Queensland election 2017 live: Premier may be forced into deal

Independent Margaret Strelow has all but conceded defeat to Labor in the undecided Labor-held seat of Rockhampton.

Counting continues in the Queensland election, as Annastacia Palaszczuk seeks a majority of 47 seats.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Queensland state election wash-up. Labor Premier Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is looking to secure the 47 seats she needs for an absolute majority.

Sarah Elks 4.37pm: ‘I expect the seat will go to Labor’

Independent candidate Margaret Strelow expects Labor to win the seat of Rockhampton.

Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow has all but conceded defeat to Labor in the undecided Queensland Labor-held seat of Rockhampton.

Independent candidate Ms Strelow had been tipped to take the seat from Labor, but after LNP preferences were distributed today she acknowledged it would be “very difficult” for her to win.

“It will be very difficult for me to win after the distribution of LNP preferences today. I expect the seat will go to Labor,” Ms Strelow said on Facebook.

“LNP swapped preferences with One Nation and about half of LNP voters followed the card.”

“This will wipe out my lead...Once the poll is formally declared I will proudly return to my role as Mayor.”

According to the ECQ - which has removed its two-party preferred preference counts from its website - Labor’s Barry O’Rourke leads Ms Strelow by 2404 first preference votes.

Ms Strelow ran as an independent after she was defeated for Labor preselection by Mr O’Rourke. She was Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s preferred candidate.

If Labor wins Rockhampton, it will have 43 seats - it needs 47 to form majority government.

With Rockhampton decided, there are eight undecided seats: Aspley, Burdekin, Gaven, Hinchinbrook, Macalister, Maiwar, Mundingburra and Townsville.

The LNP is on 38, the Katter’s Australian Party have won two, Independent Sandy Bolton has won Noosa, and One Nation’s Steve Andrew appears to have won Mirani.

10am: LNP merger ‘cost LNP election’

LNP leader Tim Nicholls would be Queensland’s premier now if the Liberal and National Parties had remained separate entities in the sunshine state, former senator Ron Boswell has told AAP.

The National Party stalwart would not be drawn on whether the LNP should now split, but said there should be a “very strong debate” about the issue. “I think Tim Nicholls would have been premier of Queensland now ... if you had two parties working together, one trying to pick up the bush vote and Tim Nicholls campaigning for the vote in the southeast corner,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

7am: Premier may be forced to ponder deal

Annastacia Palaszczuk may be forced to break her promise not to deal with a disparate cross bench to form government, with nine seats still undecided days after Queenslanders cast their vote.

Latest seat count.

Ms Palaszczuk remains steadfast in her confidence she will win the 47 seats needed to secure Labor’s return to power, even though the vote count is set to continue on Wednesday.

So far Labor has won 44 of the 48 seats it is predicted to gain, while the LNP sits on 36, with four crossbench MPs.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls on Tuesday said the election was all but over with a definitive result potentially days away.

But the vote is incredibly tight in some seats, where an ALP candidate could fall to the Greens or an independent.

Mr Nicholls called into question Ms Palaszczuk’s promise not to make deals in order to hold onto her lead in parliament, and challenged her to let him form government if she can’t.

What’s making news

• Federal senator Matt Canavan has demanded clarity over a federal loan for the Adani mine.

• The Premier is under pressure over her “no deals” vow.

Additional reporting: AAP