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ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts returned to the Senate for Queensland, Gerard Rennick gets the boot
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts has held onto his Senate seat from Queensland, as former LNP Senator Gerard Rennick is booted from federal parliament. The Australian Electoral Commission officially declared Queensland's Senate election results on Thursday, with Labor gaining an extra position. It means of the six Senate seats up for grabs, Labor has won two, the LNP has secured two, the Greens have taken out one, and One Nation has also won one. Senator Roberts was elected to a second consecutive term — securing the sixth Senate position in Queensland ahead of Senator Rennick. Senator Rennick was elected in 2019 as an LNP candidate but later resigned from the party after he was defeated in a pre-selection ballot. In the 2025 poll, he ran as a candidate for his own party, People First. Senator Roberts will rejoin fellow One Nation senator Pauline Hanson, whose term is not due to expire for another three years. Labor's Nita Green was also returned to the Senate, with Corine Mulholland joining her as the second Labor candidate to win a Senate spot in Queensland. LNP Senators Susan McDonald and Paul Scarr were both re-elected. Senator McDonald will sit in the Coalition's shadow cabinet with the resources and northern Australia portfolio. The Greens' Larissa Waters, who was first elected to the Senate in 2011, has reclaimed her seat. She came in fifth in the Senate count for Queensland. Senator Waters was recently made the leader of her party after Adam Bandt lost his seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives. Australian Electoral Officer for Queensland Stephanie Attard said preferences were distributed on Thursday. "As with all aspects of the count, scrutineers appointed by the candidates were able to witness the automated distribution of preferences undertaken today," she said.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli keeps clear of Coalition chaos in Canberra
Amid the chaos and confusion of this week's federal coalition breakdown, Queensland's Premier David Crisafulli kept his Liberal National Party well clear of the commotion. He's refused to weigh in on the split this week, labelling it a matter for Canberra. But Sussan Ley and David Littleproud might be well served by some marriage counselling with the premier, who leads the sole LNP state government on the Australian mainland. The former television journalist and his team are acutely aware of the value of image and reputation — running a tight ship in his home state. He appeared to keep his distance from Peter Dutton ahead of the federal election, never once joining the former opposition on the campaign trail. Mr Crisafulli has again separated the Queensland LNP brand from the ructions in Canberra. He's managed to quell the more hardline conservative members of his party, some of whom have advocated against abortion and voluntary assisted dying, refusing to weigh in on fringe issues. His focus on regional Queensland delivered a raft of seats, recognising the divide in issues from Brisbane to Cape York. The exception to the national slide, the federal Liberal and National Parties may benefit from looking to the Queensland model for a return to relevancy. While the Liberals and Nationals quarrelled over who would get the frequent flyer points, Mr Crisafulli was expanding his flagship youth crime laws. It's a comfortable place for his government — the "adult crime, adult time" policy was a key driver in the LNP's state election win. Such is his confidence, Mr Crisafulli can thumb his nose at the United Nations and pre-election pledges of transparency. The UN and human rights experts have repeatedly criticised the state government for its tough youth justice laws, saying they breach basic child rights and disproportionately affect indigenous children. Asked about the criticism, Mr Crisafulli was all too ready to deliver a clip for his social media. The government was pressed all week on why it was refusing to release advice made by an independent expert panel that recommended the expanded youth crime offences. Mr Crisafulli has repeatedly said their work was ongoing and he wanted them to be free from political interference. In a bizarre press conference on Monday, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber suggested journalists were only asking about the secret advice due to influence from Labor. It was an odd position to take, given that while in opposition, Mr Crisafulli stressed the importance of being an open and accountable government. Before coming to power, Mr Crisafulli campaigned on fixing what he said were four crises in the state: youth crime, housing, health, and cost of living. While focus has been on the first this week, the latter two have been bubbling under the surface. Nurses and midwives are currently voting on whether to strike for the first time since 2002 after pay negotiations with the state government broke down. The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union is one of the most powerful worker groups in the state, and it's just the first bargaining agreement the government has to broker this year. Let's see what he's made of. Still to come are agreements with a host of frontline workers, including police and teachers — more than 260,000 public sector employees in total. The dispute looms as a huge test for Mr Crisafulli, who this week reaffirmed that health workers deserved to be paid more. Overworked and understaffed, the scars from the pandemic remain, and nurses and midwives are outraged by the latest pay offer. As a media-savvy premier, Mr Crisafulli would know all too well the damage pictures of striking nurses and midwives would inflict on his government.
