Queensland Labor Party

This article is about the current Queensland branch of the federal Labor Party. For the defunct breakaway Labor party from 1957–1978, see Queensland Labor Party (1957–1978).

The Queensland Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland)^[11] and commonly referred to as Queensland Labor or simply Labor, is the branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the state of Queensland.^[12] It has functioned in the state since the 1880s.^[b] The Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party was the first Labour Party to win government in the world, when, in December of 1899, following the resignation of the Dickson ministry, Queensland Labour leader Anderson Dawson accepted an offer by Lieutenant-Governor Samuel Griffith to form a government.^[13]

Queensland Labor Party
Leader	Steven Miles
Deputy Leader	Cameron Dick
President	John Battams[1]
Secretary	Kate Flanders[2]
Founded	5 August 1892; 132 years ago (5 August 1892)[3][4]
Headquarters	TLC Building, South Brisbane, Queensland
Newspaper	Queensland Labor Times
Think tank	T. J. Ryan Foundation
Youth wing	Young Labor
Membership (2021)	10,000[a][6]
Ideology	Social democracy Majority faction: Democratic socialism[7][8][9]
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	Australian Labor
Union affiliate	QCU
Colours	Red
Slogan	"Putting Queenslanders First"[10]
Legislative Assembly	36 / 93
House of Representatives	5 / 30 (Qld seats)
Senate	3 / 12 (Qld seats)
Brisbane City Council	5 / 26
Website
queenslandlabor.org
Politics of Queensland Politics of Australia Political parties Elections

History

Further information: History of the Labor Party and labour movement

Trade unionists in Queensland had begun attempting to secure parliamentary representation as early as the mid-1880s. William McNaughton Galloway, the president of the Seamen's Union, mounted an unsuccessful campaign as an independent in an 1886 by-election. A Workers' Political Reform Association was founded to nominate candidates for the 1888 election, at which the Brisbane Trades and Labor Council endorsed six candidates. Thomas Glassey won the seat of Bundamba at that election, becoming the first self-identified "labor" MP in Queensland. The Queensland Provincial Council of the Australian Labor Federation was formed in 1889 in an attempt to unite Labor campaign efforts. Tommy Ryan won the seat of Barcoo for the labour movement-run People's Parliamentary Association in 1892, and the Labor Party was formally established in Queensland following the first Labor-in-Politics Convention later that year.^[14]

The Queensland branch subsequently formed the first Labor government in Australia, albeit briefly, when Anderson Dawson took office for a week in 1899 after a falling out between the non-Labor forces.^[15]

Since 1989, when the party came back to power after thirty-two years in Opposition, all its leaders have become Premiers despite two spells in Opposition in 1996–98 and 2012–2015.

As of 2020, the Queensland branch has three factions: the right, headed by Annastacia Palaszczuk, the left, headed by Steven Miles, and the centralist faction, the Old Guard. Discounting Speaker Curtis Pitt, of the 47 Labor MPs, 24 belong to the Left, 16 to the Right, and 7 to the Old Guard.^[16]

As of the 2020 state election, Queensland Labor's seat distribution was as follows:

2020 state election Queensland Labor seat distribution

Region	Electorates	Labor seats		%
North & Far North Queensland (N/FNQ)	10		7	70.00
South East Queensland (SEQ)	63		38	60.32
Wide Bay–Burnett	5		3	60.00
Central Queensland (CQ)	7		3	42.86
Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday	3		1	33.33
Darling Downs–South West	5		—	—

Membership and voter base

Historically (1910s–1960s) Queensland Labor's voter base and membership has been distributed fairly equitably across the metropolitan, urban, and rural areas of the state, although maintaining a demographic majority within the South East region.^[17] Beginning in the 1970s, Queensland Labor's voter base in particular has swayed more heavily toward the metropolitan and urban areas of the state such as Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, and Townsville, with the Country (later National) and Liberal parties competing with Labor in both regions as an electoral bloc.^[17]

Membership figures

Membership figures[17] Year Membership Diff. 1938 11,139 — 1976 6,890 38.15 1977 — — 1978 6,618 3.95 1979 6,570 0.73 1980 6,171 6.07 1981 6,596 6.89 1982 6,776 2.73 1983 7,623 12.5 1984 8,086 6.07 1985 7,817 3.33 1986 7,756 0.78 1987 7,578 2.29

