A decade of Sunshine: Premier David Crisafulli’s 10-year vow to revive Queensland after win
In a result that will be heavily analysed by Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton just months away from a federal election, David Crisafulli shed his small target election strategy to promise to deliver significant reforms on infrastructure, crime and housing.
Queensland’s new premier David Crisafulli has promised to deliver on a 10-year plan to revive the Sunshine State’s economy and society, as he led the Liberal National Party back into government and put to an end to Labor’s dominance of the mainland states.
In a result that will be pored over by Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton months out from the federal election, Mr Crisafulli shed his small target election strategy to promise to deliver significant reforms on infrastructure, crime and housing.
As he vowed to be a two-term premier and gave a veiled reference to the mistakes of the one-term Campbell Newman LNP government, Mr Crisafulli promised to be humble and to secure a “world-class” public service.
“We govern with humility and decency and vision and tenacity and, in doing so, we get the opportunity to govern for a longer period of time,” he said
“Tonight Queenslanders have voted for hope over fear, they have voted for a fresh start and they have voted for a majority LNP government … We’ll be serving them with every ounce of fibre we have, and we are determined to make sure that this state returns to the powerhouse it can be.”
And the new Premier pointedly thanked his outgoing predecessor Steven Miles for his service to the state, despite the Labor leader less than an hour before refusing to concede defeat and launching a virulent attack against the new government.
Mr Miles’s defiant and at times bizarre speech was blasted by one Labor grandee as a “boofhead performance” and supporters of outgoing Health Minister Shannon Fentiman were discussing moves on his leadership as early as Saturday night.
Under Labor rules, the state leadership is automatically spilt in the result of an election loss.
One ALP source told the Australian: “I think now the LNP has a majority, Steven has to step down”.
The LNP was on track for a majority of two to six seats and a two party preferred vote of 54 per cent by the end of counting on Saturday night, thanks to a strong performance in pre-polls that outweighed more Labor friendly results in election day voting.
The LNP win is the first Coalition party victory in a mainland state election since 2019 and Mr Crisafulli will be the highest ranked centre-right politician in the country.
The election result also turned into a nightmarish night for the Queensland Greens, whose hopes of expanding their reach through the suburbs of Brisbane crumbled and they were at the verge of losing both their seats in state parliament.
Mr Crisafulli said on Saturday night that his government would “do what it said” and work towards a second term victory four years from now based on results.
He highlighted ending the youth crime crisis, getting businesses to relocate to Queensland, and investing in infrastructure as his government’s biggest priorities.
And in a pointed attack on Labor’s scare campaign on abortion rights, Mr Crisafulli said “all of the fear” would not come to fruition.
“Friends, this is not America. We don’t pander to extremes,” he said.
A defiant Mr Miles used his election night speech to supporters in his Murrumba electorate to attack the predicted incoming LNP government, accusing Mr Crisafulli of having “ducked and weaved and tied himself into the tiniest small target Queensland has ever seen”.
The outgoing premier, who was installed as leader in December in a union and factional deal after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s exit, arrived at the Murrumba Downs Tavern in his outer-Brisbane electorate of Murrumba to cheers from the party faithful, describing the result as “extraordinary”.
“We will know more as counting continues in coming days, many seats remain too close to call,” Mr Miles said.
He said the LNP leader had left many unanswered questions during the campaign, including on abortion, coal royalties, and public service cuts.
“Whatever the final number of seats, I will keep doing what matters for Queensland,” Mr Miles said.
“I will never stop holding the LNP to account.”
He used the speech to declare he was proud of his policy agenda, and called out Labor’s plan for state-owned petrol stations, 50 bulk-billing GP clinics across the state, free primary school lunches.
Mr Miles thanked the trade union movement, supporters, ALP state secretary Kate Flanders and his family, and said he had “no regrets” about the campaign or his ten month-stint as Premier.
The outgoing premier’s failure to concede defeat to the LNP was criticised by Labor grandees.
While Ms Palaszczuk defended the speech, she said the Premier “could have spoken a little bit about David (Crisafulli) and his family.”
Former Labor minister and powerbroker Graham Richardson said the speech was “a load of crap
“It was as graceless as it was pathetic. I’m not going to defend that,” Mr Richardson told Sky News. “It was a boofhead performance.”
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