1989 Queensland state election

none June 2020 August 2019 1989 Queensland state election Queensland parliamentary no 1986 Queensland state election 1986 1992 Queensland state election 1992 Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1989–1992 Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1986–1989 1,780,785 13.9% All 89 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland45 Assembly seats were needed for a majority 2 December 1989 1,623,637 (91.18%) (0.07 pp) Labor E13940 150x150px Wayne Goss 2 March 1988 Logan 30 seats, 41.35% 29 seatsManly MP Eric Shaw was elected at the previous election as a Labor candidate. However, in September 1988 he lost his party's endorsement and sat in Parliament as an independent MP. 54 seats 25 792,466 50.32% 8.97 pp 150x150px Russell Cooper 25 September 1989 National Roma 49 seats, 39.64% 46 seatsLiberal At the May 1989 Merthyr by-election, Liberal candidate Santo Santoro won the seat of Merthyr, which had been held by National MP Don Lane. Lane resigned his seat several months earlier following the Fitzgerald Inquiry.The seat of Isis had been vacated on 31 July 1989 by National-turned-Independent MP Lionel Powell. There was no resulting by-election,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122286069 Mike Ahern 'Dodging' By-Election The Canberra Times 63 19654 Australian Capital Territory, Australia 31 July 1989 27 June 2022 4 National Library of Australia instead the seat was contested at the state election. The seat was subsequently won by the Labor Party. 27 seats 19 379,364 24.09% 15.55 pp Liberal 1C4F9C 150x150px Angus Innes 31 January 1988 Sherwood 10 seats, 16.50% 11 seatsLiberal 8 seats 3 331,562 21.05% 4.55 pp TPP TPP swing 53.8% 7.80 pp 46.2% 7.80 pp 1989 Queensland state election.svg 400px Winning margin by electorate. Premier Russell Cooper National Party of Australia – Queensland Wayne Goss Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch) The 1989 Queensland state election was held in the Australian state of Queensland on 2 December 1989 to elect the 89 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. This was the first election following the downfall of eight-term premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen at the end of 1987. The government was led by Premier and leader of the National Party, Russell Cooper; the opposition was led by Opposition Leader and leader of the Labor Party, Wayne Goss, while the Liberal Party was led by Angus Innes. The National government, which had been in power since the 1957 election and had governed in its own right since the dissolution of the state coalition at the 1983 election, was defeated; the election was a landslide win for the Labor Party, which gained 24 seats. Labor also won more than 50% of the primary vote. Until 2012, it was the worst defeat of a sitting government in Queensland history. Since this election, Queensland Labor has won 10 of 12 state elections which have been held afterwards, most recently in 2020. Background The Nationals' fortunes had dwindled significantly since the 1986 election. Soon after the floundering of his attempt to become Prime Minister in the "Joh for Canberra" campaign, Bjelke-Petersen was deposed in a party room coup led by Health Minister Mike Ahern. After trying to hold onto power for four days, Bjelke-Petersen resigned and Ahern was sworn in as his successor. The shadow campaign began in late 1988 with television advertisements depicting Labor and its leader, Wayne Goss, as "The Only Change for the Better". A string of policy papers were released on a range of themes emphasising responsible economic management and efficient, honest administration. While they maintained a positive and professional public opinion and consistently led opinion polls, neither the media nor the electorate appeared to believe they could win. Coaldrake Peter December 1989 Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1989 Australian Journal of Politics and History 35 3 452–455 