Membership figures[17] Year Membership Diff. 1988 7,125 5.98 1989 6,367 10.64 1990 7,169 12.60 1991 7,213 0.61 1992 7,246 0.46 1993 — — 1994 7,492 3.39 1995 6,800 9.24 1996 6,800 1997 — — 1998 7,937 16.72 2012 5,000 37.00 2014 9,000 80.00 2021 10,000 11.11

Ideology

Historically, the Queensland Labor Party was rooted in socialist principles, advocating for state socialism^[18][19][7] and agrarian socialism,^[18][20] with the party being broadly left-wing. Prior to 1908, the party also had a radical liberal faction, which split to form the Kidstonites in 1908.^[21] Over time, like other Labor/Labour parties, the party has shifted towards the centre-left of the political spectrum. The platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism,^[22] while observers describe the Queensland Labor Party as social democratic,^[7] supporting labourism,^[7] which prioritises the rights and conditions of workers, fair wages, and secure employment.

Factions

Parliamentary caucus seats
Labor Left[c]	18 / 36
Labor Unity (Old-Guard)	6 / 36
Labor Forum	12 / 36

The Labor Party internal politics has a variety of internal factions; however, since 1989, it has been organised into formal factions.^[33] In Queensland the parties factions Include The Left, Labor Unity (also known as 'Old Guard'), and Labor Forum (also known as the right).^[9]

Local government

Labor contests Brisbane City Council elections, and has done so since the inaugural election in 1925. It has been in opposition to the LNP (and before that, the Liberal Party) since 2008. The last Labor member to serve as Lord Mayor of Brisbane was Tim Quinn, who was defeated in 2004.^[34]

Historically, Labor also endorsed candidates outside of Brisbane, including in Ipswich, Townsville and Toowoomba.^[35]

The current Labor leader on Brisbane City Council is Jared Cassidy, who has served in the position since September 2019.^[36]

Leaders

Leader

The full list below is the official record of parliamentary leaders:^[37]

No.	Leader (birth–death)	Portrait	Electorate	Term of office
1	Thomas Glassey (1844–1936)		Bundamba	August 1892	May 1893
				274 days
2	John Hoolan (1842–1911)		Burke	May 1893	July 1894
				1 year and 62 days
(1)	Thomas Glassey (1844–1936)		Bundamba	July 1894	May 1899
				4 years and 305 days
3	Anderson Dawson (1863–1910)		Charters Towers	May 1899	July 1900
				1 year and 62 days
4	W. H. Browne (1846–1904)		Croydon	July 1900	October 1903
				3 years and 93 days
5	Peter Airey (1865–1950)		Flinders	October 1903	April 1904
				184 days
6	George Kerr (1853–1930)		Barcoo	April 1904	April 1907
				3 years and 1 day
7	David Bowman (1860–1916)		Fortitude Valley	April 1907	9 September 1912
				5 years and 162 days
8	T. J. Ryan (1876–1921)		Barcoo	9 September 1912	22 October 1919
				7 years and 44 days
9	Ted Theodore (1884–1950)		Woothakata	22 October 1919	26 February 1925
				5 years and 128 days
10	William Gillies (1868–1928)		Eacham	26 February 1925	22 October 1925
				239 days
11	William McCormack (1879–1947)		Cairns	22 October 1925	21 May 1929
				3 years and 212 days
12	William Forgan Smith (1887–1953)		Mackay	27 May 1929	16 September 1942
				13 years and 113 days
13	Frank Arthur Cooper (1872–1949)		Bremer	16 September 1942	7 March 1946
				3 years and 173 days
14	Ned Hanlon (1887–1952)		Ithaca	7 March 1946	15 January 1952
				5 years and 315 days
15	Vince Gair (1901–1980)		South Brisbane	17 January 1952	24 April 1957
				5 years and 98 days
16	Jack Duggan (1910–1993)		Toowoomba	30 April 1957	3 August 1957
				96 days
17	Les Wood (1907–1958)		North Toowoomba	28 August 1957	29 March 1958
				214 days
18	Jim Donald (1895–1976)		Ipswich East	14 April 1958	17 August 1958
				126 days
(16)	Jack Duggan (1910–1993)		Toowoomba West	18 August 1958	11 October 1966
				8 years and 55 days
19	Jack Houston (1919–2008)		Bulimba	11 October 1966	22 July 1974
				7 years and 285 days
20	Perc Tucker (1919–1980)		Townsville West	22 July 1974	19 December 1974
				151 days
21	Tom Burns (1931–2007)		Lytton	19 December 1974	28 November 1978
				3 years and 345 days
22	Ed Casey (1933–2006)		Mackay	28 November 1978	20 October 1982
				3 years and 327 days
23	Keith Wright (1942–2015)		Rockhampton	20 October 1982	29 August 1984
				1 year and 315 days
24	Nev Warburton (1932–2018)		Sandgate	29 August 1984	2 March 1988
				3 years and 187 days
25	Wayne Goss (1951–2014)		Logan	2 March 1988	19 February 1996
				7 years and 355 days
26	Peter Beattie (b. 1952)		Brisbane Central	19 February 1996	12 September 2007
				11 years and 206 days
27	Anna Bligh (b. 1960)		South Brisbane	12 September 2007	28 March 2012
				4 years and 199 days
28	Annastacia Palaszczuk (b. 1969)		Inala	30 March 2012	15 December 2023
				11 years and 261 days
29	Steven Miles (b. 1977)		Murrumba	15 December 2023	Incumbent
				1 year and 66 days

