Queensland state election, 2009 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Queensland state election was held to elect members to the unicameral Parliament of Queensland

Parliament of Queensland

The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. According to the state's constitution, the Parliament consists of the Queen and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been...

on 21 March 2009. The election saw the incumbent Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

government led by Premier Anna Bligh

Anna Bligh

Anna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...

defeat the Liberal National Party of Queensland led by Opposition Leader

Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)

This is a list of Leaders of the Opposition in Queensland. Prior to 1898, opposition to the government of the day was less organised. Thus the Queensland Parliamentary Record does not designate Leaders of the Opposition before then....

Lawrence Springborg

Lawrence James Springborg is an Australian politician and became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland since 2 April 2009. He was deputy leader of the new Liberal National Party...

, and gain a fifth consecutive term in office for her party. Bligh thus became the first female Premier of any Australian State elected in her own right.

The 2009 election also marked the eighth consecutive victory of the ALP in a general election since 1989 although it was out of office between 1996 and 1998 as a direct result of the 1996 Mundingburra by-election.

Key dates

Date	Event
23 February 2009	Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
28 February 2009	Close of electoral rolls.
3 March 2009	Close of nominations.
21 March 2009	Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
26 March 2009	The Bligh Ministry was reconstituted.
7 April 2009	The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Results

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The two-party preferred result was 50.9% for Labor and 49.1% for the LNP, a swing of 4.1% from Labor's result of 2006.

Seats changing hands

Seat	*Pre-2009*				Swing	*Post-2009*
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Aspley Electoral district of Aspley -External links:*...		Labor	Bonny Barry Bonny Barry Veronica Lesley "Bonny" Barry is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Aspley....	3.0	-7.5	4.5	Tracy Davis Tracy Davis Tracy Ellen Davis is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009, representing the district of Aspley....	Liberal National
Burdekin Electoral district of Burdekin Burdekin is an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the state of Queensland, Australia. Centred on the Ayr–Home Hill region, the electorate also includes some of Townsville's southern suburbs as well as the coal-mining town of Collinsville...		Labor	notional	0.9	-4.0	3.1	Rosemary Menkens Rosemary Menkens Rosemary Norma Menkens is an Australian politician. She represents the electoral district of Burdekin in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Originally elected in 2004 for the National Party, she joined the Liberal National Party in 2008. She is currently performing the role of Shadow...	Liberal National
Clayfield Electoral district of Clayfield The district of Clayfield is an electoral division of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. It is centred around the inner northern suburb of Clayfield in the state capital of Brisbane....		Labor	notional	0.2	-6.1	5.8	Tim Nicholls Tim Nicholls Timothy James Nicholls is an Australian politician. He is the member for Clayfield in the Queensland Legislative Assembly and holds the position of Shadow Treasurer...	Liberal National
Cleveland Electoral district of Cleveland The district of Cleveland is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.Based in the northern part of Redland City Council, the district includes the suburbs of Wellington Point, Ormiston, Cleveland and Thornlands...		Labor	Phil Weightman Phil Weightman Phillip John Weightman is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2009, representing the district of Cleveland.-External links:*...	0.5	-1.5	0.3	Mark Robinson Mark Robinson (Australian politician) Mark Andrew Robinson is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since March 2009....	Liberal National
Coomera Electoral district of Coomera The district of Coomera is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. Based at the northern end of the Gold Coast, the district is a marginal one.-Geography:...		Labor	notional	8.3	-10.2	1.9	Michael Crandon Michael Crandon Michael John Crandon is an Australian politician. He was first elected for the seat of Coomera to the Queensland State Parliament for the Liberal National Party of Queensland at the 2009 Queensland Election.-References:...	Liberal National
Gaven Electoral district of Gaven The district of Gaven is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. It was created out of the former district of Nerang and the southern segment of Albert in the 2001 redistribution, and is based around the northern growth corridor of the Gold Coast...		Labor	Phil Gray Phil Gray (Australian politician) Philip Roy Gray is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2009....	3.1	-3.9	0.7	Alex Douglas Alex Douglas (politician) Dr Alexander Rodney Douglas is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009, representing the district of Gaven...	Liberal National
Hervey Bay Electoral district of Hervey Bay -External links:*...		Labor	Andrew McNamara Andrew McNamara Andrew Ian McNamara is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Hervey Bay...	2.1	-8.6	6.5	Ted Sorensen Ted Sorensen (politician) Edward John Sorensen is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009....	Liberal National
Indooroopilly Electoral district of Indooroopilly The district of Indooroopilly is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.The district is based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, and straddles both sides of the Brisbane River. It is named for the suburb of Indooroopilly and also includes the...		Greens	Ronan Lee Ronan Lee Ronan Lee is an Irish-Australian political advisor and former Greens member of the Queensland State Parliament. Lee represented the seat of Indooroopilly since he was first elected as an Australian Labor Party member in 2001. Lee joined the Queensland Greens in 2008 citing the Bligh Government's...	N/A ^¶	-8.6	5.9	Scott Emerson Scott Emerson Scott Anthony Emerson is an Australian politician and former journalist. He has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009, representing the electoral district of Indooroopilly in Brisbane's inner-west.- Biography :Emerson was born in Ipswich Queensland,...	Liberal National
Mirani Electoral district of Mirani The district of Mirani is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.It covers much of the Queensland coast between the cities of Rockhampton and Mackay, as well as the hinterland west of Mackay. Towns include St Lawrence, Carmila, Sarina, and Eungella...		Labor	notional	1.2	-1.8	0.6	Ted Malone Ted Malone (Australian politician) George Edward "Ted" Malone is an Australian politician. Born in Mackay, he was a cane farmer and grazier before entering politics, and had served as Chairman of Directors of the Australian Cane Farmers Association...	Liberal National
Mudgeeraba Electoral district of Mudgeeraba The district of Mudgeeraba is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. Based on the Gold Coast, the district has been held by both sides of politics over the course of its short history....		Labor	Dianne Reilly Dianne Reilly Dianne Ann Reilly is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Mudgeeraba....	2.9	-6.6	3.9	Ros Bates Ros Bates Rosslyn Mary Bates is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal National Party member of the Parliament of Queensland since March 2009, representing the electorate of Mudgeeraba.-Member for Mudgeeraba:...	Liberal National
Redlands Electoral district of Redlands The district of Redlands is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. It primarily covers coastal suburbs on the southside of the city of Brisbane, from Thornlands south to the Logan River.-Members for Redlands:...		Labor	John English John English (Australian politician) John Michael English is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Redlands....	6.8	-6.9	0.1	Peter Dowling Peter Dowling Peter James Dowling is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009....	Liberal National

