Queensland: A Culture of Stability and a State of Change
摘要
This chapter covers the period of state politics in Queensland from 2012 to 2024. During this time, Queensland politics was dominated by the Palaszczuk Labor government (2015–2023). A key focus of the chapter is to explore the extent of continuity and change since the late 1980s. The chapter sets out three key arguments. First, understanding Queensland’s unique political culture is necessary to understanding its political change. Second, while institutional change has been profound since 1989—when Royal Commissioner Tony Fitzgerald QC delivered a wide-ranging blue-print for reform after a two-year inquiry found corruption across many levels of police and public administration—changes in political culture have been far more subtle. Third, the Palaszczuk Labor Government (2015–23), itself part of a longer Labor “hegemony” since 1989 (Williams, Australian Journal of Political Science 36:363–371, 2001;Williams, Australian Journal of Political Science 39:635–644, 2004), followed a novel trajectory comprised of three distinct phases.