Interim premier to be sworn in amid final vote counting
A new chapter in Queensland politics is set to begin, with the Liberal National Party on track to form a majority government.
LNP leader David Crisafulli will take his first step toward becoming the next premier when he visits Government House on Monday.
Mr Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie will be sworn into interim leadership roles when they meet with Governor Jeannette Young.
They will remain in the position until counting is finalised, with Labor’s outgoing premier Steven Miles already conceding defeat.
It will mark the LNP pair’s second visit in as many days after telling the governor on Sunday they believed they had enough seats to form a majority government.
With almost 70 per cent of counting completed by Sunday afternoon, the LNP was on track to claim 48 seats ahead of Labor’s 28, with 12 still in doubt.
It needed 47 to claim a majority government after holding 35 seats to Labor’s 51 before Saturday’s election.
Mr Crisafulli will become the LNP’s first Queensland premier since Campbell Newman’s 2012-2015 stint, snapping Labor’s dominance.
Labor has governed Queensland for 30 of the past 35 years.
“The significance of what we have achieved is not lost on us,” Mr Crisafulli said on Sunday after three hours of sleep.
“We asked Queenslanders for their support. They gave it in record numbers.
“We are determined to give them the fresh start which we promised we would deliver.”
Mr Crisafulli campaigned consistently on no changes to his cabinet if elected and indicated he would speak with MPs after being sworn in to the state’s interim leadership role.
The new government will be officially sworn in after counting is completed and the party has enough seats for a majority.
Mr Miles had been hoping to earn his first full term as premier after taking over Labor’s reins from Annastacia Palaszczuk, who resigned in December.
He tendered his resignation to the governor on Sunday, but hoped to stay on as opposition leader after an impressive election campaign comeback.
The outgoing premier said he was proud of his campaign which closed the two-party preferred gap right up until election day.
Labor’s priority will be regaining trust in regional areas after losing significant ground to LNP outside the southeast.
“From here the task of all of our Labor MPs who have been successful is to rebuild our party and prepare to return to government at the next election and to hold the current government to account,” Mr Miles said.
Mr Miles said he would wait until all seats were decided before asking caucus to remain party leader.
He said it was unlikely Health Minister Shannon Fentiman and Treasurer Cameron Dick would contest the leadership.
“Over the last 10 months I’ve demonstrated the kind of leader I can be … and I think I’m the person best placed to maintain the unity that we’ve seen throughout that period.”
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