Well folks, I guess that’s it. Queensland has spoken.
After a dramatic day of controversial texts and provocative shirts, Queensland’s 2015 is coming to an explosive end, with former Premier Campbell Newman losing his Ashgrove seat to Kate Jones. The Socceroos slaying in the Asia Cup final, Serena Williams being boss – what a night, Australia.
The LNP has toppled massively today, as the Labor party has surged in popularity among Queensland voters. At the time of writing, 62.8% of votes have been counted, suggesting Labor has secured 44 seats, with LNP trailing with 39 seats. The final vote, including postal and pre-polling are currently yet to be decided, but it’s looking pretty grim for the LNP and pretty victorious for Labor tonight. Keep in mind, however, that Labor will need 45 seats to form government – at this point, a hung parliament is definitely possible for Queensland.
Campbell Newman made an address this evening, declaring the end of his political career: “My political career is over. It’s over,” Newman said.
Buh-bye Newman. It’s hard to say that the reef will miss thee.
The Great Barrier Reef right now. #qldvotes pic.twitter.com/lUxUx1jZOd
— Brendan Maclean (@macleanbrendan) January 31, 2015
Tonight’s outcome certainly has left Queensland in a dramatic state of political change: in Queensland’s 2012 election, the LNP wooed voters so convincingly that Labor won only 7 out of 89 seats. The balancing out of that political pie graph will mean big things for both State and Federal politics in the upcoming term.
Labor’s Anastacia Palaszczuk is set to become Queensland’s Premier. I preemptively salute you, news readers, for pronouncing that one. All the best to Palaszczuk to lead a state undergoing dramatic shifts.
Ashgrove’s member Kate Jones spoke after Newman conceded, describing how she felt after her 2012 loss: “I had the opportunity to step back and look on and what i saw happening over the past three years was a Queensland that was going backwards. A Queensland where I didn’t want to live and a Queensland where I didn’t want to raise my children.”
Queensland’s LNP heartland jumping ship to Labor couldn’t have come at a more relevant time in Australian politics: as PM Tony Abbott has suffered a Knightmarish week, the message sent by Queensland is extremely clear, and Abbott’s leadership is but one speculative “Turnbull or Bishop????” op-ed away.
The real winner tonight was, of course, ABC’s one true legend, Antony Green, who emerged tonight from what I imagine is his life inside a Tron-esque animation of the parliament. Regardless, any time we see AG is a goddamn treat, in my mind. Technology, that fickle mistress, however, besmirched Green’s solid rep after a touch screen turned out to be a little too much. Basically:
WHO TRANSPLANTED CLIVE PALMER’S BRAIN INTO ANTONY GREEN #qldvotes
— Fake Penny Wong (@Fake_Penny_Wong) January 31, 2015
Poor lamb.
A truly historic day for Queensland has gone down today. Now we play the waiting game for how this will impact Canberra.
Lead image by Glenn Hunt via Getty Images.
