LATEST @ 11.00 PM | David Crisafulli has declared Queensland has voted for “hope over fear” after claiming victory for the LNP.
Crisafulli will become the 41st Premier of the Sunshine State after defeating Steven Miles.
Addressing his party faithful, Crisafulli stated that Queenslanders have “voted for a fresh start and they have voted for a majority LNP government.”
“Tonight we get to celebrate the biggest achievement we have had in over a decade,” he said.
The state’s new leader also declared the victory is the “turning corner of the youth crime crisis”.
“It will be the turning corner to mean that there are fewer victims in this state and, by Christmas, adult crime, adult time will be law.”
Crisafulli acknowledged and thanked Steven Miles for his time serving the state as Premier.
“To think the son of a factory worker could become Premier tells you everything you need to know about how great Queensland is,” Crisafulli said.
“I want to thank the members of his team who have lost seats tonight.
“Politics is a really, really tough game and it’s families who bear the scars of that.
“And tonight, to those members who’ve lost their seat, I wish them well in the future”.
PHOTO: Incoming Qld Premier David Crisafulli
Crisafulli also had a message for Queensland’s public servants, who he admitted “may not have voted for the LNP because of scare campaigns”.
“I want you to know we intend to give vision and direction and leadership, but advice will be fearless and frank,” he said.
“The culture of entrenched fear will be over, and together we can deliver the services that Queenslanders deserve.”
LATEST @ 10.30 PM | Steven Miles says being Queensland’s Premier has been the “greatest honour” of his life.
Miles has conceded he won’t win a majority government, but also stated that he doesn’t believe the LNP will either.
“It was always going to be a challenging election for Labor, but I have no regrets about the campaign, or indeed by last 10 months,” Miles said.
“Being Queensland’s premier for the last 10 months has been the greatest honour of my life for the kid from Petrie it’s more than I could have ever dreamed of.
“I said at the beginning of this I wasn’t going to die wondering, and I stand by that tonight,” he added.
“I have put forward a progressive policy agenda that I am very proud of”.
PHOTO: Outgoing Labor Premier Steven Miles
Miles stopped short of congratulating the LNP and David Crisafulli, who is set to become the 41st Premier of Queensland.
He instead told his party faithful that it would be days before the result was known.
“We will know more as counting continues in coming days, many seats remain too close to call,” Miles said.
LATEST @ 10.00 PM | David Crisafulli will become the 41st Premier of Queensland.
Sky News and the ABC have projected the Liberal National Party has defeated Labor in the 2024 Queensland Election.
However, the party may still not win government in its own right, with several seats still far too close to call.
Currently, the LNP has secured 42 seats, while Labor has picked up 35, with 11 still undecided.
The LNP victory ends almost a decade of Labor being in power in Queensland.
LATEST @ 9.00 PM | Counting continues in the Queensland Election with the LNP beginning to nudge slightly ahead.
However, it’s still far too close to call, with a hung parliament a real possibility.
While the result hasn’t been as bad as first feared for Labor, Deputy Premier Cameron Dick admits it is looking unlikely they will be able to form Government.
“That big wipeout that we all feared in the Labor party hasn’t eventuated, so I think it’s tough for us to win,” Deputy Premier Cameron Dick told ABC news.
“You see the LNP horse with its nose ahead now and I think that may be the case”.
On the Gold Coast, the LNP will retain all of its seats, with Sam O’Connor (Bonney), David Crisafulli (Broadwater), Hermann Vorster (Burleigh), Michael Crandon (Coomera), and Laura Gerber (Currumbin) all dominating their electorates.
Ray Stevens (Mermaid Beach), Ros Bates (Mudgeeraba), Rob Molhoek (Southport), John Paul Langbroek (Surfers Paradise) and Mark Boothman (Theodore) also polled strongly.
However, the LNP is set to fall short of picking up Gaven, with Labor’s Meaghan Scanlon set to hang on despite LNP candidate Bianca Stone putting up a tough fight.
LATEST @ 8.00 PM | Results are continuing to filter in from across the state, with both major parties seeing mixed results.
Labor is on track to lose its majority, but the LNP is still short of the seats it needs to form a majority government, with a hung parliament looking like a possible scenario.
According to the latest count, the LNP has secured 38 per cent of votes, while Labor is sitting on 33 per cent, with no clear path to victory for either side just yet.
Counting currently shows big swings for the LNP in regional areas of the state, but the swing is much lower elsewhere.
Labor Party President Wayne Swan has told Sky News it’s a remarkable result for the ALP.
“They’re very encouraging results, I don’t think anyone six months ago would have thought it was even possible,” Swan said.
“We were in line to lose up to 30 seats, but the recovery here is one of the most significant electoral fight backs I have ever seen”.
LATEST @ 7.00 PM | Polls have been closed for over an hour, with the votes now starting to trickle in.
All eyes are on the Gold Coast seat of Gaven, which is on a knife-edge in early counting.
As of 7pm, Labor MP Meaghan Scanlon was leading with 41.8 per cent of votes, while closest rival and LNP candidate Bianca Stone was sitting on 36.5 per cent.
“It is a big battle, there is no question… I’m not here for a haircut, I’m here to win the seat. I wouldn’t go into something like this if I wasn’t serious about it,” Ms Stone told Sky News.
Further south and the LNP’s Laura Gerber has retained her seat of Currumbin with a big boost in her vote.
“We have worked so hard, my team and I have not stopped these last four years to advocate for our community in relation to Labor’s crime crisis, housing crisis, cost of living crisis and of course the cost of living crisis,” Ms Gerber told ABC News.
“I’m so grateful that I’ve been returned because I love my job and I love representing the people of Currumbin.”
Meantime, LNP leader David Crisafulli has dominated in his electorate of Broadwater, currently claiming 55 per cent of the vote.
While Labor leader Steven Miles is sitting on 50 per cent in his seat of Murrumba.
LATEST @ 6.00 PM | Polling booths across the Sunshine State have officially closed, with counting in the Queensland election now underway.
A total of 3.7 million Queenslanders have had their say, with a result on who will be the next Premier of Queensland expected in the next couple of hours.
The LNP is attempting to sweep Labor from power after almost a decade, needing a net gain of 12 seats to win or a swing of 5.6 per cent.
However, an exit poll suggests the result could be even closer than first thought.
According to a Courier Mail survey of 2000 people voting in ten crucial seats today, the primary vote is neck and neck with Labor just 0.3 points behind the LNP.
Speaking to ABC, Deputy Premier Cameron Dick admitted he would be “surprised” to see Labor claim victory.
“As difficult as it is for me to say, I think it would be a surprise for Queensland Labor to win the election,” Dr Dick said.
“That’s my belief, but Queensland politics is very volatile and unpredictable, and anything is possible, but I but I do think it is a challenge for us to get over the line tonight.
“From where we were to where we have come, it has been an enormous improvement for us. We were we were facing an absolute wipe out last year.”
Meantime, former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended her timing to leave politics, conceding she gave Steven Miles a fair crack to be re-elected.
“I left when I thought was the right time to leave and I gave Steven a very clear runway of all of 2024,” Ms Palaszczuk told the Sky News election panel.
