Queensland Labor
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The Queensland Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland) and commonly referred to as Queensland Labor or simply Labor, is the branch of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
(ALP) in the state of
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. It has functioned in the state since the 1880s. The Queensland branch of the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
was the first Labour Party to win government in the world, when, in December of 1899, following the resignation of the Dickson ministry, Queensland Labour leader
Anderson Dawson Andrew Dawson (16 July 1863 – 20 July 1910), usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician and unionist who served as the 14th premier of Queensland for one week from the 1 to the 7 of December 1899. This short-lived premier ...
accepted an offer by
Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...
Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and ...
to form a government.


History

Trade unionists in Queensland had begun attempting to secure parliamentary representation as early as the mid-1880s.
William McNaughton Galloway William McNaughton Galloway (1840 – 12 January 1895) was mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1889. He also built the now heritage-listed Breakfast Creek Hotel. Personal life William Galloway was born in Perth, Scotland in 1840, ...
, the president of the Seamen's Union, mounted an unsuccessful campaign as an independent in an 1886 by-election. A Workers' Political Reform Association was founded to nominate candidates for the 1888 election, at which the
Brisbane Trades and Labor Council Brisbane ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Queensland and the third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland, an urban agglo ...
endorsed six candidates.
Thomas Glassey Thomas Glassey (26 February 1844 – 28 September 1936) was an Irish-born Australian politician. Born in Markethill, County Armagh, he received no formal education, working as a mill-worker and miner in Scotland and England. He migrated t ...
won the seat of
Bundamba Bundamba is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bundamba had a population of 6,542 people. Geography The Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer Rive ...
at that election, becoming the first self-identified "labor" MP in Queensland. The Queensland Provincial Council of the
Australian Labor Federation Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
was formed in 1889 in an attempt to unite Labor campaign efforts.
Tommy Ryan Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American-Canadian World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes ...
won the seat of Barcoo for the labour movement-run People's Parliamentary Association in 1892, and the Labor Party was formally established in Queensland following the first Labor-in-Politics Convention later that year. The Queensland branch subsequently formed the first Labor government in Australia, albeit briefly, when
Anderson Dawson Andrew Dawson (16 July 1863 – 20 July 1910), usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician and unionist who served as the 14th premier of Queensland for one week from the 1 to the 7 of December 1899. This short-lived premier ...
took office for a week in 1899 after a falling out between the non-Labor forces. Since 1989, when the party came back to power after thirty-two years in Opposition, all its leaders have become Premiers despite two spells in Opposition in 1996–98 and 2012–2015. As of 2020, the Queensland branch has three factions: the right, headed by
Annastacia Palaszczuk Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. She held office as the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2012 unt ...
, the left, headed by
Steven Miles Steven John Miles (born 15 November 1977) is an Australian politician who was the 40th premier of Queensland, in office for 10 months from 2023 to 2024. He is the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and previously served as deputy ...
, and the centralist faction, the Old Guard. Discounting Speaker
Curtis Pitt Curtis Warren Pitt (born 1 February 1977) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland since 2009, representing the district of Mulgrave. On 14 February 2015, he was sworn in as Treas ...
, of the 47 Labor MPs, 24 belong to the Left, 16 to the Right, and 7 to the Old Guard. As of the 2020 state election, Queensland Labor's seat distribution was as follows:


Membership and voter base

Historically (1910s–1960s) Queensland Labor's voter base and membership has been distributed fairly equitably across the metropolitan, urban, and rural areas of the state, although maintaining a demographic majority within the South East region. Beginning in the 1970s, Queensland Labor's voter base in particular has swayed more heavily toward the metropolitan and urban areas of the state such as
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, the
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...
, the Gold Coast, and
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
, with the
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
(later National) and
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
parties competing with Labor in both regions as an electoral bloc.


Membership figures


Ideology

Historically, the Queensland Labor Party was rooted in
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
principles, advocating for
state socialism State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...
and
agrarian socialism Agrarian socialism or agricultural socialism is a political ideology that promotes social ownership of agrarian and agricultural production as opposed to private ownership. Agrarian socialism involves equally distributing agricultural land among ...
, with the party being broadly
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
. Prior to 1908, the party also had a radical liberal faction, which split to form the
Kidstonites The Kidstonites, also known as the Kidston Party, was a political party in the Australian state of Queensland in 1907 to 1908, formed by William Kidston. The party resulted from a split in the Queensland Labor Party and spent most of its existenc ...
in 1908. Over time, like other Labor/Labour parties, the party has shifted towards the
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
of the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...
. The platform programme describes its founding principle as
democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic ideology, economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and wor ...
, while observers describe the Queensland Labor Party as
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
, supporting
labourism The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
, which prioritises the rights and conditions of workers, fair wages, and secure
employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...
.


Factions

The Labor Party internal politics has a variety of internal factions; however, since 1989, it has been organised into formal factions. In Queensland the parties factions Include The Left, Labor Unity (also known as 'Old Guard'), and Labor Forum (also known as the right).


Local government

Labor contests
Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...
elections, and has done so since the inaugural election in 1925. It has been in opposition to the LNP (and before that, the Liberal Party) since
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. The last Labor member to serve as
Lord Mayor of Brisbane The Lord Mayor of Brisbane is the chief executive of the City of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and the head of the Brisbane City Council. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner of the Liberal National Party was sworn in o ...
was Tim Quinn, who was defeated in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. Historically, Labor also endorsed candidates outside of Brisbane, including in
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
,
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
and
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...
. The current Labor leader on Brisbane City Council is Jared Cassidy, who has served in the position since September 2019.


Leaders


Leader

The full list below is the official record of parliamentary leaders:


Election results


State elections


Federal elections


References

Notes Citations {{Authority control 1892 establishments in Australia Political parties established in 1892
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
Political parties in Queensland Memory of the World Register in Australia