Amy Remeikis reports in The Guardian (27.11.17) on the impact of the ‘Adani issue’ in the Queeensland election result, noting that exit polls in the state’s south-east found up to 70% of respondents were against the proposed billion-dollar rail line loan for Adani.
‘It was the sleeper issue that ended up dominating the Queensland election campaign – and, in the end, activists believed, may have saved government for Labor.
‘Labor sits the closest to the majority needed to take government in Queensland, 47 seats, after receiving gains in the south-east, largely helped by a drop in support for the Liberal National party.
‘Among those were Maiwar, the electorate held by the shadow treasurer, Scott Emerson, who looks to have lost largely due to Greens preferences, along with other LNP-held inner-city seats such as Mount Ommaney and Mansfield, which both look to have fallen to Labor.
‘Exit polls commissioned by GetUp in those electorates found up to 70% of respondents were against the billion-dollar rail line loan for Adani, while another 30% said Labor’s decision to veto the loan helped decide how they would vote.
‘“We already know the majority of voters from every single party at play opposed the Naif loan, including LNP and One Nation voters,” the GetUp environmental justice director, Sam Regester, told Guardian Australia. “Taking a stronger position against Adani clearly contributed to the swing in south-east Queensland. Just as tellingly, Labor held on to the regional seats that folks like conservative analysts predicted would fall because of the veto”.’
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- The stakes are high and public opinion is clear: we must say no to Adani »
- Queensland Premier writes to PM to veto $1 billion Adani loan »
- The Brisbane suburbs going Green »
- Labor can unify the left by opposing Adani, but it can’t forget its blue-collar base »