LNP spill: Lawrence Springborg faces challenge after voting blindside

May 1, 2016
Jason Tin
The Sunday Mail (Qld)

OPPOSITION Leader Lawrence Springborg could be forced to fend off a challenge within weeks, with the blindside from Labor’s voting changes firming up as a trigger for a leadership stoush.

The Sunday Mail understands former Newman government ministers and leadership contest frontrunners Tim Mander and Tim Nicholls are both open to forming a unity ticket to secure the numbers.

It is understood conversations about the possibility of a team-up have occurred via intermediaries.

Multiple LNP sources have said a senior Opposition MP last week confronted Mr Springborg about his leadership in the wake of the voting laws furore. 

Leadership rumblings have again flared up within the party after Labor outmanoeuvred the LNP on its Bill to add four extra MPs with an amendment to scrap optional preferential voting — a move that would give the ALP a formidable advantage at state elections.

Mr Mander has been agitating behind the scenes for some time, while Mr Nicholls has long been considered a leadership rival.

A clear resolution to the issue could occur within the next fortnight, as it is understood a possible challenge is taking shape that would harness the voting changes as a trigger.

By pairing up, the “Two Tims” would in a position to combine their numbers and mount a stronger challenge, in what would likely be a four-horse race with deputy leader John-Paul Langbroek in the mix.

Working against Mr Mander — in addition to his relative political inexperience — is the fact that he holds his seat of Everton with a razor-thin margin — one that could quickly evaporate with compulsory preferential voting.

Tim Mander has been agitating behind the scenes.

Tim Nicholls is another likely contender.

Meanwhile, some question former treasurer Mr Nicholls’ ability to connect with working-class voters, while others praise his economic credentials and describe him as an experienced operator.

Critics of Mr Springborg point to the fact that he sold himself as someone able to negotiate with the Katter’s Australian Party MPs, but was not able to prevent them from backing Labor’s voting changes.

The latest ReachTEL/7 News poll showed two-thirds of Queenslanders oppose the move to compulsory preferential voting and put the LNP ahead of Labor on a two-party-preferred basis, 52 to 48.

But the same poll shows 41 per cent of people rated Mr Springborg’s performance as leader as poor, very poor or indicated that they’d never heard of him.

Just over a third of voters rated his performance as “average”, while only 23 per cent said he was good or very good.

Mr Springborg’s detractors point out that while the latest two-party-preferred result is encouraging, the introduction of compulsory preferential voting means the LNP faces an even more uphill battle and will need to gain ground.

“The voting debacle was the last straw,” one senior Opposition MP said.

“It’s just a matter of time.”

The Opposition Leader yesterday declined to comment.

Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg decried Labor’s amendments to the LNP Bill.