By Jeremy Sollars
LAWRENCE Springborg says he will consider his future candidacy for the Southern Downs electorate “towards the end” of the current parliamentary term as he says he has done prior to the last few Queensland elections.
With speculation growing over the possibility of Queenslanders going to the polls as early as mid-2017, the veteran local LNP MP says his “first priority” will be the people of the Southern Downs.
The next Queensland election is not due until January 2018 but the surge in support since the August federal election for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in Queensland – now sitting at around 16 per cent in recent polling – has many ALP operatives spooked, not to mention those in the LNP opposition.
With the Palaszczuk government’s minority status and the powerful alliance of north Queensland cross-bench MPs, Labor’s grip on government continues to be shaky.
While an early Queensland election in 2016 is now off the cards, Labor’s questionable ability to gets its legislative program through State Parliament sets a volatile political scene in the Sunshine State heading into 2017.
“As I have done for several terms now, I always consider my future candidacy (for Southern Downs) towards the end of each term,” Mr Springborg told the Free Times today, Friday 25 November.
“I have said that publicly in the past and the same applies this time.
“My first priority will be and always is the people of the Southern Downs who have given me the privilege of being their representative.
“As I always have done, I will always respect them and inform them of my future intentions in a timely and open way.”
Mr Springborg – who has been a three-time LNP leader in opposition – said the Labor government had supported the LNP’s referendum proposal for fixed four-year terms “as did Queenslanders”.
“If the Premier called a state election early, it would be a breach of faith with Queenslanders who want governments to serve their full term,” he said.
“Given the commitment by all sides to fixed terms to give certainty and confidence on election timing, I would expect that the state election would be held late 2017 or early 2018.”
All Queensland Government terms will be fixed four-year terms after the current term, whenever the election is called.
Mr Springborg – who has served as the local MP since 1992 – is credited with successfully merging the Liberal and National parties in Queensland under his leadership in 2008.
The united party later went on to win government under Campbell Newman in 2012, with Mr Springborg serving as Minister for Health.
Many rank-and-file LNP members across the state are understood to be frustrated with what they see as a lacklustre performance by current opposition leader Tim Nicholls, who defeated Mr Springborg for the LNP leadership by just three votes after the January 2015 state election.
They also see the LNP opposition’s failure to fully capitalise on the Palaszczuk government’s handling of key political disasters such as the Queensland Rail Brisbane trains fiasco as evidence the LNP’s parliamentary ranks are in need of renewal.
The internal LNP unrest in Queensland wasn’t helped when Federal Attorney-General George Brandis suffered a ‘hot microphone fail’ after a TV interview last week, in which he was caught out slagging off his Queensland LNP counterparts as “very, very mediocre” and “not very good”.
The same tape also recorded Senator Brandis openly revealing the Federal Coalition was becoming increasingly alarmed about One Nation’s popularity.
Both sides of politics in Queensland are internally panicking about over One Nation, with Pauline Hanson’s appeal clearly showing up in polling in both ‘traditional’ LNP rural heartlands – including Southern Downs – and ALP heartland seats such as those based on industrial areas around Ipswich and south-west Brisbane.
