Former Deputy Prime Minister Jackie Trad loses his South Brisbane seat, Labor advances and the One Nation vote crumbles with more than 30 percent of the vote being counted in the elections in the ‘State of Queensland
Ms Trad lost her South Brisbane seat, says ABC chief election analyst Antony Green
With 37% of the votes counted, her challenger from the Greens Amy MacMahon won 40% of the votes
« The Greens with these numbers will end up better on early preferences than Jackie Trad, making it almost impossible for her to win, » Green said
After an election race of almost a month, the Queensland election has reached a critical juncture as the votes continue to be counted
The state election campaign was dominated by jobs, the economy and Queensland’s response to the coronavirus pandemic
« We’re going to have a rush [of the first numbers], a plateau, and then the votes will start to rise again, » he said
« Unless there is something dramatic about the first votes, we won’t have a first winner »
With 65% of the votes counted, Green said the biggest change in voting to date involved One Nation
« One nation lost 6 [percent] that’s the biggest story we’re seeing right now, » Green said
He said there were oscillations occurring « in opposite ways in the two parts of the state »
« If I look at the swings in South East Queensland we see a 23 percent look to work
« If I watch the seesaw in the rest of Queensland – regional and rural Queensland – it’s 14 [percent] towards the LNP
« This is what we see tonight and this is why we are going to have a long night
« On these numbers the Labor Party could win seats in the South East and lose seats in the North Until we get a lot more numbers it is very difficult to turn them into an accurate prediction «
Election day was marred by severe weather in parts of the southeast with several voting booths in Logan, south of Brisbane losing electricity due to dangerous thunderstorms
The lines were quieter than usual – and some polling stations almost empty – due to the wave of early votes in this election due to the pandemic
Queensland Election Commissioner Pat Vidgen told ABC Radio Brisbane that more than 2 million people voted early or took a postal vote
The two party leaders voted on Saturday morning, with LNP leader Deb Frecklington attending Oonoonba State School in Townsville in the marginal PLA headquarters in Mundingburra, flanked by her husband Jason
Meanwhile, Annastacia Palaszczuk – who is seeking her third term as Prime Minister – has been joined by her father Henry and MP Milton Dick in her electorate from Brisbane to Inala
When asked if she thought Ms Frecklington would open the borders if she was elected Prime Minister, Dr Perovic replied « absolutely »
« We need jobs, we need to open the borders because we need to revive Queensland
« Small businesses are the backbone of our country, so they need to get back to work, we need tourism on the move
This election marks the first time in state history that a four-year fixed legislature will apply
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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Jackie Trad, Queensland, Australian Labor Party (Queensland branch), Australian Greens
News from around the world – AU – Labor has advantage in Queensland election
