Queensland elections: Greens make gains

With counting continuing in the Queensland election it is 
clear that Premier Peter Beattie will return to Government with a 
massive majority — holding 63 seats out of 89 (down from 66 in 
the last Parliament).

Two of Labor's losses to the National Party were in so-called 
"sugar seats" — the coastal electorates of Burdekin and Burnett 
— giving credence to claims that the Federal Government 
deliberately with-held the outcome of the Free Trade Agreement 
until after the election.

During the final week of the Queensland campaign, a Department of 
Trade spokesperson said that no deal would be signed without the 
inclusion of sugar. That appears now to have been deliberately 
misleading.

In terms of vote gain the big winners were the Greens who 
increased their primary vote by from 4% to 7%. Fifteen of the 
Green candidates scored above 10% of primary preferences in their 
electorates, with two scoring over 20%. However, they had no 
candidates elected.

Greens Senator Bob Brown said, "This result is built on the 
Greens' strong support for public health and education and 
ability to lever popular environmental wins out of governments".

One Nation came away the big loser, with their primary vote 
dropping from 9% to 5%. The Party has retained just one seat, 
Tablelands, based on the city of Atherton.

The Queensland results once again demonstrate the flawed and 
undemocratic nature of Australia's electoral system.

The ALP scored 47% of the primary vote, yet walked away with 71% 
of the seats.

The Liberals, on the other hand, scored 18.5% of the vote, yet 
garnered only five seats — 5.5%.

Queensland has no Upper House of Parliament — it was abolished 
by the governing Labor Party in 1922. Without a chamber of 
proportional representation the Labor/Coalition duopoly is almost 
guaranteed full power over Government, even though neither party 
actually achieves the majority of votes.

To exacerbate the situation further, Queensland has an "optional 
preferential" system in the Lower House.

With the major parties pushing a "Just Vote 1" strategy, it 
further weakens democratic representation by becoming a US and 
UK-style "First Past the Post" system.