Queensland election 2015: Labor prepares to form minority government as vote counting draws to close

Extract from ABC News

Updated 22 minutes ago Fri 13 Feb 2015, 8:03am

Photo: Annastacia Palaszczuk is preparing to form minority government with the backing of an independent MP. (AAP Image: John Pryke)

Map: QLD

Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk could be sworn in as Queensland's premier as early as today after the final election votes are counted.

By the close of business on Thursday, the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) had declared 82 of the 89 seats in Parliament, including Ferny Grove, which was referred to the Court of Disputed Returns.
Although the writs were due to be returned on Monday, Governor Paul de Jersey said earlier this week he would commission a new premier when all seats were declared.
Labor is on track to secure 44 electorates and will have the crucial 45 to form a minority government with the support of independent Peter Wellington.

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The Liberal National Party (LNP) is expected to finish with 42 seats, and the only hope it has of minority government will be to win the backing of the two Katter MPs and victory in a Ferny Grove by-election, if one is held.
Labor's Mark Furner was declared winner in the north-west Brisbane seat by more than 400 votes after preferences, but the LNP is expected to push for another election after the Palmer United Party candidate was disqualified for being an undischarged bankrupt after the January 31 poll.
PUP candidate for Ferny Grove, Marc Taverner, got 993 votes, and 353 of those were "exhausted" with no further preferences for Labor, the LNP or Greens candidates.
ABC election analyst Antony Green said the simple presence of an unelected ineligible candidate was not in itself enough to overturn a result.
"If every one of the voters who cast these '1'-only ballots had voted for the LNP candidate in the absence of Taverner on the ballot paper, Labor would still have won Ferny Grove by more than 100 votes," Mr Green said.
"That makes it harder to argue that Taverner's presence on the ballot paper has affected the outcome in Ferny Grove."

Pauline Hanson loses election bid

One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has failed in her bid to be elected to the southern Queensland seat of Lockyer.
LNP incumbent Ian Rickuss pipped Ms Hanson by 184 votes after preferences.
Mr Rickuss said the arrogance displayed by senior LNP figures contributed to the previous government's downfall.
"Look, I think the LNP government could have sold its message a lot better," he said.

"We've done some good, we did make some good changes, but the people I don't think appreciated some of the arrogance that was being shown particularly the hierarchy."