Malcolm Roberts’ Attempt At A Political Comeback Has Failed
He can't even win a state seat.
We won’t know the final result of last night’s Queensland state election for days, but one thing’s for sure: Malcolm Roberts didn’t win.
The former Senator’s attempted political comeback after he was booted from parliament over his dual citizenship ended in tears last night after he failed to secure the seat of Ipswich in Pauline Hanson’s heartland.
Roberts received a respectable 26 per cent of the vote, but Labor’s Jennifer Howard received 48 per cent and will easily retain the seat after preferences.
Bad news though, we probably haven’t heard the last of him.
Speaking to the ABC, Roberts said his failure to win a state hasn’t dented his enthusiasm for public office “one little bit”.
“It’s encouraged me enormously because the people here in Ipswich know they need people like us to speak up and take action,” he said.
"It hasn't dented my enthusiasm one little bit, it's encouraged me enormously."
One Nation's @MRobertsQLD speaks about his failed bid at state politics this evening.
Our LIVE blog here: https://t.co/jqujxhRqu4 ??️ #Qldvotes @abcnews pic.twitter.com/XhHHL0RApp
— ABC Brisbane (@abcbrisbane) November 25, 2017
Roberts’ next shot at elected office would likely be another run for the Senate at the next federal election, which is due to be held in late 2018 or early 2019.
It was a bad night for One Nation overall. The party will likely only pick up a single seat in Queensland despite earlier predictions it might hold the balance of power in a hung parliament.
The party’s state leader, Steve Dickson, lost his seat of Buderim to the LNP, and One Nation’s support plummeted throughout the campaign. In the end, the party received 12 per cent of first preference votes.
Despite the poor showing, Pauline Hanson told reporters she was encouraged by the result, and that it showed there is a place for One Nation in state politics.