Crisafulli’s Tightrope Walk: A Year of Balancing Act Threatens Queensland’s LNP
Queensland premier David Crisafulli is navigating a precarious political landscape one year into his term, attempting to unite a fractured Liberal National Party (LNP) while avoiding the pitfalls that plagued previous conservative governments. His strategy, centered on a “small-target” approach and a focus on youth crime, is increasingly being scrutinized as critics question whether the goverment is offering substantive policy beyond a single, dominant issue.
Crisafulli, who marked his first year in office on Sunday, has consistently warned LNP members and MPs against displaying divisive or unelectable tendencies. “We don’t exist for culture wars,” he told the party’s state council shortly after the 2024 election, a sentiment he reinforced at the August state conference, urging members to avoid “ideological issues” and internal squabbles. “We cannot be captured by those who seek to divide us,” he stated.
The government initially gained traction by focusing almost exclusively on addressing a perceived youth crime “crisis.” This led to the passage of hardline laws in December to allow for the sentencing of children as adults, expanded in May to encompass 33 offenses, including some non-violent crimes. However, sources within the LNP cabinet suggest Crisafulli prioritizes moderation, rarely intervening in policy debates where the party’s diverse factions clash.
Crisafulli’s government, however, is proving to be different – focused intensely on youth crime while seemingly lacking a broader agenda.
This has led to questions about the government’s long-term viability. Has the LNP simply run out of steam? Beyond the youth crime legislation, much of the government’s attention has been directed towards planning for the 2032 Olympic Games, criticizing the CFMEU, and alleging financial mismanagement by the previous Labor government.
Paul Williams,an associate professor at Griffith University,notes the scarcity of legislative proposals. “If you’re not offering enough,except disgruntlement of the incumbent and the status quo of a crime [agenda] … you haven’t got really anything to hang your hat on,” Williams explained. “So then the rationale for people sticking with you is impressions rather than policy substance, and the impression … of the LNP has been one that’s been … largely spinning its wheels. if the government doesn’t find an agenda outside the olympics and youth crime it becomes a government run by the media cycle.” He warns that this could result in a single-term government.
Recent polling data indicates a decline in support for the LNP in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs, despite initial success in regional Queensland.The government faces a critical juncture: solidify its appeal to moderate urban voters or pivot to defend its regional strongholds with more conservative rhetoric.
Despite Crisafulli’s efforts to suppress internal divisions,ideological tensions remain within the LNP. Matthew cliff, chief executive of the anti-abortion lobby group Cherish Life, argued that the premier risks alienating the party’s conservative base. “The current premier risks losing the very base that built the Liberal National party,” Cliff wrote in a recent blog post. “Every time conservative leaders neglect conservative concerns, others are waiting in the wings to fill the void.”
Crisafulli has, to some extent, managed this tension by offering concessions to the conservative wing of his government, led by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie. Though, this dose not mean the government is avoiding culture wars altogether. Decisions to end the First Nations truth-telling inquiry, backtrack on commitments to phase out coal power, restrict wind farm development, abolish pill testing, and ban gender-affirming care for minors demonstrate a clear shift towards conservative positions.
A year in, the Crisafulli government is stable but faces criticism for being uninspired and lacking direction. The premier has three years remaining to maintain this delicate balancing act, and the stakes are high. The question remains whether a strategy built on avoiding division and focusing on a single issue will be enough to secure a second term, or if the LNP will ultimately succumb to the pressures of its internal ideological conflicts.
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