David Marler

David Marler

Queensland reporter at No Fibs
David is a full time Queensland carer for his son and in quiet times contributes to NoFibs.
David Marler

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David Marler
https://nofibs.com.au/meeting-david-marler-nofibs-twitter-activist-by-griffithelects
A short blog for those who like to speculate on the Queensland election date.

At her discretion: Queensland election speculation.

May 3, 2017

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is loving keeping everyone guessing as to when the next state election will be. The last possible date is Saturday, May 5, 2018. The 45th Queensland parliament is the final three year flexible term before Queensland transitions to four year fixed. It means the premier has at her discretion when to visit the Queensland Governor. Complicating things further, Queensland has undergone an electoral redistribution and increased the number of seats from eighty-nine to ninety three.

Tardy for a media conference on this subject in February, the premier mischievously joked with reporters as to her reason.

“Sorry I’m late. I’ve just been up to see the governor,” she announced, pausing for effect. “We had a really good regular catch-up.”

At an industry lunch in March she again set hearts aflutter by stating that, “by next Christmas, not this Christmas, Queenslanders will have voted”.

The selection of the poll date does have a few implications for the length of the 46th parliament as the following tweet from ABC Queensland’s  Chris O’Brien shows.

The premier’s decision to go to an election on the new boundary alignments also prompted a few tweets today from 9 News Queensland’s Shane Doherty and 7 News Queensland’s Patrick Condren.

Will she play the long game or go for a snap election by year’s end? Given Chris O’Brien’s tweet which sets out the length of time allocated to the 46th parliament and that Palaszczuk herself has said Queenslanders won’t vote before Christmas 2017, the most likely month she has in mind is March 2018. With its ferocious heat in January, voters on holidays and as her predecessor Campbell Newman found out, January is a terrible time to campaign in Queensland. Workers and universities will be back up to speed in February and a campaign announcement for a poll date sometime in March is the most likely bet.

– ends