fund 100,000 homes and the breaking up of the Coles and Woolies “duopoly”.
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