Queensland voters opt for stability and certainty over chaos

Queenslanders have shown their support for a government that has created jobs, restored frontline services and retained public assets over an unstable and chaotic LNP/One Nation Coalition government with a cut, sack and sell agenda, says Queensland Council of Unions Secretary Ros McLennan.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls conceded today that Labor had won the state election, nearly two weeks after election day.

The Electoral Commission of Queensland today declared Labor had 45 seats, the LNP 37, Katter’s Australian Party two, one to The Greens, one independent seat and a solitary One Nation seat in the 93-seat Parliament.

Counting continues in six other seats but most experts say Labor will win 48 seats and hold a one-seat majority.

The QCU’s Stand for Queensland campaign had successful outcomes in nine targeted seats: Cairns, Cook, Gaven, Mundingburra, Keppel, Maryborough, Mansfield, Mount Ommaney and Springwood, and had come close in several other electorates.

“These results so far show that our campaign made a big difference in these critical electorates,” Ms McLennan said.

“We had asked Queensland voters to put One Nation last, and the LNP second last,” she said.

She congratulated union members and community supporters who campaigned tirelessly over the past six months, starting with a series of union town hall meetings statewide to decide policy priorities.

“Queensland unions’ issues-based, field campaign was a modern twist on the Your Rights at Work campaign. It was nothing fancy – this campaign relied simply on talking to voters – street by street, suburb by suburb, seat by seat,” Ms McLennan said.

“It’s clear that Queenslanders agreed that we needed stable government committed to restoring frontline services, creating jobs and retaining public assets all without trashing our workplace rights,” she said.

“They also comprehensively rejected the bizarre and dangerous ideas of One Nation, with a domestic violence policy that would endanger the rights of women and children to be safe in their own home and workplace.

“One Nation is also the party that did not support tougher workplace safety laws, and in the federal Senate has failed to support penalty rates, as well as voting to cut family payments, reduce apprenticeships, and allow more 457 visa workers onto our construction sites.

“Pauline Hanson is no friend of Queensland workers – and this state election result shows that the electorate agrees,” she said.