0004-9522 The Liberals, who had been on the crossbenches since the collapse of the Coalition in 1983, launched a series of newspaper advertisements in March 1988 under the banner "Let's Put It Right". They were in a curious position, however, because a collapse in National support in urban South East Queensland would mean that seats the Liberal Party might hope to win would be more likely to go to Labor. thumb|Enrolment by electorate in 1989. The state was divided into four zones with different quotas, which overrepresented rural areas compared to the more populous southeast. On 1 April 1989, a non-partisan group called "Citizens for Democracy" gained some publicity by cutting a birthday cake to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Electoral Districts Act 1949, which had established electoral malapportionment in Queensland, which was seen as unfairly benefiting the Nationals. Both the Labor and Liberal parties favoured "one vote one value" electoral reform. On 3 July 1989, the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (more commonly known as the Fitzgerald Inquiry after its chair, Tony Fitzgerald QC) handed down its report. It found links between criminal and political networks, and that corruption in Queensland's public life was widespread, commonplace and organised. It made numerous recommendations aimed at reforming the police and criminal justice system and at establishing independent institutions to monitor, report and act on reforms in the short term, and their operation on an ongoing basis. Ahern committed to implement the Report in its entirety. Ahern sought to govern in a more consultative manner than Bjelke-Petersen, and worked to blunt the edges of what had long been one of the most unyieldingly conservative state governments in Australia. It was to no avail; by September, opinion polls were suggesting the Nationals had about half the support they had achieved at the 1986 election. A Newspoll taken after the inquiry's release showed that the Nationals had tumbled to only 22% support, the lowest ever recorded for a sitting government in Australian history.Salusinszky Imre http://www.news.com.au/national/kristina-keneally-leading-the-most-unpopular-labor-government-in-australia/story-e6frfkvr-1225944944807#ixzz1E6CpYEvh Kristina Keneally leading the most unpopular Labor government in history News.com.au 29 October 2010 26 March 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110629171703/http://www.news.com.au/national/kristina-keneally-leading-the-most-unpopular-labor-government-in-australia/story-e6frfkvr-1225944944807#ixzz1E6CpYEvh 29 June 2011 live Additionally, the Nationals suffered large swings at three by-elections, most recently in Merthyr, where the Liberals had won the seat from the Nationals despite the latter putting forward a high-profile candidate and an expensive campaign. On 22 September, Police Minister Russell Cooper toppled Ahern in a party room coup, and was sworn in as premier three days later. Cooper billed himself as a traditionalist in Bjelke-Petersen's mould, and his supporters believed he could shore up National support in its rural heartland. Accordingly, Cooper campaigned on traditional National focuses (law and order, social conservatism, and attacks on the federal Labor government, in particular related to interest rates) and produced a number of controversial advertisements, one of which alleged that the Labor Opposition's plan to decriminalise homosexuality would lead to a flood of gays from southern states moving to Queensland. Labor responded by satirising these ads, depicting Cooper as a wild-eyed reactionary and a clone of Bjelke-Petersen and/or a puppet of party president Sir Robert Sparkes. Coaldrake Peter August 1990 Australian Political Chronicle: July–December 1989 Australian Journal of Politics and History 36 2 243–248 0004-9522 Logos Foundation, a fundamentalist Christian group in Toowoomba, led by Howard Carter, controversially involved itself in the