Evans claims Brisbane seat in landslide win
Image: Federal LNP candidate for Brisbane Trevor Evans (Supplied photo)
Trevor Evans, the LNP’s openly gay candidate for the seat of Brisbane, has claimed victory in the 2016 federal election.
Evans won 55.41 per cent of the two candidates preferred vote, beating Labor’s Pat O’Neill.
He live streamed a short speech on Saturday night to acknowledge the victory.
“It has been a phenomenal effort, I think we’ve run a fantastic campaign,” Evans said.
Evans then took the opportunity to thank his supporters and the people who voted him in.
“Most importantly, I want to say a very big thank you to the voters in Brisbane,” Evans said.
“Brisbane voters have placed a huge amount of faith in me as the next federal minister for the next three years, and in the Turnbull government.
“They have clearly chosen to back economic management and a good, strong plan for the future.”
Though the result was clear for Evans’ Brisbane seat, the same can’t be said for the Turnbull government as a whole — the election still hasn’t been called and numbers have been extremely close on both sides.
Evans’ speech painted a picture of a decisive victory, in spite of the obstacles faced along the way.
“When you consider some of the scare campaigns and some of the focuses that were big distractions during the last eight weeks of the campaign, it is a fantastic thing to know that the voters of Brisbane have embraced a good, strong plan for jobs and growth and stability for the next three years,” Evans said.
Many Coalition MPs have called the issue of same-sex marriage a distraction throughout the campaign, after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised a plebiscite into marriage equality, which Evans had thrown his support behind in the past.
“The hard work starts tomorrow,” Evans said.
“I’ll be the most visible, hard working member for Brisbane that we’ve ever had.”
Evans takes over as the member for Brisbane from Teresa Gambaro.
With the LNP back in do not expect marriage equality, until after the next federal election in 2019 or 2020! Do not blame me I voted Labor, because I want marriage equality passed!
It was painful listening to Trevor Evan’s regurgitate campaign grabs (Jobs! Growth! Plan!) for his victory “speech”. He sang the party chorus but never was there a single authentic note.
I don’t trust any of the gay liberals in this parliament who are chosen for the pink vote will champion glinting rights
Tim Wilson has extreme ideas and doesn’t represent normal centre right wing gay men
Conservative gays are a walking contradiction
Well congratulations to him, but I find it strange he’s happy to support someone who doesn’t support him, i.e. Malcolm Turnbill. Why should the rest of Australia be allowed to decide if we are ‘equal’ in the eyes of the law? Clearly the Turnbill government doesn’t and wants the ‘majority rule’ to decide. Even then, the plebiscite isn’t binding, so promising a plebiscite isn’t the same as promising marriage equality.
Congratulations, we now have 10 MPs and Senators who are LGBTI. But the counting continues according to the AEC and a hung parliament will not achieve marriage equality I am afraid. Or well we have to wait until 2019 for marriage equality it seems!
Latest HOR AEC count is 71 LNP, 71 ALP, 5 Other, 1 Green.
How is a 5% margin a landslide?
Exactly.