1998 Queensland State Election

The 1998 Queensland state election was held on 13 June 1998 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.

The result of the election was a second consecutive hung parliament, with the Labor Party forming minority government after receiving the support of independent Peter Wellington. This election was the first in which One Nation supporters were elected to state Parliament, with the controversial party winning 11 seats. With nearly 23% of the vote, One Nation gained a higher percentage of the vote than any other third party (i.e. not Labor, Coalition, or independents) at the state or territory level since Federation. This was also the only election at which a third party gained more votes than both the Liberal Party and the National Party considered separately. Unlike in previous elections, no attempt was made to calculate the statewide two-party preferred vote (2PP), because the One Nation vote was so high that any 2PP result would have been meaningless.

A few months after the election, the One Nation member for Mulgrave, Charles Rappolt resigned. Labor won the ensuing by-election, allowing it to form government with a bare majority of 45 seats.

Background

The previous state election (1995) had resulted in one of the narrowest margins of any Australian election. The National–Liberal Coalition won a slim majority of the two-party vote. However, the Coalition's majority was wasted on massive landslides in its rural heartland, while Labor won 31 seats in Brisbane. Labor Premier Wayne Goss' government thus clung to life by a single seat. This was brought undone when the Court of Disputed Returns ordered a new election in the disputed seat of Mundingburra, which the Liberals won on a modest swing. The balance of power rested with newly elected Independent MLA Liz Cunningham, who announced her support for the Coalition. Goss resigned, and Nationals leader Rob Borbidge was appointed as Premier.

The Borbidge government's popularity suffered in the later part of its term due to the federal Howard government's GST plans. Seeking to create a more definite majority, Borbidge called a new election on 19 May 1998. Although early polling showed the government to be strongly competitive with Labor, led by Peter Beattie, later polls saw Labor gain a substantial lead.

However, the debate between the two parties was rapidly sidelined by One Nation's emerging support. Formed in 1997 by federal Independent MP for Oxley Pauline Hanson, One Nation gained significant support on a platform of economic nationalism, anti-immigration sentiments and opposition to native title. Its platform was particularly well received in the Nationals' heartland of rural Queensland; indeed, at the time the writs were dropped, there had been fears over the past two years that One Nation would sweep the Nationals out of existence. One Nation stood candidates in 79 seats, all largely political novices. The issue of preference allocations to One Nation, under Queensland's optional preferential voting (OPV) system, became a major campaign issue, with eventual poor results for the Liberals attributed to opposition from many of their traditional voters over their decision not to put One Nation last on preferences.

Borbidge had been well aware of the threat from One Nation. He tried to have One Nation preferenced last on Coalition how-to-vote cards. However, the national Liberal and National organisations pressured their Queensland counterparts to preference One Nation ahead of Labor. They apparently thought that One Nation's populism would peel off enough Labor voters to allow the Coalition to win another term.

One Nation won 11 seats and finished second (after preferences) in 23 seats. Seven of One Nation's seats would have gone to Labor had it not been for leakage of Coalition preferences; had Labor won those seats, it would have been able to form government in its own right. Green, Antony
Queensland election preview
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2012-01-25.

Key dates

Retiring members

Labor

* Len Ardill MLA ( Archerfield)
* Clem Campbell MLA (Bundaberg)
* Keith De Lacy MLA (Cairns)
* Wayne Goss MLA (Logan)
* Glen Milliner MLA ( Ferny Grove)
* Geoff Smith MLA (Townsville)

National

* Di McCauley MLA ( Callide)
* Mark Stoneman MLA (Burdekin)

Results

Seats changing hands

*Members listed in italics did not contest their seats at this election.
* ¹ Frank Tanti gained Mundingburra for the Liberal Party at the 1996 by-election. The Labor Party had retained the seat at the 1995 election.

Post-election pendulum

Subsequent changes

* On 4 November 1998, One Nation Party member Charles Rappolt ( Mulgrave) resigned. At the by-election on 5 December 1998, Warren Pitt gained the seat for the Labor Party. This gave Labor 45 seats, enough for a majority government.
* On 6 February 1999, the One Nation Party members Shaun Nelson ( Tablelands), Dorothy Pratt ( Barambah), and Ken Turner ( Thuringowa) resigned from the party and sat as Independents.
* On 23 February 1999, the One Nation Party members John Kingston ( Maryborough) and Jeff Knuth (Burdekin) resigned from the party and sat as Independents. On 18 February 2000, Jeff Knuth (Burdekin) joined the City Country Alliance.
* On 22 December 1999, the One Nation Party members Harry Black (Whitsunday), David Dalgleish (Hervey Bay), Bill Feldman (Caboolture), Jack Paff ( Ipswich West), and Peter Prenzler ( Lockyer) resigned from the party and formed the City Country Alliance.
* On 14 December 1999, the Labor Party member Bob Gibbs (Bundamba) resigned. At the by-election on 5 February 2000, Jo-Ann Miller retained the seat for the Labor Party.
* On 9 January 2000, the Labor Party member Bill D'Arcy ( Woodridge) resigned. At the by-election on 5 February 2000, Mike Kaiser retained the seat for the Labor Party.
* On 30 November 2000, Deputy Premier Jim Elder (Capalaba) resigned from the Labor Party and sat as an Independent.
* On 4 December 2000, Grant Musgrove ( Springwood) resigned from the Labor Party and sat as an Independent.
* On 10 January 2001, Mike Kaiser ( Woodridge) resigned from the Labor Party and sat as an Independent.

Polling

Although the Coalition Government initially enjoyed strong levels of support subsequent to assuming office in 1996, support was quickly lost. From 1997, Labor opened a consistent, albeit narrow, lead in the polls and by 1998 Labor was enjoying a commanding lead. The Coalition was eventually disadvantaged by what was commonly deemed to be poor government performance and the rapid rise of One Nation support, which under the state's optional preferential voting, fractured the Conservative vote. The Coalition vote significantly plummeted, whilst Labor essentially withstood the swing to One Nation.

See also

* Candidates of the Queensland state election, 1998
* Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1995–1998
* Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1998–2001
* Borbidge Ministry
* Beattie Ministry

References

{{Queensland elections

Elections in Queensland
1998 elections in Australia
1990s in Queensland
June 1998 in Australia