Campbell Newman could stay on as Premier if he loses seat at Queensland election, says law expert

Updated

Campbell Newman could stay on as Queensland Premier even if he loses his seat at tomorrow's state election, a constitutional law expert says.

Polling continues to show Mr Newman in danger of losing his Ashgrove seat, in Brisbane's inner west, where he is facing a strong challenge from former Labor MP Kate Jones.

The Liberal National Party is refusing to be drawn on any potential succession plans, sticking to the line that if Mr Newman loses Ashgrove, the LNP will also lose government.

Mr Newman has repeatedly refused to say who would lead the party and Queensland if the LNP won the state election but he lost his seat.

Speaking on 612 ABC Brisbane, he said the LNP had a fight on its hands both in Ashgrove and across the state.

"I'll tell you why the election is tight, because we were elected to undertake reform," he said.

"When you undertake reform you come up against opposition."

But Mr Newman again refused to say whether the LNP had a succession plan for being returned to government without Mr Newman in Parliament.

"You can ask me as many times as you like. My strong belief is the government and Ashgrove go together," he said.

Those potentially tipped to take over the top job include Treasurer Tim Nicholls, Health Minister Lawrence Springborg, and Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek.

But the possibility is now being raised that even if he loses Ashgrove, Mr Newman could potentially stay on as Premier.

Professor of Constitutional Law Anne Twomey said if Mr Newman were to lose his seat, but the LNP won, he would have two options.

"One is he can resign as Premier and let somebody else take over and just drop out of politics," she said.

"The second choice is the more controversial one, and that is to stay on as Premier and seek a new seat, perhaps by persuading one of his loyal members to resign and make way for him so that there's a by-election in a new seat.

The LNP members most at risk MP Seat Margin Aaron Dillaway Bulimba 0.1 Anne Maddern Maryborough 0.3 Mike Latter Waterford 1.0 Neil Symes Lytton 1.6 Ian Kaye Greenslopes 2.5 Kerry Millard Sandgate 2.9 Jason Woodforth Nudgee 3.1 David Kempton Cook 3.4 Steve Davies Capalaba 3.7 Ian Berry Ipswich 4.2 Michael Pucci Logan 4.8 John Hathaway Townsville 4.8 Robert Cavallucci Brisbane Central 4.9 Saxon Rice Mount Coot-tha 5.4 Darren Grimwade Morayfield 5.6 Premier Campbell Newman Ashgrove 5.7



"If Campbell Newman took a period of time, say under 90 days, in order to become a Member of Parliament by way of a by-election, then that would probably be okay. But if he pushed his luck too far and wanted to just be Premier without a seat full stop, then I think you'd probably see legal action in the courts."

Professor Twomey said there was no express provision in the Queensland Constitution requiring the premier to be a member of parliament, so if Mr Newman lost his seat it would not automatically vacate his office as premier.

The same is true for the Australian Constitution.

At the 2007 federal election, when John Howard was defeated in Bennelong, he continued as prime minister until the swearing in of the ALP's Kevin Rudd.

Professor Twomey also pointed to a case in Quebec, Canada, where "the Liberal Party went to an election, [the leader] lost his seat but his party won government and he persuaded one of his members to resign and then took his seat, and in the meantime had become premier even though he didn't have a seat".

Mr Newman, a former Brisbane lord mayor, was elected as LNP leader in 2011 before becoming a state MP.

Some Ashgrove voters said they had not even contemplated the possibility of Mr Newman staying on as premier if they were to vote him out.

"He'd have to ask one of his ministers to step down - if he asked me to do that I'd say no," one voter said. "It wouldn't be good for the constituents of that local area."

Topics: states-and-territories, state-parliament, government-and-politics, elections, brisbane-4000, australia, qld

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