Advertisement

LNP moves within reach of election win, but Crisafulli says it’s not about the numbers

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is on track for a Queensland election victory, with support for the incumbent government falling.

Apr 26, 2024, updated Apr 26, 2024
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli talks to a voter at a school in Inala, Saturday, March 16, 2024. The Inala electorate was the former seat of retired Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. (AAP Image/Jono Searle)

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli talks to a voter at a school in Inala, Saturday, March 16, 2024. The Inala electorate was the former seat of retired Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. (AAP Image/Jono Searle)

But Mr Crisafulli says polling numbers are not driving him and his Liberal National Party colleagues ahead of the October 26 election.

YouGov polling on Friday shows two-party preferred support for the LNP opposition is up two per cent to 56 per cent, from the previous poll in October.

This compares with 44 per cent for the government, after 1092 voters were surveyed between April 9 and April 17.

But Mr Crisafulli on Friday said he would not be motivated by the polling numbers.

“We have been relentless in pursuing the issues that matter to Queenslanders and putting forward solutions, and that is what we will continue to do,” he told reporters in Mackay.

“Our focus is showing Queenslanders that there is a better way than what they’re getting at the moment.

“The numbers that drive us are the numbers that Queenslanders are talking about.”

Cost of living, housing, health and crime are the major issues for Queenslanders ahead of the election.

Premier Steven Miles said now that Mr Crisafulli was leading the polls, it was time he announced his vision for Queensland.

“He still has not detailed a single, actual plan for our state,” said Mr Miles.

“I know he wants to be a small target. I know he wants to stay as tiny as he can so that Queenslanders don’t know what his plans are.

“So you can’t just say you have one, without telling Queenslanders what’s in it, especially when you have the kind of polling results today that say it is more likely, very likely, that he will be the premier come October.”

InQueensland in your inbox. The best local news every workday at lunch time.
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement andPrivacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The opposition has also increased its primary vote to 44 per cent compared with 27 per cent for Premier Steven Miles’ government, the poll published by The Courier-Mail on Friday shows.

That represents a decline of six percentage points in Labor’s primary vote since October and a nearly 13 per cent drop-off since Labor’s 2020 election win under former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Current projections point to the LNP comfortably winning more than the 13 seats required to form a majority government when the election is held later this year.

Under Mr Crisafulli, the LNP has already netted an extra seat this year following an enormous swing towards the party in two by-elections in March.

The Labor government lost the formerly safe seat of Ipswich West to Darren Zanow, who attracted 39.6 per cent of the primary vote with a 17.8 per cent swing.

Labor’s margin for Ipswich West following the 2020 election was 14.3 per cent.

The government also suffered a huge swing in Inala, previously Labor’s safest seat in the state.

Labor’s Margie Nightingale held onto Ms Palaszczuk’s former seat with 37 per cent of the primary vote, but not without a 21.5 per cent swing to the LNP.

The Queensland Greens and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation have also increased their primary vote by two percentage points each to 15 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, the YouGov polling showed.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InQueensland.
All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy