Queensland — political history baseline
Bjelke-Petersen (1968–1987)
Authoritarian populism; police corruption; ends with Fitzgerald Inquiry. Legacy: QLD politics tolerates strongman premiers; corruption inquiry as reset ritual.
Fitzgerald legacy
Institutional reform, electoral transparency (later: strong donation disclosure). Legacy: Real-time donations data — track in QLD finance.
LNP merger (2008)
Liberal and National merged into LNP — unique structure. Federal Liberals and Nationals remain separate; QLD is one party. Legacy: Preselection fights are LNP internal, not Coalition negotiation.
Volatility
QLD swings hardest federally and state-wide (Newman wipeout 2012, Palaszczuk return 2015, Miles 2024 loss). Legacy: Never assume QLD is "conservative forever" — One Nation and Labor both surge.