Election results

State elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Status
1893	Thomas Glassey	25,984	33.32	16 / 72	16	2nd	Opposition
1896		28,581	34.97	20 / 72	4	2nd	Opposition
1899		33,756	35.47	21 / 72	1	2nd	Opposition
1902	William Browne	39,579	39.33	25 / 72	4	2nd	Opposition
1904	George Kerr	28,961	36.05	34 / 72	9	1st	Opposition
1907	David Bowman	52,079	26.39	18 / 72	16	3rd	Opposition
1908		55,771	29.80	22 / 72	4	3rd	Opposition
1909		77,712	36.85	27 / 72	5	2nd	Opposition
1912		100,878	46.70	25 / 72	2	2nd	Opposition
1915	T. J. Ryan	136,419	52.06	45 / 72	20	1st	Majority
1918		180,709	53.68	48 / 72	3	1st	Majority
1920	Ted Theodore	168,455	47.77	38 / 72	7	1st	Majority
1923		175,659	48.13	43 / 72	5	1st	Majority
1926	William McCormack	189,968	47.96	43 / 72	0	1st	Majority
1929		173,242	40.16	27 / 72	16	2nd	Opposition
1932	William Forgan Smith	225,270	49.89	33 / 62	6	1st	Majority
1935		247,135	53.43	46 / 62	13	1st	Majority
1938		250,943	47.17	44 / 62	2	1st	Majority
1941		267,206	51.41	41 / 62	3	1st	Majority
1944	Frank Arthur Cooper	224,888	44.67	37 / 62	4	1st	Majority
1947	Ned Hanlon	272,103	43.58	35 / 62	2	1st	Majority
1950		295,138	46.87	42 / 75	7	1st	Majority
1953	Vince Gair	323,882	53.21	50 / 75	8	1st	Majority
1956		335,311	51.22	49 / 75	1	1st	Majority
1957	Jack Duggan	201,971	28.90	20 / 75	29	2nd	Opposition
1960		296,430	39.89	25 / 78	5	2nd	Opposition
1963		337,928	43.83	26 / 78	1	1st	Opposition
1966		350,254	43.84	26 / 78	0	2nd	Opposition
1969	Jack Houston	383,388	44.99	31 / 78	5	1st	Opposition
1972		424,002	46.75	33 / 82	2	1st	Opposition
1974	Perc Tucker	376,187	36.03	11 / 82	22	3rd	Opposition
1977	Tom Burns	466,021	42.83	23 / 82	12	3rd	Opposition
1980	Ed Casey	487,493	41.49	25 / 82	2	2nd	Opposition
1983	Keith Wright	579,363	43.98	32 / 82	7	2nd	Opposition
1986	Nev Warburton	577,062	41.35	30 / 89	2	2nd	Opposition
1989	Wayne Goss	792,466	50.32	54 / 89	24	1st	Majority
1992		850,480	48.73	54 / 89	0	1st	Majority
1995		773,585	42.89	45 / 89	9	1st	Majority
1998	Peter Beattie	773,585	38.86	44 / 89	1	1st	Minority
2001		1,007,737	48.93	66 / 89	22	1st	Majority
2004		1,011,630	47.01	63 / 89	3	1st	Majority
2006		1,032,617	46.92	59 / 89	4	1st	Majority
2009	Anna Bligh	1,002,415	42.25	51 / 89	8	1st	Majority
2012		652,092	26.66	7 / 89	44	2nd	Opposition
2015	Annastacia Palaszczuk	983,054	37.47	44 / 89	35	1st	Minority
2017		957,890	35.43	48 / 93	4	1st	Majority
2020		1,135,625	39.57	52 / 93	4	1st	Majority
2024	Steven Miles	1,011,252	32.56	36 / 93	16	2nd	Opposition