^¶ Ronan Lee was elected as a member of the Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

in 2006, but he defected to the Greens in 2008.

One of the gains by the Liberal Nationals was the defeat of the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Andrew McNamara

Andrew McNamara

Andrew Ian McNamara is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Hervey Bay...

(Hervey Bay). The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Training and the Arts, Bonny Barry

Bonny Barry

Veronica Lesley "Bonny" Barry is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Aspley....

(Aspley), was also defeated.

Date

The previous state election was held on 9 September 2006 to elect the 89 members of the Legislative Assembly

Queensland Legislative Assembly

The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...

. In Queensland, for the government to serve a full-term, an election will be held approximately three years following the previous election. In Queensland, Section 80 of the Electoral Act 1992 states that an election must be held on a Saturday; and that the election campaign must run for a minimum of 26 or a maximum of 56 days following the issue of the writs. Five to seven days following the issue of the writs, the electoral roll is closed, which gives voters a final opportunity to enrol or to notify the Electoral Commission of Queensland of any changes in their place of residence. The key dates for election were as follows:

23 February 2009: Dissolution
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...

of the 52nd Parliament
Parliament of Queensland
The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. According to the state's constitution, the Parliament consists of the Queen and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been...

and writs of election
Writ of election
A writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons...

lodged
28 February 2009: Close of rolls
3 March 2009: Close of nominations
21 March 2009: Election day
20 April 2009: Return of the writ

Legislative Assembly

See also: 2006 election pendulum and maps, Candidates of the Queensland state election, 2009
Candidates of the Queensland state election, 2009
This article provides information on candidates standing for the 2009 Queensland state election, which was held on 21 March 2009.-Labor:*Chris Bombolas MP *Gary Fenlon MP *Ken Hayward MP *Linda Lavarch MP...

The Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

, led by Premier Anna Bligh

Anna Bligh

, and the LNP, led by Opposition Leader

Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)

Lawrence Springborg

Lawrence James Springborg is an Australian politician and became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland since 2 April 2009. He was deputy leader of the new Liberal National Party...

