Queensland election 2015: Campbell Newman concedes Ashgrove to ALP's Kate Jones

Updated

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has conceded his seat of Ashgrove to Labor's Kate Jones in the state election, admitting defeat to his supporters and congratulating Ms Jones on her win.

ABC election analyst Antony Green was predicting that Labor would scrape into office with 46 seats.

At 10:55pm (AEST) LNP had secured 40 seats and Labor 43, including Leeanne Enoch, who is on track to become Queensland's first female indigenous MP.

Labor Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has so far achieved a 19 per cent swing in her Inala electorate, said that three years ago Labor did not believed it could come this close to victory.

"It's still too close to call at present, but I'm very hopeful that we will be able to form government in this state," she said.

"Can I thank the union movement," she said.

"Because it it is the union movement that stands up each and every day and fights for better conditions for workers across this state."

Ms Palaszczuk campaigned on a "no asset sale agenda" and said a Labor government would not offload the $37 billion worth of assets the LNP wanted to privatise.

"Let's put the past three years behind us," she said.

"Let's have a consensus government where we bring people together, where we listen and where he unite.

"Tomorrow we begin a brand new chapter in Queensland's history."

Mr Green said it was an extraordinary return back to the Labor Party.

"Mansfield and Whitsunday are the two doubtful seats," he said.

"If Labor wins both they're in government; if they win one of those I suspect they're in government.

"It looks like at the moment it is a very narrow Labor majority.

"There are still some seats still to call, but at the moment there's a high likelihood we could get hung parliament. I've got the Labor Party on 45 seats."

"There's lot of votes to come, a lot of votes to be counted tonight but this an extraordinary result and I think it's too close to call yet."

One seat that is not in question is Ashgrove after Ms Jones comfortably won over Mr Newman using a grassroots, low-key campaign.

At her victory party her supporters chanted "Kate, Kate, Kate" as she took the podium.

Ms Jones said that after losing to Mr Newman in 2012, she sat back and looked at the LNP government make mistake after mistake.

"What I saw happening over the last three years was that Queensland was going backwards," she said.

"A Queensland where I did not want to live, and a Queensland where I did not want to raise my children."

She said the community did not like the Newman government's attacks on the judiciary, doctors, lawyers and community.

"The vote here in Ashgrove sends a very clear message that we want a better way going forward. We want a way where we work together," she said.

"The resounding message that I have heard loud and clear is that trust is something that cannot be brought but is something that is earned."

My political career is over: Campbell Newman

Mr Newman said he would be leaving politics, but that his government had made Queensland a better place.

"My political career is over," he said.

"Over the last three years we've had to make some very important decisions.

"They were necessary and I do truly believe that they have put Queensland in a far better place.

We have put the state in a far better place than the way we found it. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman

"We have put the state in a ... far better place than the way we found it.

"When the history of this government is written, people should look long and hard at a political team who did the hard yards and did not bitch and moan."

Mr Newman said the LNP team would meet at the first opportunity to elect a new leader.

"There are many fine men and women who could potentially put their hand up," he said.

"We don't know whether we will be in government of opposition."

Nicholls says too early to say if he'll lead LNP

Treasurer Tim Nicholls said it was too early to say whether he would lead the LNP now that Mr Newman had been unseated.

"I think there is going to be a lot of work to be done between now and that decision being made, either by me or anyone else," he said.

"We still want to consider what the final result will be."

Of Mr Newman's defeat, he said: "I think it is a sad day, obviously, for Campbell and the work he has put into the seat of Ashgrove."

Mr Nicholls, who was ahead in Clayfield, said federal factors were "less than helpful" during the campaign.

"Raising discussion about the GST was something that certainly didn't help the campaign," he said.

"The Medicare co-payment was again something that we didn't support, as we didn't support raising the GST.

"Those factors I think did play a role in what we have seen and part of what we are seeing here tonight."

In the bellwether seat of Barron River in far north Queensland, there was an initial swing of 14.9 per cent towards Labor from five booths, after about 17 per cent of the vote was counted.

"At this stage that looks like Barron River is a strong possibility for the Labor Party to gain," Mr Green said.

Topics: government-and-politics, elections, political-parties, liberal-national-party, ashgrove-4060

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