Good riddance to Miles, but Crisafulli will need help

Like other readers of The Australian, I have heard my share of election night speeches. Never have I heard such a deluded and graceless speech as that delivered by Steven Miles. Perhaps he will be able to claim his singular greatest success as having captured the essence of why Queenslanders have rejected Labor as the party that can take their great state forward.

Ian Pearson, Barton, ACT

The Queensland election ended with a union-educated and controlled premier, Steven Miles, conceding defeat in the most undignified manner possible by dismissing his winning opponent after the defeat was obvious. Miles revealed his true colours, which will forever follow his character, after he denigrated the winning team, led by David Crisafulli, and then left his audience, watching over TV, shocked. After an AFL or NFL final does the captain of the losing team have such a tantrum or do they not gracefully accept the result and even congratulate them? Miles’s performance was not the Australian way.

Vince Flynn, Ashgrove, Qld

I cannot remember any other leader, no matter what party, not conceding nor offering congratulations to the new incumbent during his election night address, when clearly defeated. Steven Miles may well be remembered for being the first to break with this tradition.

Sheila Duke, Bulimba, Qld

Despite forming majority government, Queensland’s state election result should also reflect the weak performance of Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli throughout the campaign.

It’s been clear since the latest Newspoll that the election could go down to the wire, with Steven Miles making desperate last-day efforts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. After nine years of ALP government, which was on its knees, even a drover’s dog could’ve led the LNP to victory. This should reflect poorly on Crisafulli and the LNP.

What I don’t understand is why so many of today’s political leaders refuse to lead. Why did it take Crisafulli until the last day of the campaign to neutralise the abortion issue? Political parties need to elucidate what they stand for, what their priorities are in terms of the main issues, cost of living and economic management, plus meeting future energy needs.

Why has the state party not come out in full support of Peter Dutton’s plan to utilise nuclear power generation as the best way to replace coal in the long term?

Will Muskens, Bardon, Qld

During the Queensland election campaign, LNP leader David Crisafulli said that if he was elected he would keep the state’s coal-fired power stations open indefinitely to ensure energy remains reliable and affordable (“LNP says coal here to stay for long term”, 11/10).

“We need the baseload power that comes from those coal-fired power generators,” he said. Now it is clear voters agreed, with the LNP claiming victory over the Miles Labor government.

When it comes to the crucial issue of energy, if only we had the same pragmatic, responsible thinking from the Albanese government. But no such luck. With its policy of kicking coal-fired power out and replacing it with 82 per cent of weak, intermittent, weather-dependent renewables, propped up by a mishmash of short-duration batteries and massively expensive pumped hydro, Labor is condemning Australians to permanently high power bills and blackouts.

Dale Ellis, Innisfail, Qld

The Queensland election and its voting patterns speak to a wider international trend, including the old adage of “vote early, vote often”. But this has surely been replaced by “be sure to vote, vote early”.

There are hidden but valuable benefits in adopting this mantra, particularly when it comes to avoiding last-minute election furphies promoted by incumbent governments seeking to buttress their failures against their demise. It will be interesting to see whether the trend towards higher levels of early voting, currently occurring in Georgia, US, will continue. The twist there of course is that voting is entirely optional.

The “be sure to vote, vote early” thinking presents as another factor mitigating against perceived swings in last-minute voting predictions from all manner of voting polls.

Neil Callow, Doonan, Qld