Queensland state election a test for far-right Australian firebrand Hanson and Adani coal mine
Polling suggests possible wins for far-right candidates
The Australian state of Queensland, home to the Great Barrier Reef, has called a snap election that is set to test support for both the populist party of Pauline Hanson and an environmentally sensitive Indian coal mine project.
Campaigning began Monday in the state, a major tourist destination, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of the Labor Party set down a poll date of November 25.
Labor won power from the Liberals in a 2015 landslide, but most opinion polls indicate it will be a closer call this time. The vote did not have to be called until May 2018.
The election is shaping as a political test of Hanson’s One Nation, which has enjoyed a tide of popular support in the state on its platform of zero-net migration and opposition to Islam.
Pundits are looking to see how the party fares in a traditional stronghold as an insight into whether it could remain a force heading into national polls due in late 2018 or early 2019.
Palaszczuk called the election on Sunday while Hanson was in India on a trade mission, giving her an extra week of campaigning without the One Nation leader around.