General News
4 November, 2024
Weir wins comfortably, again
Incumbent Member for Condamine Pat Weir won election to the State Parliament again, where he will sit on the government benches for the first time under new Premier David Crisafulli.
On Saturday night, his Liberal National Party had won enough seats to form a majority government, marking an end to Labor rule in Queensland.
In Condamine, Mr Weir secured over 60% of the first preference vote, by far his largest electoral victory, and the biggest win for the LNP in the electorate, which was reformed in 2009.
It’s the biggest win seen in an electorate covering Oakey since former Premier Russell Cooper polled 71.59% of the vote in the Crows Nest seat in 1995.
The re-elected MP said he looked forward to working for Condamine in Government rather than Opposition.
“This is the first time we’ll be in Government, so I am looking forward to working with Ministers from our team,” Mr Weir said.
“It’s clear that voters were looking for change, and across Queensland the minor parties weren’t doing too well so people weren’t playing with their votes.”
Mr Weir said his local policy priorities would be making sure police stations were fully-staffed as well as delivering road infrastructure projects.
“I’ll be advocating for road projects that have been neglected for far too long, such as fixing the Davidson Street intersection,” he said.
“The Toowoomba-Cecil Plains Road and Bowenville-Norwin Road will also be up there.”
A long way back in second was Labor candidate Ben Whibley-Faulkner, who secured just over a sixth of the vote.
This was Labor’s worst result in Condamine since the 2012 wipeout.
One Nation’s Clay Harland finished third with around 11% of the vote, four-and-a-half per cent down on Greg Priebe’s result in the 2020 election.
The party finished ahead of Labor in the Bowenville, Haden, Kulpi, Quinalow and Pilton booths.
Family First candidate Alan Hughes finished in fourth place with 5.8% of the vote.
The party matched the Labor vote at the Bowenville and Quinalow booths.
Greens candidate Ellisa Parker finished in fifth on 5.1% of the provisional vote, a minor improvement on the party’s result in 2020.
Elsewhere in the wider region, the residents of Maclagan and Cooyar saw Deb Frecklington returned as the member for their electorate of Nanango.
Mrs Frecklington looks set to be named as a Minister in the new Cabinet, barring any surprises from the new Premier later this week.
On agriculture, the LNP said farmer-led policy will be a priority in Government, stating: “We’ve listened as our farmers have told us they want government to provide the platform for innovations and pathways for investment, but then allow them to get on with what they do best.”
The Queensland Resources Council, which had heavily opposed the Labor’s Government’s dependence upon mining royalties, congratulated the LNP. Chief Executive Officer Janette Hewson said the lobby group was looking forward to a constructive and positive relationship with Government.