ABC News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Greens go maroon with Larissa Waters as Coalition looks to rebuild with Queensland 'complexion'
A maroon footy tumbled through the doors at Government House as Anika Wells was sworn in this week. That's one way to announce Queensland's presence in Canberra. It's been a big week for the Sunshine State, with three leadership contests. Larissa Waters has become the first Greens leader to hail from Queensland, despite the party failing to repeat its 2022 "Greenslide" in Brisbane. In her first press conference as leader Waters pledged that the Greens would "get shit done" — spoken like a true Queenslander. David Littleproud — whose seat of Maranoa was the first to be called on election night — remains as Nationals leader after being challenged by Queensland Senator Matt Canavan. While the Coalition is without Peter Dutton, the influence held by Queensland members is not lost. In starting a new chapter, the Liberals created history with Sussan Ley becoming the party's first female leader with Queensland MP Ted O'Brien to be by her side. Meanwhile, five Queensland MPs have secured ministerial roles in Anthony Albanese's post election re-shuffle, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers the most senior among them. Wells adds communication to her sport portfolio as fellow Queenslander Murray Watt takes on environment and water. Australian National University visiting fellow Robert McMahon says Chalmers's prominence throughout the campaign was a "deliberate desire" to signal to Queenslanders one of their own is in a senior position. However, he says the instalment of Watt in Tanya Plibersek's former environment portfolio is a credit to his track record as a "safe pair of hands" rather than where he's from. "Geography does have its limits and when a government has some difficult issues — such as home affairs, workplace relations or environment — it will tend to opt for people with a proven track record rather than geographic location," he says. Dutton losing his seat came as a shock to Dr McMahon who thought there was "no way" Queenslanders would "vote against their man as prime minister". While it worked for Kevin Rudd back in 2007, in May the voters of Dickson deserted Dutton with a 7.7 per cent swing to Labor. "I thought that was a very interesting turn on this sort of geographical representation," he says. "His local constituents formed a view that, well, we don't want him as prime minister, so we have got to get rid of him as MP." The day after the election, Watt and Wells stood in Dutton's electorate to introduce his successor Ali France — who was elected on her third attempt — and Labor's other new faces. Watt coined Labor's new Queensland members the "magnificent seven", while Wells joked they had enough people for a netball team. On Friday Chalmers returned to the same park in Strathpine, and was introduced to the media by France, as he spruiked Labor's proposed changes to superannuation taxation. This week Senator Larissa Waters made history by becoming leader of the Greens. "I am proud that we have a Queenslander leading the Greens for the first time," she said. She conceded the party had a "Senate dominated" team after losing former leader Adam Bandt and Brisbane's Stephen Bates and Max Chandler-Mather. Elizabeth Watson-Brown, representing the Brisbane seat of Ryan, is the party's sole member in the lower house. Dr McMahon says while on paper the argument could be made for the "demise" of the Greens, the party has maintained a strong presence in the Senate. "They may very well increase their power," he says. In Queensland, every seat that changed hands fell to Labor, but the state still holds significant sway within the Coalition. Of the 43 MPs in the lower house, 16 – nearly 38 per cent – hail from Queensland, including the Nationals leader and Liberals deputy leader. Australian National University's Frank Bongiorno says this will give a "particular complexion" to the party room. "Anything you do really needs a lot of Queensland consent and agreement within the Coalition because there is just so many of them," he says. Now the Coalition must come up with a game plan without their former leader.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland MP Jimmy Sullivan set to be booted from state Labor caucus
