One Nation to be paid for Queensland election votes

IT MAY have been a disappointing result for One Nation in Saturday’s Queensland election but Pauline Hanson won’t walk away empty-handed.

WHILE One Nation has struggled to pick up a seat in the Queensland election, its primary vote means the party won’t walk away empty-handed.

With about 76 per cent of the vote counted, Pauline Hanson’s party has received 323,135 primary votes and more than 13 per cent of the vote.

Candidates endorsed by registered political parties that achieve more than 6 per cent of the first preferences in their electorate earn $3.14 per vote for the party, from the Queensland Electoral Commission.

On top of this, candidates who achieved more than 6 per cent also pocket $1.57 per vote.

However, the state’s Electoral Act states that the amount of electoral funding to which the candidate or party is entitled to, is the lesser of the amount spent on the campaign or the amount calculated using the first preference votes. So how much the party gets paid will depend on how much it spent courting votes.

At the moment it looks like the only One Nation candidate likely to be elected is Stephen Andrew in the seat of Mirani. With 75 per cent of the vote counted, ABC election analyst Antony Green called the seat for One Nation yesterday afternoon.

Mr Andrew narrowly claimed the seat from Labor’s Jim Pearce based on preferences.

In another turnaround, the Greens may also win a seat in Maiwar, which had been considered a Labor win.

If it does, this could cause a headache for Labor, which was expected to claim 48 seats.

If it loses Maiwar this would still leave it with 47 seats, enough to form a majority government.

But Labor is also fighting a close battle in Rockhampton where independent Margaret Strelow is leading as well as in Aspley and Gaven, so losing another seat would mean it needs support from another MP to form government.

At the moment the Liberal National Party is predicted to get 40 seats and Katter’s Australia Party looks likely to pick up the seat of Hinchinbrook from the LNP and has also held on to Hill and Traeger.

Another independent, Sandra Bolton, has secured the seat of Noosa.

Many seats will come down to preferences on pre-poll and postal votes, which are up significantly on the 2015 poll.

More than 800,000 people voted before election day, according to the Queensland Electoral Commission.

The count has also been complicated by One Nation’s decision to preference the Greens last and all sitting MPs second last, as well as the reintroduction of compulsory preferential voting.

Pauline Hanson won’t walk away empty-handed from the Queensland election. Photo Lachie Millard