QLD parliament neck-and-neck
AAP
The Liberal party in Queensland is inching closer to government after positive signs emerged from Robbie Katter.
The Katter’s Australia Party leader said Labor needs to meet its demands, and the LNP had satisfied them with a “strong agreement”, The Australian reports.
The move would give the LNP 44 seats in the 89 seat parliament, which is equal to the government which has secured Independent Peter Wellington’s support.
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In doubt is the vote of Billy Gordon, the Cook MP who resigned under pressure from the ALP for not disclosing his criminal record, amid airing of domestic violence claims against him from ex-partners.
“At this point we’ve got a strong agreement with the LNP. If you’re going to hold a gun to our head, we’d be forced to go with them, but we’re still working with Labor to see if they can match or better the commitments we’ve got with the LNP,” Mr Katter said as published in The Australian.
His support for the LNP does not end the deadlock in Queensland’s parliament but could deliver government again for the Labor-led coalition.
Premier Annastacia Palaczszuk has called on Mr Gordon to leave parliament, which would trigger a by-election in his seat.
His seat was held by the LNP under Campbell Newman’s government but was returned to trend at the January election.