Federal elections

Election	Seats Won	±	Total Votes	%	±	Leader
1901	3 / 9	3	21,264	34.80	34.80	No leader
1903	7 / 9	4	63,878	56.70	21.90	Chris Watson
1906	4 / 9	3	51,231	43.00	13.70
1910	6 / 9	2	78,881	47.60	4.60	Andrew Fisher
1913	7 / 10	1	149,447	54.80	7.20
1914	7 / 10	0	125,017	55.70	0.90
1917	4 / 10	3	160,448	48.70	7.00	Frank Tudor
1919	3 / 10	1	149,588	46.80	1.90
1922	2 / 10	1	132,515	41.40	5.40	Matthew Charlton
1925	1 / 10	1	152,778	42.40	1.00
1928	2 / 10	1	112,982	47.40	5.00	James Scullin
1929	3 / 10	1	173,417	39.80	7.60
1931	5 / 10	2	141,443	39.30	0.50
1934	5 / 10	0	235,904	46.80	7.50
1937	5 / 10	0	233,612	43.00	3.80	John Curtin
1940	6 / 10	1	255,063	46.10	3.10
1943	6 / 10	0	279,372	47.80	1.70
1946	5 / 10	1	256,370	43.10	4.70	Ben Chifley
1949	3 / 18	2	255,036	39.50	3.60
1951	4 / 18	1	257,099	41.00	1.50
1954	5 / 18	1	295,424	42.50	1.50	H.V. Evatt
1955	5 / 18	0	258,994	42.10	0.40
1958	3 / 18	2	270,676	37.50	4.60
1961	11 / 18	8	365,930	48.10	10.60	Arthur Calwell
1963	8 / 18	3	369,570	46.30	1.80
1966	6 / 18	2	354,674	42.10	4.20
1969	7 / 18	1	430,403	48.20	6.10	Gough Whitlam
1972	8 / 18	1	449,620	47.20	1.00
1974	6 / 18	2	476,710	44.00	3.20
1975	1 / 18	5	439,405	38.80	5.20
1977	3 / 19	2	443,221	37.70	1.10
1980	5 / 19	2	535,800	42.80	5.10	Bill Hayden
1983	10 / 19	5	621,146	46.10	3.30	Bob Hawke
1984	9 / 24	1	605,684	44.10	2.00
1987	13 / 24	4	683,640	45.00	0.90
1990	15 / 24	2	695,291	41.60	3.40
1993	13 / 25	2	739,862	40.50	1.10	Paul Keating
1996	2 / 26	11	639,510	33.20	7.30
1998	8 / 27	6	719,743	36.10	2.90	Kim Beazley
2001	7 / 27	1	730,914	34.70	1.40
2004	6 / 28	1	765,507	34.78	0.08	Mark Latham
2007	15 / 29	9	1,020,665	42.91	8.13	Kevin Rudd
2010	8 / 30	7	800,712	33.58	9.33	Julia Gillard
2013	6 / 30	2	751,230	29.77	3.81	Kevin Rudd
2016	8 / 30	2	825,627	30.91	1.14	Bill Shorten
2019	6 / 30	2	754,792	26.68	4.23
2022	5 / 30	1	784,189	27.5	0.8	Anthony Albanese

References

Notes

1. The membership of Queensland Labor has increased roughly 1,000 members since 2014 (8–9,000 members to 9–10,000 members).^[5]
2. de facto.
3. Leeanne Enoch,^[23] Chris Whiting,^[24] Tom Smith^{[citation needed]}, Lance McCallum,^[23] Meaghan Scanlon^{[citation needed]}, Glenn Butcher,^[25] Jennifer Howard,^[26] Shane King,^[27] Melissa McMahon,^[28] Corrine McMillan,^[26] Mark Bailey,^[23] Mark Ryan,^[29] Steven Miles,^[30] Nikki Boyd,^[31] Barbara O'Shea^{[citation needed]}, Mick de Brenni^{[citation needed]}, Peter Russo,^[32] Shannon Fentiman^[23]