Queensland MP Jimmy Sullivan is set to be booted from the state parliamentary Labor caucus and will be forced to sit on the crossbench. An extraordinary meeting of Labor MPs was held in Brisbane on Monday after a motion was moved by Opposition Leader Steven Miles to oust Mr Sullivan from the caucus. Mr Sullivan is a second-term MP who has represented the electorate of Stafford on Brisbane's north side since 2020. His future had been under a cloud since late last year, after Mr Miles directed Mr Sullivan to take leave until "legal and medical matters" were resolved. Speaking after the caucus meeting, Mr Miles said the motion, which was seconded by deputy leader Cameron Dick, passed with the support of all MPs, except Mr Sullivan. Mr Miles said he would now request the administrative committee of the Labor Party to remove Mr Sullivan's endorsement as a Labor MP. He accused Mr Sullivan of failing to comply with a "safe return to work plan" since he returned to his duties as an MP earlier this year. "That return to work plan was what you would expect to see in a return to work plan for somebody who had to take extended leave for personal and health matters," Mr Miles said. Mr Miles, who was flanked by Mr Dick and senior MPs Grace Grace and Shannon Fentiman, said Mr Sullivan would cease to have any rights as a member of the state parliamentary Labor Party. Asked if Mr Sullivan could possibly make a return to the Labor caucus, Mr Miles said he considered the matter "final". "He will, if he chooses to, be an independent member of parliament and obviously can determine for himself how he votes on matters," Mr Miles said. "There has been a long process here, and the caucus has taken an unprecedented step." Mr Miles said Mr Sullivan addressed the meeting, but would not say what he told the assembled group of MPs. In a statement, Mr Sullivan said the premise of Mr Miles's motion was "completely untrue". He also branded it a "cheap political move" that was personally hurtful and against the principles of the Labor Party. "I complied with every requirement placed on me, and more, and that was articulated to the leadership team in detail," Mr Sullivan said. "I am Labor to my core. I have bled for this party since I was a teenager, including being a campaign director at federal, state and council levels, and working in opposition for a team of just seven MPs, winning back government in one term. "I will continue to represent my Labor branch members who preselected me and my beautiful community who elected me twice as a Labor MP."
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Disgraced former Queensland Labor minister Gordon Nuttall dies aged 71
Gordon Nuttall has died aged 71 years old. The disgraced former Queensland Labor minister was jailed for perjury and corruption charges stemming from his time in the Beattie government. In 2023, he was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer. Gordon Nuttall entered state parliament as the member for the south-east Queensland seat of Sandgate in 1992. Nine years later, he took on the Industrial Relations Ministry in the Beattie Labor Government. But it was his time as health minister when Gordon Nuttall rose to prominence. At the time, Peter Beattie explained why he was the right minister for the job. "He demonstrated tenacity, commitment, determination, fairness and ability to get results," Mr Beattie said in 2004. Taking up the key portfolio, Gordon Nuttall laughed off suggestions it was a poison chalice, yet it was this post that would spark the unravelling of his political career. In the midst of the Jayant Patel scandal, Mr Nuttall was caught lying to a parliamentary committee about what he knew about problems at the Bundaberg Base Hospital. He stood down as health minister, and the Crime and Misconduct Commission recommended charges. Those charges did not eventuate, but the damage was done. "It is this poison chalice I suppose for me, and now I've paid the ultimate price," Nuttall said in 2005. But worse was to come. The CMC discovered a secret loan from mining magnate Ken Talbot that was not declared. Again, Gordon Nuttall denied any wrongdoing. "I am a decent and honest person. I believe I have done nothing wrong. And I believe that when the evidence is laid out for all to see that people will see that. I have nothing to fear," he said. Gordon Nuttall was found guilty of multiple perjury and corruption charges relating to payments from business associates. In total, he was sentenced to 14 years' jail. In a further political humiliation, in 2011, Nuttall was escorted to parliament in a prison van and brought before the house to answer contempt charges. Facing his former colleagues, he again claimed he was the victim. "You chose to cast me adrift and join in the feeding frenzy when there was blood in the water. The fault lies in the guidelines. The CMC and the DPP have had their own agenda and embarked on a campaign to make sure that I was demonised, abandoned, cheated and made a fool of," he told the House. Queensland parliament passed a motion finding him guilty of contempt, and he was fined $82,000 for not disclosing corrupt payments on the pecuniary interests register. Released in 2015 after serving six years in prison, he spent his final days at the beachside community of Woodgate, near Bundaberg. In 2023, he reflected on his fall from grace, but was still adamant he had done nothing wrong. Gordon Nuttall is survived by his partner, children and grandchildren.
