The election no-one wanted!
A massive shout out to all the ETU members who turned up and campaigned to save our assets, jobs and services. We ran a strong campaign in the lead up to the Queensland state election. In early June we resolved to relaunch the Not4Sale campaign on the back of the LNP’s weasel words about electricity assets who could forget the “It’s all in the Mix, all on the table” from Frecklington. The LNP had already voted against public ownership and also against the Energy and Jobs Plan. We were committed to calling them out, we got the obligatory it’s not our plan letter from Crisafulli, but we don’t forget, and we don’t forgive.
For more than 3 months every weekend and for many during the week, Not4Sale campaigners took to the streets at up to 15 locations across the state from Cairns in the North to Toowoomba out west and the Gold Coast down south. It was not unusual to see hundreds of ETU members, families and supporters decked out in Not4Sale shirts holding Not4Sale signs on any given Saturday as well as smaller but no less committed crews rolling up midweek. We targeted 11 seats with varying success – the LNP lost in Bundaberg, Ipswich West, Kurwongbah, Springwood, Cairns and Gladstone, but got up in Coomera, Maryborough, Caloundra, Thuringowa and Redlands fell short with Gaven too close to call.
We produced TV ads, signs, banners, shirts, billboards and flyers, social media ads and we had a designated website.
But this election was different, in the middle of the campaign the federal ALP betrayed its base with the dirtiest act of union busting many of us had ever seen, with its CFMEU Administration legislation. To make matters worse, the state ALP administration followed suit with mirroring legislation within days. This act of treachery meant that our campaign needed to stress the Put the LNP LAST message rather than any overt vote for the ALP. The treacherous act by the ALP at both levels of government left many of our members rightfully livid, but we pressed on.
The Not4Sale campaign was about more than current politics, it was about protecting our members jobs and industries while sending the strongest possible message to ALL parties, if you come for our assets, jobs and services, we will come for you. When our members’ rights and livelihoods are at stake – we don’t care which political party is threatening them, we will stand up and fight back.
While it was always a hundred to one shot that Labor would hold on to power, the LNP’s innate ability to shoot itself in the foot and very nearly clutch defeat from the jaws of victory was writ large with its inept response to Katter’s “Handmaids Tale” abortion repeal promise and the LNP’s lack of any energy policy. Alas on the issue of energy the ALP failed to land killer blows despite having ample time and opportunities to do so.
Given everything that was and has been going on, the election result was not a surprise, the ALP had saddlebags full of lead and they were left wanting, badly. Despite some late traction on abortion and reproductive rights, with more than 60% of voters voting early, the election was already lost.
With the final results trickling in, it’s just a matter of waiting to see how large the LNP majority will be. Latest figures ALP max 35 (-17 seats) LNP min 52 (+18 seats), Greens 1, KAP 4, Ind 1
The ALP is reduced to just 3 seats outside of the southeast corner, the same number it had when it was reduced to just 7 seats in total after 2012.