“People voted for the Greens, both at state and federal level, expecting to see progressive solutions delivered, and all they’ve ended up getting is a bunch of blockers and extreme activists who seem increasingly out of touch with what voters in those areas think,” Watt told Sky News.
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Accusing the Greens of “trying to whip up anger and anxiety in the community over Palestine”, Watt said Labor had renewed hope it could unseat the Greens from the inner-city seats of Griffith, Brisbane and Ryan at the next federal election.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback that people really noticed Max Chandler-Mather on stage with the CFMEU, pursuing an extreme sort of agenda there,” Watt said of the Greens housing spokesman.
Chandler-Mather, who holds the Brisbane seat of Griffith, said: “Labor spent so much time and energy trying to stop the Greens in Brisbane, they abandoned the suburbs and regions and handed government to the LNP, giving up the opportunity to form a minority government with the Greens, betraying progressive voters across the state.
“Labor MPs are completely out of touch with progressive voters, celebrating the win of an LNP government in Queensland. If federal Labor is looking to repeat this result federally, that means picking fights with the Greens exclusively and handing government to Peter Dutton.”
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Outgoing premier Steven Miles, who took over after Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation last December, officially conceded defeat on Sunday.
New premier David Crisafulli declared that he would pass laws by the end of the year to crack down on crime, saying: “I want Queenslanders to know that I am on their side and I’m going into bat for Queensland.”
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