election, running a campaign of surveys and full-page newspaper advertisements promoting the view that candidates' adherence to Christian principles and biblical ethics was more important than the widespread corruption in the Queensland government that had been revealed by the Fitzgerald Inquiry. Advertisements published in the Brisbane Courier-Mail promoted strongly-conservative positions in opposition to pornography, homosexuality and Abortion, and a return to the Death penalty. Some supporters controversially advocated Old Testament laws and penalties.Roberts, G., Sex Scandal Divides the Bible Belt, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 October 1990 That action backfired sensationally, with many mainstream Churches, community leaders and religious organisations distancing themselves from the Logos Foundation after making public statements denouncing them.Harrison, John The Logos Foundation: The Rise and Fall of Christian Reconstructionism in Australia 2006-08-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8027/HARRISON_eprint_.pdf 10 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20160601223424/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8027/HARRISON_eprint_.pdf 1 June 2016 live At times, the death penalty for homosexuals was advocated, in accordance with Old Testament Law.Harrison, 2006, p.3 A Sydney Morning Herald article summarised the campaign's thrust as follows: "Homosexuality and censorship should determine your vote, the electorate was told; corruption was not the major concern." The same article quoted from a letter Carter he had written to supporters at the time: "The greenies, the gays and the greedy are marching. Now the Christians, the conservatives and the concerned must march also". Those views were not new. In reference to the call for the Death penalty for homosexuals to rid Queensland of such people, an earlier article published in the Herald quoted a Logos spokesman as saying: "the fact a law is on the statutes is the best safeguard for society".Lyons, J., God Remains an Issue in Queensland, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 November 1989 Key dates Date Event 2 November 1989 The Parliament was dissolved.292 1635 A Proclamation 2 November 1989 2 November 1989 Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.292 1637 2 November 1989 9 November 1989 Close of nominations. 2 December 1989 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. 7 December 1989 The Cooper Ministry resigned and the Goss Ministry was sworn in. 13 February 1990 The writ was returned and the results formally declared. Retiring members Labor Brian Davis (Brisbane Central) Bob Scott (Cook) David Underwood (Ipswich West) Les Yewdale (Rockhampton North) Liberal Norm Lee (Yeronga) Bill Lickiss (Moggill) National Brian Austin (Nicklin) Bill Glasson (Gregory) Peter McKechnie (Carnarvon) Ted Row (Hinchinbrook) Gordon Simpson (Cooroora) Martin Tenni (Barron River) Independent Eric Shaw (Manly) – elected for the Labor Party Results Results of the Queensland state election, 1989 This, December 2, 1989, is the end of the Bjelke-Petersen era.https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/australian-institute-of-art-history/news-and-events/past-events/wreckage-and-reclamation-politics-and-art-in-brisbane-1987-1997 Wreckage and Reclamation: Politics and Art in Brisbane 1987-1997 2 December 1989 arts.unimelb.edu.au 6 August 2025 Wayne Goss election night victory speech, 2 December 1989 The result was a landslide win for the Labor Party. Brisbane swung over dramatically to support Labor, which took all but five seats in the capital. Initially, it appeared that the Liberal Party had won the traditionally National hinterland seat of Nicklin, however, the Court of Disputed Returns overturned that result and awarded the seat to the National Party. Queensland state election, 2 December 1989http://elections.uwa.edu.au Parliament of Queensland, Assembly election, 2 December 1989 Australian Government and Politics