Queensland premier Steven Miles has conceded defeat in Queensland’s state election.
The premier called Liberal National Party (LNP) leader David Crisafulli on Sunday morning to congratulate him on becoming the state’s next leader.
On Saturday night as votes were counted Miles delivered a speech but didn’t concede defeat, hoping that a wave of last-minute counting might allow Labor to maintain power.
On Saturday night Crisafulli told party faithful that his government would be quickly getting to work to implement the agenda they took to voters.
“We get to work and we do what we say we were going to do,” he said. “We have a contract with Queenslanders, and we intend to honour it.”
The LNP campaign focused on bringing cost of living relief to Queenslanders along with promised improvements to healthcare, housing and crime levels.
‘Adult time for adult crime’ has been a central policy of the LNP campaign with promised that juvenile offenders will face big sentences for offences, even though many working in the justice system have criticised the approach.
The election campaign also raised concern about what a Crisafulli government’s approach would be to big issues including abortion rights and nuclear power.
Crisafulli will be the state’s 41st premier.
The National Party held a strong grip on Queensland through the 1970’s. Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Premier for over 19 years, but his leadership came crashing down in 1986 when the high level of corruption with the Queensland police and political circles was exposed. In late 1987 he offered his resignation.
Labor took power at the next state election in 1989 and were returned in 1992 and 1995 under the leadership of Wayne Goss. The National party were returned to government under Rob Borbidge in 1996 after the Goss government were unable to maintain a majority. Their return to power was short lived, just over two years later voters reinstated the Labor party under new leader Peter Beattie.
Beattie won four terms being re-elected in 2001, 2004 and 2006, when Beattie retired Anna Bligh took over as Premier winning another election in 2009.
In 2012 the National party made an impressive return under the leadership of Campbell Newman. At the time of the election Newman, who had been Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, did not even hold a seat in parliament.
The Newman government was short-lived, surviving only a single term. In 2015 Anastacia Pałaszczuk led the Labor party back into government, and she’s been re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2020. Pałaszczuk resigned in December 2023 making way for Miles to take over as Premier.
