Queensland’s LNP premier says the federal Coalition gave up the political middle ground at the recent election, trying to appease right-wing campaign groups and minor parties.<\/p>\n
David Crisafulli also urged the LNP not to be distracted by ideological issues or internal squabbles, as he laid out his plan to lead a multi-term state government.<\/p>\n
In an address to the party faithful at the LNP convention in Brisbane on Sunday, Mr Crisafulli honed in on the Coalition’s defeat in this year’s federal poll.<\/p>\n
The Coalition lost five seats in Queensland, including then-Liberal leader Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson on Brisbane’s north side.<\/p>\n
“There is a reason why Mr Albanese was returned to the Lodge with a primary vote of just 34.5 per cent,” Mr Crisafulli told party members.<\/p>\n
“A plethora of well-meaning right-wing campaign groups and minor parties fractured our vote.<\/p>\n
“The more we tried to appease them, the further we got from the middle ground of Australian politics, who shifted their vote elsewhere.”<\/p>\n
Mr Crisafulli pointed to his own election win last year and argued that the state LNP addressed the issues that “mattered” to the majority of Queenslanders.<\/p>\n
He said the party did this through the “prism of LNP values”.<\/p>\n
“Queenslanders rewarded us with a primary vote of 41.5 per cent and our two-party-preferred vote of 54 per cent, and that was a swing of 7 per cent,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We could not have won the ’24 election without the support and discipline of our membership. We won’t win it again in ’28 without it again.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Crisafulli hopes to be the first conservative Queensland premier to be re-elected since 1986. (AAP Image: Jason O’Brien)<\/p>\n
The conservative side of politics has not been re-elected at a state election in Queensland since 1986, when Joh Bjelke-Petersen was premier.<\/p>\n