Campbell Newman stunned by 'surreal' landslide after election victory

EVEN Campbell Newman was having trouble taking in what was happening after Queensland Labor suffered the worst election defeat in Australian history.

EVEN Campbell Newman was having trouble taking in what was happening after Queensland voters threw out a five-term state government and belted Labor with the worst election defeat in Australian history.

"It's surreal," the man of the moment said quietly, as he thanked his supporters and Liberal National Party volunteers for their effort in Ashgrove, the seat he won at the weekend along with the prize of Anna Bligh's job.

Mr Newman kept the celebrations low key yesterday as a stunned political establishment also struggled to come to terms with the magnitude of his victory.

For a freshman MP, the premier-elect is in an extraordinary position.

He will enter the Queensland parliament with unprecedented authority, at the head of an LNP government holding up to 80 of the 89 seats in the legislature, with no upper house to complicate matters.

Labor will be a shadow of the parliamentary party Ms Bligh led to the slaughter on Saturday, down from 51 MPs to as few as five and potentially leaderless until her replacement can be found.

Typically, the former Brisbane mayor rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work by convening the inaugural meeting of an interim cabinet of him, incoming deputy premier and state development minister Jeff Seeney and treasurer-designate Tim Nicholls.

The Governor will swear in the troika today to hold the fort until Mr Newman gets around to naming the full ministerial line-up. Of the existing LNP frontbenchers, only Mr Seeney, a former state Nationals leader, and Mr Nicholls are guaranteed their spots.

A transition-to-government team headed by Mr Seeney, who said yesterday his job was to "guard the leader's back", has been working quietly behind the scenes for months to identify who will be brought in to run the bureaucracy and take up key ministerial staff appointments.

While Mr Newman has said there will be no purge of the public service, he revealed he had asked Department of Premier and Cabinet director-general John Bradley to stand aside. Those tipped to follow him out the door include veteran under-treasurer Gerard Bradley (no relation) and Jim Reeves, head of the mega-Department of Environment and Resource Management set to be broken up by Mr Newman.

The former Brisbane lord mayor is believed to be considering his go-to woman at the council, retired chief executive Jude Munro, for a senior position, possibly heading up DPC. Her successor at City Hall former state co-ordinator general Colin Jensen may also be in the mix for a top appointment under Mr Newman.

The LNP leader would not be drawn on who else was in line for appointment to his cabinet from the current frontbench line-up, or the influx of up to 47 new LNP MPs elected on Saturday.

Among the newcomers, high-flying corporate lawyer Ian Walker is seen as a strong chance to go straight into cabinet, along with the woman who won back Joh Bjelke-Petersen's old Kingaroy-based seat of Nanango for the conservatives, solicitor and small business operator Deb Frecklington.

Mr Newman has also spoken approvingly of businesswoman Saxon Rice, who worked for Kevin Rudd's wife, Therese Rein, in her international job placement business before defeating Ms Bligh's heir-apparent, Andrew Fraser, in his Brisbane seat of Mt Coot-tha.

Another favourite is environmental scientist Lisa France, who won the Caboolture-based seat of Pumicestone, north of Brisbane.

The architect of the LNP merger and foundation leader, Lawrence Springborg, is set to make a comeback in a senior cabinet role. He initially maintained a frosty distance from Mr Newman, having quit as deputy leader after the then mayor was installed in the top job from outside parliament. However, they are said to have since sorted out their differences and Mr Springborg will be looked to as one of the few in the new government with previous ministerial experience.

Mr Newman insisted yesterday he was humbled and overwhelmed by the massive vote for the LNP, and would govern for all Queenslanders. "We're conscious of that responsibility," he said. "It weighs heavily but it's cheerfully accepted. We will be dignified; we will be humble."

If he needed bringing down to earth, it was snappily provided by Brajee the black poodle, another favourite from his campaign in Ashgrove against Labor's Kate Jones. Mr Newman was photographed with the seemingly affectionate dog last Friday, but yesterday there was a hitch when he reintroduced himself with a pat at the thank you for his team at Walton Bridge Reserve, The Gap.

Brajee latched on to the premier-elect's outstretched hand, drawing blood.

Mr Newman declared there were no hard feelings, and it was probably good preparation for his new job.

As he did the rounds, thanking the LNP volunteers for their efforts, Mr Newman revealed he had been on the phone to Julia Gillard at The Lodge, who called to congratulate him. Had he heard from any of his fellow Liberal premiers? "I'm sure there are messages there, but I just haven't had a chance to get to them."