South Brisbane – Queensland 2012

ALP 15.0%

Incumbent MP
Anna Bligh, since 1995.

Geography
Central Brisbane. South Brisbane covers suburbs in on the south side of the Brisbane River in central Brisbane, specifically West End, Highgate Hill, Kangaroo Point, East Brisbane, South Brisbane, Woolloongabba, Dutton Park and parts of Greenslopes and Coorparoo.

History
The seat of South Brisbane has existed continuously since 1860. The seat has been won by the ALP at almost all elections since 1915.

The seat was once held by Premier Vince Gair from 1932 to 1960. He was expelled in 1957 and formed the Queensland Labor Party, and later served as a Democratic Labor Party Senator from 1964 to 1973.

The ALP held the seat from 1960 to 1974. The seat was held by the Liberal Party for one term from 1974 to 1977 and has been held by the ALP since 1977.

Jim Fouras won the seat in 1977, and held it until 1986, when he lost ALP preselection to Anne Warner. He later held the seat of Ashgrove from 1989 to 2006, serving as Speaker from 1990 to 1996.

Warner had previously won the seat of Kurilpa in 1983, but her original seat was abolished in 1986. She served as a minister in the Goss government until her retirement in 1995.

South Brisbane has been held by Anna Bligh since 1995. Bligh became a minister in the new Beattie government in 1998. In 2005, she became Deputy Premier, and succeeded Peter Beattie as Premier in 2007. She won another term as Premier in 2009.

Candidates
Sitting Labor MP Anna Bligh is running for re-election. The LNP is running Clem Grehan.

Political situation
South Brisbane should be safe for Bligh at this election.

2009 result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Anna Bligh ALP 12,243 48.4 -3.2
Mary Carroll LNP 7,058 27.9 +2.6
Gary Kane GRN 4,402 17.4 -4.0
Merilyn Haines IND 409 1.6 +1.6
Sam Watson IND 344 1.4 +1.4
Greg Martin IND 330 1.3 +1.3
David Rendell DSQ 304 1.2 +1.2
Derek Rosborough IND 148 0.6 -1.0
Matt Coates IND 46 0.2 +0.2

2009 two-candidate-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Anna Bligh ALP 14,697 65.0 -3.4
Mary Carroll LNP 7,911 35.0 +3.4

Booth breakdown
Booths in South Brisbane have been divided into three areas: West End in the west, East Brisbane in the northeast, and Woollongabba in the southeast.

The ALP polled a majority with 53.5% of primary votes in Woollongabba, 48.5% in the West End and 43.4% in East Brisbane. The LNP vote peaked at 36% in East Brisbane, with a lower vote in the other areas. The Greens vote peaked at over 21% in the West End.

Polling booths in South Brisbane at the 2009 state election. West End in yellow, East Brisbane in green, Woollongabba in blue.

 

Voter group ALP % LNP % GRN % Total votes % of votes
West End 48.5 23.6 21.5 7,813 30.9
East Brisbane 43.4 36.3 13.4 5,092 20.1
Woollongabba 53.5 25.4 14.6 4,969 19.7
Other votes 48.4 28.4 17.7 7,410 29.3
Labor primary votes in South Brisbane at the 2009 state election.
Liberal National primary votes in South Brisbane at the 2009 state election.
Greens primary votes in South Brisbane at the 2009 state election.

9 COMMENTS

  4. There is talk around of this seat being used to parachute a defeated high flyer if (when?) Bligh resigns after losing office.

    Can’t say this sounds like a smart idea. At a by-election with presumably no LNP candidate, the Greens would be a serious chance to knock off a high profile blow in.

  5. Why would someone say “presumably no LNP candidate”? LNP in 2012 have a candidate with lots of integrity which sadly most ALP members and supporters don’t have. He has come very close to beating Anna Bligh on primary votes and if they ever get around to counting the other 30% he may be ahead of her. The only reason Greens have such strong support is the high level of uni students living in the area. Many young people have high ideals re environment etc but as we get older we realize we have to have industry, farming etc as none of us can survive on fresh air alone although it would be good if we could. How about advising these young people that we need someone with many years experience in running a successful business to have any idea how to run the State. Public servants and people with experience in chaining themselves to trees rarely have had any experience in running a small business let alone one the size of Qld.

  6. Carmel I could sight many reasons why you shouldn’t vote LNP ever, particularly at a Federal rwason but I’m not pushing my thoughts on you. People can vote what they want, seriously your LNP left Labor with only 7 seats, what more do you want, this is a democracy not a dictatorship.

  9. Gotta love when a party has a 6% swing against them and is now about a 2% margin but claims it sends a clear message to the government that people are unhappy about its performance.

Comments are closed.