Labor has seized upon a disappointing result for the Greens in the Queensland state election as a sign it can reclaim federal inner-city seats from its progressive rival next year, even as premier Steven Miles was easily swept from power in the sunshine state.
As the Liberal National Party (LNP) celebrated forming a majority government in Queensland after nine years out of office, Nationals leader David Littleproud said the Coalition had scored an “emphatic win” and a “rout” in Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s home state.
Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said Labor spent more time attacking the Greens than the Liberal National Party. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The LNP picked up at least 13 seats in Queensland on Saturday after claiming a 7.3 per cent swing on a two-party preferred basis against Labor.
Labor took heart, however, that the Greens’ representation in the Queensland parliament looked set to shrink despite the party aiming to double its number of seats on a wave of support from renters and younger voters.
The Greens had hoped to claim four seats in the Queensland parliament – up from two at the previous election – but its share of the vote remained static, and the party is on track to lose South Brisbane to Labor after picking up the seat at the previous election.
ABC election analyst Antony Green said on Sunday that the Greens had retained the seat of Maiwar, in Brisbane’s inner-west, despite suffering a significant swing against it there.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Queensland voters had sent a message to Greens leader Adam Bandt that they did not want the party to be obstructionist.
“Containing the Greens Party shows that people who elected the Greens to parliament expected them to play a progressive role, not a blocking role,” Albanese said.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt, who represents Queensland in the Senate, said Saturday’s result showed voters in his state felt a “real sense of buyer’s remorse” about the Greens.
“People voted for the Greens, both at state and federal level, expecting to see progressive solutions delivered, and all they’ve ended up getting is a bunch of blockers and extreme activists who seem increasingly out of touch with what voters in those areas think,” Watt told Sky News.
Accusing the Greens of “trying to whip up anger and anxiety in the community over Palestine”, Watt said Labor had renewed hope it could unseat the Greens from the inner-city seats of Griffith, Brisbane and Ryan at the next federal election.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback that people really noticed Max Chandler-Mather on stage with the CFMEU, pursuing an extreme sort of agenda there,” Watt said of the Greens housing spokesman.
Chandler-Mather, who holds the Brisbane seat of Griffith, said: “Labor spent so much time and energy trying to stop the Greens in Brisbane, they abandoned the suburbs and regions and handed government to the LNP, giving up the opportunity to form a minority government with the Greens, betraying progressive voters across the state.
“Labor MPs are completely out of touch with progressive voters, celebrating the win of an LNP government in Queensland. If federal Labor is looking to repeat this result federally, that means picking fights with the Greens exclusively and handing government to Peter Dutton.”
Outgoing premier Steven Miles, who took over after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation last December, officially conceded defeat on Sunday.
Premier-elect David Crisafulli declared that he would pass laws by the end of the year to crack down on crime, saying: “I want Queenslanders to know that I am on their side and I’m going into bat for Queensland.”
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