Greens face devastating wipeout in Queensland 2024 election as dire warning signs emerge at the federal level – and why dumped premier Steven Miles is being blamed for the disastrous result

The Greens are in danger of losing both their Queensland seats in what looks set to be a disastrous state election for the minor party.

Two Greens seats in Brisbane could go to Labor and the LNP respectively as counting resumed on Sunday after Saturday night’s election, which could spell trouble for the party’s three federal seats in overlapping city electorates.

At the end of the count, Labor was well placed to win back the South Brisbane seat from Greens MP Amy MacMahon, while the LNP, which will form the new state government, was hot on the heels of Michael Berkman in Maiwar.

Ms MacMahon, who wrested South Brisbane from former ALP Deputy Prime Minister Jackie Trad in 2020, was well behind Labour’s Barbara O’Shea 57 to 41 on a two-party preference basis, with 63 per cent of the vote was counted.

The deciding factor appears to have been that the LNP did not choose their votes over the Greens, as they did in 2020, but instead put them under Labour, putting Ms O’Shea ahead despite Ms MacMahon narrowly winning the primary .

In Maiwar, Mr Berkman had secured a 51-48 lead over the LNP’s Natasha Winters, with more than 72 per cent of votes counted.

The close race has largely wiped out the healthy 6.3 percent margin that Mr Berkman previously held, and the Greens MP did not hesitate to blame Labor for attacking his party.

“The other big conclusion I can draw is that a Labor government is more interested in fighting to keep the Greens out than fighting the LNP to keep the government,” he told Sky News.

The close race has largely wiped out the healthy 6.3 percent margin where Berkman previously held the seat, and the Greens MP did not hesitate to blame Labor for attacking his party.

“If Labor and the LNP want to come together to fight us, that’s the entire political establishment here against us.”

The policies that Berkman accused of stealing from Greens Labor leader Steven Miles included free school lunches, much cheaper public transport with the introduction of 50p bus fares, free GP clinics and higher taxes on mining companies.

However, Queensland Labor MP Grace Grace said The Australian the Greens had thrown “everything” at the Brisbane seats, including hers, and “it didn’t work out for them”.

“My feeling was that they were going backwards and I think that’s what we’re seeing in the results,” she said.

‘The Greens promise the world, but they don’t deliver. People have seen the Greens get elected to federal and state seats, and then they delivered nothing.”

Despite the Greens being at risk of having no representation in the next Queensland parliament and falling well short of the predicted possible gain of four seats, let alone their stated target of six, Berkman highlighted the positives.

“We’re on track to get at least the highest statewide vote total we’ve ever had,” he said.

‘From this you can conclude that the party is still growing.

He did not accept that Saturday’s slim gain was a bad omen for the Greens’ federal prospects in Queensland.

Two Greens seats in Brisbane could go to Labor and the LNP respectively as counting resumed on Sunday after Saturday night’s election, which could spell trouble for the party’s three federal seats in overlapping city electorates (pictured, Greens leader Adam Bandt and MP Max Chandler -Mater)

Voters in Queensland were seen at a polling booth at Kallangur State School in Brisbane on Saturday

“If you look at seats like Greenslopes, which are within Griffith and Miller, in the new target seat of Moreton, we saw really big swings towards the Greens in those areas,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s that simple to suggest that we’re in trouble federally because of everything we’ve seen today.

“What we’ve seen is that Labor has been able to regain a lot of ground by stealing our policies.”

The Greens have not yet given up hope of retaining South Brisbane, but paradoxically that turnaround is down to the LNP overtaking Labour.

If that happens, Labor preferences will likely swing heavily towards the Greens, giving them a near-miraculous victory.

The likely loss of the two seats in Queensland could spell trouble for the Greens at the federal level.

The Greens hoped a positive result in Queensland would lead to them winning a fifth seat in the House of Representatives at next year’s federal election.

The grim result in Queensland will have all but dashed their hopes.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather had outlined a political plan in 2018 for the small party to form a federal government in 2040.