David Crisafulli's cabinet is expected to be dominated by regional MPs and first-time ministers, with 15 out of 19 representing voters from outside greater Brisbane. The LNP says the regional experience of its incoming cabinet will help it better serve residents outside of the capital.
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00:00Regional Queenslanders and residents here in Townsville have voted resoundingly for
00:07change. We've seen double-digit swings in some regional seats for the Liberal National
00:12Party, giving the party clear political dominance outside of Brisbane. Labor's highest profile
00:19loss came in Mackay. That's a seat the party has held for more than a century. But a massive
00:2517% swing to the LNP has seen the candidate there, retiring police officer Nigel Dalton,
00:32pick that one up. Here in Townsville, all three Labor MPs have been unseated by the
00:37LNP in a clean sweep. Labor has been left with just three seats in regional Queensland
00:43– Cairns, Gladstone and Bundaberg. Labor leader Stephen Miles says the party clearly
00:49needs to do more work to win back the favour of regional voters. Law and order issues
00:55clearly dominated at the ballot box. In places like Townsville, voters we've spoken to say
01:01youth crime is front of mind for them, whether they've been victims of crime or are scared
01:06to become one. People we've spoken to want to see tougher consequences for young offenders
01:11and the LNP has made a tough-on-crime mandate really central to its election campaign. We've
01:17seen slogans like adult time for adult crime used a lot, it splashed across billboards
01:23across North Queensland and that messaging has clearly cut through. But issues around
01:28cost of living and health were also important to voters, as was just an underlying desire
01:34for change. David Chrisofully, the incoming Premier, actually hails from North Queensland.
01:39He grew up on a cane farm at Ingham, about an hour and a half north of here. And there's
01:44a sense of hope among some voters that his regional roots will allow him to better represent
01:50the needs and wants of regional Queenslanders. As he finalises his new cabinet, we do know
01:56that regional MPs will make up the majority of the ministry in the incoming government.