Leadership or Policy? Explaining the 2015 Queensland Election Result
Author(s)
Williams, Paul D
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2018
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Australian electoral politics historically have been described as stable, with hung parliaments rare and changes of government infrequent. However, the 2015 Queensland election, where a government with the largest parliamentary majority in Australian history was defeated after a single term in office, seriously challenges assumptions of Australian electoral stability, and determining the causes behind this result is therefore of significant scholarly interest. While many journalistic analyses of the 2015 Queensland election argue that the distinctive leadership style of Liberal‐National Party leader Campbell Newman was wholly ...
View more >Australian electoral politics historically have been described as stable, with hung parliaments rare and changes of government infrequent. However, the 2015 Queensland election, where a government with the largest parliamentary majority in Australian history was defeated after a single term in office, seriously challenges assumptions of Australian electoral stability, and determining the causes behind this result is therefore of significant scholarly interest. While many journalistic analyses of the 2015 Queensland election argue that the distinctive leadership style of Liberal‐National Party leader Campbell Newman was wholly or principally responsible for the government's defeat, this article argues the result emerged from a confluence of factors, with two — a contentious LNP policy to lease major government‐owned assets, and Campbell Newman's “combative” leadership style — of relatively equal significance as principal determinants.
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View more >Australian electoral politics historically have been described as stable, with hung parliaments rare and changes of government infrequent. However, the 2015 Queensland election, where a government with the largest parliamentary majority in Australian history was defeated after a single term in office, seriously challenges assumptions of Australian electoral stability, and determining the causes behind this result is therefore of significant scholarly interest. While many journalistic analyses of the 2015 Queensland election argue that the distinctive leadership style of Liberal‐National Party leader Campbell Newman was wholly or principally responsible for the government's defeat, this article argues the result emerged from a confluence of factors, with two — a contentious LNP policy to lease major government‐owned assets, and Campbell Newman's “combative” leadership style — of relatively equal significance as principal determinants.
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Journal Title
Australian Journal of Politics and History
Volume
64
Issue
2
Subject
Policy and administration
Policy and administration not elsewhere classified
Political science
Historical studies