, were the two main parties in Queensland at the election. It was the first election contested by the LNP following its creation with the merger of the National

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

and Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

parties. At the previous election, Labor won 59 seats, the Nationals won 17 seats, the Liberals won eight seats, One Nation won one seat, and independents won four seats.

A redistribution saw Labor notionally pick up three seats. Therefore, the LNP notionally needed to pick up 22 seats rather than 20 seats to form a majority government

Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

, which equated to an unchanged uniform 8.3 percent two party preferred swing.

Former Premier Peter Beattie

Peter Beattie

Peter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...

resigned in September 2007, which triggered the October 2007 Brisbane Central by-election

Brisbane Central by-election, 2007

A state by-election was held in Queensland on 13 October 2007 to fill the vacancy in the Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral district of Brisbane Central, formerly held by Labor member and former Premier Peter Beattie, who resigned on 14 September 2007. The Liberal-National coalition failed...

Parties contesting the election

Party	Seats Contested (2009)	Seats Contested (2006)
Australian Labor Party	89	89
LNP	88	89†
The Greens	89	75
DS4SEQ	32	N/A
Family First	25	26
One Nation	2	4
Independents & Others	72	46

† Contested 2006 elections as Liberal Party (49 seats) and National Party (40) seats.

Both the Australian Labor Party and the Greens contested all 89 seats. This was the first Queensland state election in which the Greens contested every seat. The LNP contested every seat except Gladstone (held by an Independent), which they avoided for strategic reasons. A total of 397 candidates contested the election—the largest number of candidates to contest a Queensland election since 1998.

Polling

Newspoll

Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....

polling was conducted via random telephone number selection in city and country areas. Sampling sizes

Sample size

Sample size determination is the act of choosing the number of observations to include in a statistical sample. The sample size is an important feature of any empirical study in which the goal is to make inferences about a population from a sample...

usually consist of around 1000 electors, with the declared margin of error

Margin of error

The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...

at around ±3 percent.

**Better Premier ratings^**
Date	Labor Bligh	Coalition/LNP Springborg
18 – 19 Mar 2009	53%	33%
27 Feb – 8 Mar 2009	48%	34%
Jan – Feb 2009	48%	31%
Oct – Dec 2008	49%	30%
Jul – Sep 2008	53%	27%
Apr – Jun 2008	60%	24%
Jan – Mar 2008	64%	18%
Oct – Dec 2007	66%	11%²
Jul – Sep 2007	54%¹	25%²
Apr – Jun 2007	54%¹	19%²
Pre 2006 election	58%¹	28%
Pre 2004 election	62%¹	22%
Polling conducted by Newspoll Newspoll Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian.... and published in The Australian The Australian The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly.... . ^ Remainder were "uncommitted" to either leader. ¹ Peter Beattie Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years... , ² Jeff Seeney Jeff Seeney Jeffrey William Seeney is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since the 1998 state election, representing the National Party and merged Liberal National Party ....

**Legislative Assembly opinion polling**
Political parties							Two party preferred
Dates	ALP	Lib	Nat	LNP	Grn	FFP	Oth	ALP	LNP
18 – 19 Mar 2009	42%			42%	7%	0.5%	8%	49.9%	50.1%
27 Feb – 8 Mar 2009	41%			43%	8%	<0.5%	8%	49%	51%
Jan – Feb 2009	42%			41%	7%	<0.5%	10%	53%	47%
Oct – Dec 2008	45%			37%	8%	<0.5%	10%	57%	43%
Jul – Sep 2008	38%			41%	9%	1%	11%	51%	49%
Apr – Jun 2008	43%	26%	12%	38%	10%	<0.5%	9%	55%	45%
Jan – Mar 2008	50%	22%	10%	32%	8%	<0.5%	10%	60%	40%
Oct – Dec 2007	50%	26%	9%	35%	6%	1%	8%	59%	41%
Jul – Sep 2007	50%	21%	12%	33%	5%	2%	10%	59%	41%
Apr – Jun 2007	51%	20%	11%	31%	6%	1%	11%	61%	39%
2006 Election	46.9%	20.1%	17.8%	37.9%	8.0%	1.9%	5.3%	55.0%	45.0%
6 – 7 Sep 2006	48%	21%	17%	38%	4%	1%	9%	55%	45%
2004 Election	47%	18.5%	17%	35.5%	6.7%	4.9%	5.9%	55.5%	44.5%
Polling conducted by Newspoll Newspoll Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian.... and published in The Australian The Australian The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly.... .

External links

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