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‘A tale of two parties: Contrasting performances of Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor and the post-Newman LNP in Queensland’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2018

Chris Salisbury
Chris Salisbury*
Affiliation:
c.salisbury@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

Queensland's 2017 state election resulted in Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor government being returned with a slim majority. While not a resounding victory, the result seemingly vindicated the premier's decision to head to an early election, and reinforced her standing in a succession of opinion polls as ‘preferred premier’ for most voters. The result also halted the short sequence of Queensland governments being voted out of office in no uncertain terms by a supposedly volatile electorate. The extent to which Labor's recent electoral success in Queensland — and the quelling of that volatility — can be attributed to Palaszczuk's leadership is still open to debate. It is instructive, though, to note the differences in leadership and campaigning styles between Palaszczuk and her opponents, which saw her drag a decimated Labor Party back to office after a single term in opposition, then saw it returned with a working parliamentary majority. This article highlights those differences over the last term of government, contrasting the performance of the two major parties in Queensland in terms of their leadership and election campaign approaches. The analysis helps to explain some of the reasons for the respective parties’ recent electoral showings.

Type
Queensland election 2017
Information
Queensland Review , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , June 2018 , pp. 50 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

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References

Endnotes

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8 It is acknowledged, of course, that other jurisdictions in Australia featured female leaders ahead of Queensland: Chief Ministers Rosemary Follet and Kate Carnell won Australian Capital Territory elections in 1989–92 and 1995 respectively; Western Australia's Carmen Lawrence (1990–93), Victoria's Joan Kirner (1990–92) and the Northern Territory's Clare Martin (2001–07) all held office prior to Anna Bligh (2007–12). See McCann, J., Australia's female political leaders: A quick guide (Canberra: Australian Parliamentary Library, 2014)Google Scholar, https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1314/QG/FemalePolLeaders, accessed 20 February 2018.

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14 See King, M., ‘Annastacia Palaszczuk: Queensland's accidental premier’, Brisbane Times, 3 April 2015Google Scholar, https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/annastacia-palaszczuk-queenslands-accidental-premier-20150402-1mdq2e.html, accessed 20 February 2018; and Ludlow, M., ‘Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on her pragmatic approach to politics’, Australian Financial Review, 20 October 2016Google Scholar, http://www.afr.com/leadership/annastacia-palaszczuk–the-cautious-reformer-20161010-grz5si, accessed 20 February 2018.

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20 See L. Downer, ‘“Can Do” has been canned . . . and other political branding tales from the 2015 Queensland election’, TJ Ryan Foundation, 16 February 2015, http://www.tjryanfoundation.org.au/_dbase_upl/Can_Do_brand_is_Canned_.pdf, accessed 20 February 2018; Williams, P. D., ‘Political chronicles: Queensland, January to June 2015’; Australian Journal of Politics & History, 61 (4) (2015), 639–40Google Scholar; Winther, T., ‘Queensland's early election hinges on a test of Newman's strength’, The Conversation, 6 January 2015Google Scholar, https://theconversation.com/queenslands-early-election-hinges-on-a-test-of-newmans-strength-35893, accessed 20 February 2018.

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22 This would include a well-publicised ‘charm offensive’ where Nicholls was photographed in ‘relaxed’ mode with family members, describing his affinity for ‘everyday’ outdoor pursuits such as boating and trail bike riding. See Whiting, F., ‘The test of Tim’, Courier-Mail QWeekend, 28 January 2017, 8Google Scholar.

23 Galaxy Research, ‘Newspoll’.

24 Salisbury, C., ‘Nicholls toppling Springborg lays bare the still-uneasy marriage of Queensland's Liberals and Nationals’, The Conversation, 6 May 2016Google Scholar, https://theconversation.com/nicholls-toppling-springborg-lays-bare-the-still-uneasy-marriage-of-queenslands-liberals-and-nationals-58993, accessed 20 February 2018.

25 Passmore, D., ‘Referendum Queensland: MPs will force referendum to split Queensland in two’, Courier-Mail, 27 March 2016Google Scholar, http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/referendum-queensland-mps-will-force-referendum-to-split-queensland-in-two/news-story/db33f9f3103008531585777eeb6e8e59, accessed 20 February 2018.

26 Galaxy Research, ‘Newspoll’.

27 Williams, ‘Political chronicles: Queensland, January to June 2015’, 637–8. See also Jabour, B., ‘Campbell Newman uses “strong” 23 times in election soundbite overdose,’ The Guardian, 13 January 2015Google Scholar, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/13/campell-newman-uses-strong-phrase-21-times-in-election-soundbite-overdose, accessed 20 February 2018.

28 Williams, ‘Political chronicles: Queensland, January to June 2015’, 641.

29 OpEd, ‘Voters need more than this to ensure better days for Queensland’, Courier-Mail, 30 October 2017, 22.

30 See comments by Professor John Wanna, quoted in Moore, T., ‘Experts lament the lack of vision in Queensland election campaign’, Brisbane Times, 17 November 2017Google Scholar, https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland-election-2017/experts-lament-the-lack-of-campaign-vision-20171116-p4yx1r.html, accessed 20 February 2018.

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33 Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, quoted in N. Wiggins, ‘Queensland election: Political leaders make final push to persuade voters’, ABC News, 25 November, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-24/queensland-election-leaders-final-pitches-to-voters/9190038.

34 Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls, quoted in Vogler, S., ‘ALP leads by seat of pants’, Courier-Mail, 26 November 2017, 2Google Scholar.