Citations

1. "John Battams – Queensland Labor". queenslandlabor.org.
2. "Kate Flanders – Queensland Labor". queenslandlabor.org. Queensland Labor. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
3. Fitzgerald, Ross & Thornton, Harold. Labor in Queensland: From the 1880s to 1988. University of Queensland Press. pp. 1–11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. "Labour in Politics. Call to Convention. Mr Glassey Appointed Leader". The Telegraph. 5 August 1892. A circular has been addressed to the various labour organisations in Queensland as follows: "Recognising the increasing importance of the Labour Party in Parliament, and in view of the approaching general elections, a meeting of the Labour members and their avowed supporters has been held, and the party formally established. Mr. Thomas Glassey was appointed to the responsible position of leader.
5. O'Brien, Chris; Howells, Melinda (23 August 2014). "Qld Labor split on new leadership vote rules". ABC News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014.
6. Riga, Rachel (5 June 2021). "Queensland Labor president John Battams acknowledges shortcomings in federal election track record". ABC News. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021.
7. Barry, Nick; Chen, Peter; Haigh, Yvonne; C. Motta, Sara; Perche, Diana, eds. (13 January 2023). Australian Politics and Policy (PDF). Sydney University Press. p. 253. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 November 2023.
8. McAllister, Ian (1991). "Party Adaptation and Factionalism within the Australian Party System". American Journal of Political Science. 35 (1): 211–218. doi:10.2307/2111444. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
9. McKay, Jack (3 February 2025). "Queensland Labor upheaval as MPs defect to rival faction". ABC News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2025.
10. "State Platform 2017" (PDF). queenslandlabor.org. Queensland Labor. 28 July 2017.
11. "Queensland Labor Rules 2022" (PDF). ecq.qld.gov.au. Queensland Labor Party. 2022.
12. "Queensland Labor". Queensland Labor. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
13. Murphy, DJ (1975). T.J. Ryan: A Political Biography (PDF). University of Queensland Press. p. xv. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2017.
14. Fitzgerald, Ross & Thornton, Harold. Labor in Queensland: From the 1880s to 1988 (PDF). University of Queensland Press. pp. 1–11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
15. Fitzgerald, Ross & Thornton, Harold. Labor in Queensland: From the 1880s to 1988. University of Queensland Press. p. 11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. Lynch, Lydia (11 May 2020). "Queensland has a new deputy premier and treasurer: who are they?". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
17. Bowden, Bradley (November 2013). "Modern Labor in Queensland: Its Rise and Failings, 1978–98". Labour History (105): 1–26. doi:10.5263/labourhistory.105.0001. hdl:10072/56318. JSTOR 10.5263/labourhistory.105.0001.
18. James Thornton, Harold (June 1986). "Socialism At Work? Queensland Labor in Office 1915–1957" (PDF). University of Adelaide Press.
19. Robertson, Geoffrey (May 2009). "From Labourism to Social Democracy: Labor Governments and Fiscal Policy in the Australian States, 1911–40". Labour History. 96 (96): 57–78. JSTOR 27713744.
20. Fitzgerald, Ross & Thornton, Harold. Labor in Queensland: From the 1880s to 1988 (PDF). University of Queensland Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
21. "William Kidston. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 1 July 2018. Bolton, G.C. (1978)".
22. "2023 Rules of the Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland)". queenslandlabor. Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland). Retrieved 1 January 2024.
23. "Labor's old guard wins in reshuffle". brisbanetimes.com.au. Brisbane times. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
24. "Bancroft". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
25. "Gladstone". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
26. "Labor's old guard wins in reshuffle". abc.com.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
27. "Kurwongbah". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
28. "Macalister". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
29. "Morayfield". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
30. "Annastacia Palaszczuk's anointed successor, Steven Miles, likely to face challenge, say Queensland Labor MPs". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
31. "Pine Rivers". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
32. "Toohey". www.pollbludger.net. Poll Bludger.
33. Chen, Peter; Barry, Nicholas; Butcher, John; Clune, David; Cook, Ian; Garnier, Adele; Haigh, Yvonne; Motta, Sara; Taflaga, Marija (1 November 2019). Australian Politics and Policy (PDF). Australia: Sydney University Press (published 2019). p. 254. ISBN 9781743326671. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
34. "Will Brisbane City Council be next to be swept away in an electoral Greenslide?". ABC News. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
35. "Labour Team". Trove. Queensland Times.
36. "Labor's lord mayoral candidate a mystery man to voters". The West Australian.
37. Katherine Brennan (2015). Queensland Parliamentary Record: The 54th Parliament – 15 May 2012 – 6 January 2015 (PDF) (Report). Queensland Parliamentary Record. p. 155. ISSN 1449-2083. Retrieved 12 July 2022.