Database 22 February 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20150118085343/http://elections.uwa.edu.au/ 18 January 2015 liveA handbook of Australian government and politics, 1985-1999 Hughes Colin A. 2002 Federation Press 978-1-86287-434-3 325 Legislative Assembly Queensland state election 1986 1992 1,780,785 1,623,637 91.18% –0.07% 48,764 3.00% +0.83% yes Labor QLD Labor 792,466 50.32% +8.97% 54 +24 Nationals QLD Nationals 379,364 24.09% –15.55% 27 –22 Liberal QLD 331,562 21.05% +4.55% 8 –2 Democrats 6,669 0.42% –0.21% 0 ±0 CEC 6,610 0.42% +0.42% 0 ±0 Greens QLD Greens 5,206 0.33% +0.33% 0 ±0 Call to Australia 2,007 0.13% +0.13% 0 ±0 Grey Power 300 0.02% +0.02% 0 ±0 Independent 50,689 3.22% +1.34% 0 ±0 1,574,873 89 Labor QLD 53.8% +7.8% Nationals QLD National/Liberal 46.2% -7.8% |} Popular vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 50.32 Nationals National Party of Australia 24.09 Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 21.05 Democrats Australian Democrats 0.42 CEC #666600 0.42 Greens Australian Greens 0.33 Call to Australia Christian Democratic Party (Australia) 0.13 Grey Power #C0C0C0 0.02 Independents Independent 3.22 Seats var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Labor Australian Labor Party 60.67 Nationals National Party of Australia 30.34 Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 8.99 Seats changing hands Seat 1986 Election Swing 1989 Election Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Albert  National Ivan Gibbs 13.13 –22.82 9.69 John Szczerbanik  Labor Ashgrove  Liberal Alan Sherlock 0.98 –7.58 6.60 Jim Fouras  Labor Aspley  National Beryce Nelson 4.11 –5.29 1.18 John Goss  Liberal Barron River  National Martin Tenni 4.04 –11.54 7.50 Dr Lesley Clark  Labor Broadsound  National Denis Hinton 1.96 –4.71 2.74 Jim Pearce  Labor Cooroora  National Gordon Simpson 10.64 –11.67 1.03 Ray Barber  Labor Currumbin  National Leo Gately 8.88 –9.79 0.91 Trevor Coomber  Liberal Glass House  National Bill Newton 6.93 –8.55 1.63 Jon Sullivan  Labor Greenslopes  National Leisha Harvey 4.23 –9.83 5.60 Gary Fenlon  Labor Isis  National Lin Powell1 7.40 –7.47 0.08 Bill Nunn  Labor Mansfield  National Craig Sherrin 5.49 –7.85 2.35 Laurel Power  Labor Maryborough  National Gilbert Alison 0.74 –2.14 1.40 Bob Dollin  Labor Mount Coot-tha  Liberal Lyle Schuntner 6.20 –13.21 7.00 Wendy Edmond  Labor Mount Gravatt  National Ian Henderson 6.69 –8.40 1.70 Judy Spence  Labor Mount Isa  Liberal Peter Beard 2.74 –12.84 10.10 Tony McGrady  Labor Mulgrave  National Max Menzel 3.71 –5.38 1.67 Warren Pitt  Labor Nerang  National Tom Hynd 9.88 –11.30 1.42 Ray Connor  Liberal Nicklin  National Brian Austin 10.93 –19.22 8.29 Bob King  Liberal Nundah  Liberal Sir William Knox 5.39 –13.38 8.00 Phil Heath  Labor Pine Rivers  National Yvonne Chapman 3.55 –9.15 5.60 Margaret Woodgate  Labor Redcliffe  Liberal Terry White 7.71 –9.70 2.00 Ray Hollis  Labor Redlands  National Paul Clauson 3.83 –10.03 6.20 Darryl Briskey  Labor South Coast  National Judy Gamin 0.38 –8.13 7.75 Bob Quinn  Liberal Springwood  National Huan Fraser 6.18 –9.28 3.10 Molly Robson  Labor Stafford  Liberal Terry Gygar 4.46 –12.06 7.60 Rod Welford  Labor Toowoomba North  National Sandy McPhie 7.62 –8.54 0.92 Dr John Flynn  Labor Townsville  National Tony Burreket 4.43 –9.53 5.10 Ken Davies  Labor Whitsunday  National Geoff Muntz1 9.00 –9.03 0.03 Lorraine Bird  Labor Yeronga  Liberal Norm Lee 5.70 –14.80 9.10 Matt Foley  Labor Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election. 