Newman to try for federal Senate after resigning from LNP

Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman is expected to make a bid for the federal Senate on a minor party ticket, after suddenly quitting the Liberal National Party.

The move comes a day after Mr Newman blasted his former party on social media for losing the Stretton byelection.

Then-community recovery minister David Crisafulli (left) with then-premier Campbell Newman in Cairns as Cyclone Ita approached in 2014.Credit: Glenn Hunt

Mr Newman was understood to have sent a resignation letter late on Sunday to LNP state director Tony Eyres, saying he was no longer able to continue as a member of the party he once led.

In a statement released on Monday, Mr Newman said he was dissatisfied with how the federal government had handled the COVID-19 pandemic response, and was dissatisfied with his party’s performance in Queensland.

“It is important to keep Australians safe, but it is equally important to keep us free. The two concepts do not need to be mutually exclusive,” Mr Newman said.

“Our federal and state governments have failed to honour the spirit of individual freedom that is at the heart of not only Liberal Party values, but wider Australian values.”

In a brief statement on Monday, Mr Eyres acknowledged Mr Newman’s resignation and wished him well.

“On the weekend the grassroots members and the parliamentary team of the LNP made a clear decision to chart a new path of unity, laying a strong platform for the party’s future and in turn the future of Queensland,” Mr Eyres said.

“The LNP thanks Mr and Mrs Newman for their service.”

Mr Newman said he would likely run for the federal Senate on a minor party ticket, although which party was yet to be confirmed.

Some commentators have suggested One Nation, but there is a strong suggestion Mr Newman will link up with the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Newman’s presence on the Senate ticket could prove costly for the LNP, with Amanda Stoker’s third-place spot by no means a certainty of re-election.

Mr Newman was a hugely popular lord mayor of Brisbane, with public sentiment soaring around his management of the response to the 2011 floods.

Trading off this popularity, Mr Newman was parachuted in to lead the LNP later in 2011 without actually holding a seat in State Parliament.

The unusual arrangement proved a massive success, with the LNP annihilating Labor at the polls in one of the largest electoral routs in Australian politics history, leaving them with just seven seats.

However after only one term, marked by several deeply unpopular policies, chief among them the sacking of 14,000 public servants and plans to privatise state assets, the LNP suffered a collapse of its own, with Labor reclaiming government in a minority under Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Since then Mr Newman has been frequently critical of the party, culminating in his formal resignation on Sunday.

His wife Lisa, who was also an LNP member, resigned from the party at the same time as her husband.