1 Lin Powell and Geoff Muntz were elected as members of the National Party, but resigned from the party, and contested the election as Independents. The Labor Party also retained the electorate of Manly, where the sitting Labor member had resigned and contested the election as an independent. Post-election pendulum Labor seats (54)Marginal WhitsundayLorraine BirdALP0.03% IsisBill NunnALP0.08% Toowoomba NorthJohn FlynnALP0.92% CoorooraRay BarberALP1.03% MaryboroughBob DollinALP1.40% Glass HouseJon SullivanALP1.63% MulgraveWarren PittALP1.67% Mount GravattJudy SpenceALP1.70% RedcliffeRay HollisALP2.00% MansfieldLaurel PowerALP2.35% BroadsoundJim PearceALP2.74% SpringwoodMolly RobsonALP3.10% TownsvilleKen DaviesALP5.10% GreenslopesGary FenlonALP5.60% Pine RiversMargaret WoodgateALP5.60%Fairly Safe RedlandsDarryl BriskeyALP6.20% AshgroveJim FourasALP6.60% Mount Coot-thaWendy EdmondALP7.00% Barron RiverLesley ClarkALP7.50% StaffordRod WelfordALP7.60% NundahPhil HeathALP8.00% MourilyanBill EatonALP8.20% SalisburyLen ArdillALP8.50% Rockhampton NorthRobert SchwartenALP8.60% CookSteve BredhauerALP8.90% YerongaMatt FoleyALP9.10% AlbertJohn SzczerbanikALP9.69%Safe ThuringowaKen McElligottALP10.00% Mount IsaTony McGradyALP10.10% BundabergClem CampbellALP10.40% MackayEd CaseyALP10.90% CabooltureKen HaywardALP11.20% ChatsworthTerry MackenrothALP12.00% Ipswich WestDon LivingstoneALP12.06% MurrumbaDean WellsALP12.70% CairnsKeith De LacyALP12.92% South BrisbaneAnne WarnerALP13.15% EvertonGlen MillinerALP13.20% WindsorPat CombenALP13.20% RockhamptonPaul BraddyALP13.77% ManlyJim ElderALP14.00% Townsville EastGeoff SmithALP14.30% Port CurtisBill PrestALP16.70% WolstonBob GibbsALP16.87% SandgateNev WarburtonALP17.30% IpswichDavid HamillALP17.80% Brisbane CentralPeter BeattieALP18.20% LoganWayne GossALP18.20% NudgeeKen VaughanALP18.60% BulimbaRon McLeanALP19.00% WoodridgeBill D'ArcyALP19.50% Very SafeBowenKen SmythALP20.60%LyttonTom BurnsALP22.50%ArcherfieldHenry PalaszczukALP24.30% National seats (26)MarginalCunninghamTony ElliottNAT1.13% v LIBHinchinbrookMarc RowellNAT1.42%FlindersBob KatterNAT2.11%TablelandsTom GilmoreNAT2.42%FassifernKev LingardNAT2.60%WarregoHoward HobbsNAT3.27%MiraniJim RandellNAT3.51%SomersetBill GunnNAT3.96%CallideDi McCauleyNAT4.29%LandsboroughMike AhernNAT5.92%Fairly SafeGregoryVaughan JohnsonNAT6.80%BurdekinMark StonemanNAT6.91%GympieLen StephanNAT6.99%CarnarvonLawrence SpringborgNAT8.88%Toowoomba SouthClive BerghoferNAT9.08%Peak DownsVince LesterNAT9.50%AuburnNeville HarperNAT9.63%SafeSouthportMick VeiversNAT11.06%BurnettDoug SlackNAT11.10%Surfers ParadiseRob BorbidgeNAT12.15%WarwickDes BoothNAT14.05%LockyerTony FitzgeraldNAT18.30%Very SafeBarambahTrevor PerrettNAT21.40%RomaRussell CooperNAT23.19%BalonneDon NealNAT23.90%CondamineBrian LittleproudNAT25.42%Liberal seats (9)MarginalMerthyrSanto SantoroLIB0.46%CurrumbinTrevor CoomberLIB0.91%AspleyJohn GossLIB1.18%ToowongDenver BeanlandLIB1.31%NerangRay ConnorLIB1.42%SherwoodAngus InnesLIB3.86%Fairly SafeMoggillDavid WatsonLIB5.99%South CoastBob QuinnLIB7.75%NicklinBob KingLIB8.29% Subsequent changes On 6 May 1990, former National Premier Mike Ahern (Landsborough) resigned. At the by-election on 28 July 1990, Joan Sheldon gained the seat for the Liberal Party. On 13 May 1990, former Liberal Party leader Angus Innes (Sherwood) resigned. At the by-election on 28 July 1990, David Dunworth retained the seat for the Liberal Party. On 22 Nov 1990, the Court of Disputed Returns declared the election in Nicklin void, and a recount was undertaken, which declared Neil Turner for the National Party elected. On 18 May 1991, National Party member Clive Berghofer (Toowoomba South) resigned. At the by-election on 18 May 1991, Mike Horan retained the seat for the National Party. On 5 April 1991, Labor Party member Phil Heath (Nundah) resigned. At the by-election on 18 May 1991, Terry Sullivan retained the seat for the Labor Party. A major change to electoral legislation saw the zonal system of electoral distribution abolished in favour of a system largely resembling one vote one value in time for the 1992 state election. See also Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1986–1989 Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1989–1992 Candidates of the Queensland state election, 1989 Cooper Ministry Goss Ministry Notes References Category:Elections in Queensland Queensland state election State election, 1989 Queensland state election